Kozlov's path to the NHL involved a near-fatal auto accident in Russia and a lot of determined work by the Detroit Red Wings, who selected him in the third round (No. 45) of the 1990 NHL Draft.

The accident took place in October 1991, when a car he was driving was hit by a bus. His passenger, fellow prospect Kirill Tarasov, was killed and Kozlov sustained a serious brain injury that put him in a coma and nearly ended his hockey career. He recovered and was allowed to join the Red Wings, playing his first NHL game March 12, 1992, and had two assists in a 5-4 win against the St. Louis Blues.

By 1993-94, the left wing from Voskresensk, Russia, was an NHL regular. He scored 34 goals as a rookie, 36 in 1995-96, when the Red Wings set an NHL regular-season record with 62 victories (tied by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19), and was part of coach Scotty Bowman's "Russian Five" that helped the Red Wings end a 42-year Stanley Cup drought in 1997 and repeat as champions in 1998.

Kozlov was part of the package sent by Detroit to the Buffalo Sabres on June 30, 2001, a trade that brought future Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek to the Red Wings. But Kozlov's season was cut short when he injured his Achilles tendon Dec. 29, 2001, and the Sabres traded him to the Atlanta Thrashers on June 22, 2002.

The move to Atlanta reinvigorated Kozlov's NHL career. He scored at least 20 goals in five of his first six seasons with Atlanta, finished with an NHL career-high 80 points (28 goals, 52 assists) in 2006-07 and became one of the best at the shootout after the NHL instituted the tiebreaker in 2005-06. His 58.7 percent success rate (27 for 46) was the best in NHL history (minimum 40 attempts) when he left the League in 2010.

Kozlov finished his NHL career with 853 points (356 goals, 497 assists) in 1,182 games and 79 points (42 goals, 37 assists) in 118 playoff games. He played five more seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League and was part of two Gagarin Cup-winning teams before retiring as a player in 2015.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• USSR Rookie of the Year (1990)
• Traded to Buffalo by Detroit with Detroit's 1st round pick (later traded to Columbus, later traded to Atlanta, Atlanta selected Jim Slater) in 2002 NHL Draft for Dominik Hasek, July 1, 2001.
• Traded to Atlanta by Buffalo with Buffalo's 2nd round pick (later traded to Columbus, Columbus selected Joakim Lindstrom) in 2003 NHL Draft for Atlanta's 2nd round pick (later traded to Edmonton, Edmonton selected Jeff Deslauriers) in 2003 NHL Draft and Vancouver's 3rd round pick (previously acquired, Buffalo selected John Adams) in 2003 NHL Draft, June 22, 2002.
• Signed as a free agent by Voskresensk (Russia), September 15, 2004.
• Signed as a free agent by Kazan (Russia), February 17, 2005.
• Signed as a free agent by CSKA Moscow (KHL), September 29, 2010.