MOSCOW — It's not a joke. According to the KHL website, Vyacheslav Fetisov will play for CSKA Moscow in a regular season game in the Kontinental Hockey League on Friday. One of the most outstanding players in the history of hockey is 51.

CSKA Moscow head coach, Sergei Nemchinov, said he expects Fetisov to play against SKA St. Petersburg in a regular season KHL game on Friday. If Fetisov really plays, it will be 35 years after he debuted with CSKA Moscow in 1974-75, at the age of 17.

"We urgently need one more defender after Denis Kulyash was injured," Nemchinov said. "Fetisov practices regularely and has agreed to help the team. We just need to settle some legal procedures."

The KHL website writes that CSKA has submitted all necessary paperwork to the league, including Fetisov’s medical clearance. According to the report, Fetisov has signed a contract until the end of the 2009-10 season, but it was not clear if Fetisov was expected to play for the rest of the season.

"I think Fetisov is the one who can make the players pluck up their spirit," Nemchinov said to the Associated Press.

Fetisov will be the first Russian ice hockey player to play at 51. CSKA is currently in sixth place in the 12-team KHL Western Conference with 52 points in 32 games. SKA St. Petersburg is the superior conference leader with 76 points in 34 games.

In the NHL, Gordie Howe played the entire season for the Hartford Whalers at the age of 51, scoring 15 goals and making 26 assists.

Fetisov, who turned 51 in April, is a lawmaker with the Russian Federation Council and president of the CSKA Moscow Hockey Club. He is also a high-ranked official with the anti-doping agency, WADA. He ended his professional career in 1998 at the age of 40 by winning the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings.

When the IIHF named the IIHF All Star Team of the Century in 2008, Fetisov received most votes of all candidates as he was selected for one of the two defensive positions.

Fetisov’s career resume:

++ IIHF World Championships: 7 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze.

++ Olympics: 2 gold, 1 silver.

++ 2 Stanley Cups with Detroit Red Wings, another Stanley Cup title as assistant coach with New Jersey.

++ 13 times Soviet league champion, 12 European Cups with CSKA.

++ One of 22 players on the Triple Gold Club for players who have won the Olympic gold, IIHF World Championship gold and the Stanley Cup.

++ Inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, to the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2005.

The game begins at 19.30 Moscow time on Friday.

By IIHF.com staff with files from AP.