New Jersey Devils: Alexander Mogilny Snubbed Once Again By Hall of Fame
By Dave Browne
This was the year. After 11 tedious years of not getting into the Hall of Fame, this was finally going to be the year that Alexander Mogilny gets inducted. It was an open and shut case. It was possible that some Hall of Fame voters read the Pucks and Pitchforks article on why Alexander Mogilny needed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and then decided to vote him in. It was a noble effort to help get him enshrined, but clearly the voters did not listen. On Wednesday afternoon, there were six new Hall of Famers, none of which were Alexander Mogilny.
How is it conceivable that Marian Hossa is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, yet Mogilny is still not in at all? It’s not to take anything away from Hossa himself, who was a great player. However, is Hossa a far superior player than Mogilny is? The simple answer to that question is an emphatic NO.
Mogilny averaged over a point per game during his playing career (1.042), while Hossa averaged less than a point per game (.87). Hossa has 52 more goals and 102 more points than Mogilny does in 319 MORE GAMES! That is absolutely staggering if you put those numbers into context. No knock on Hossa or his accomplishments, but if he’s first ballot, then it’s perplexing how Mogilny is not in.
Kevin Lowe is another player who was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Nothing against Lowe, he won a combined six Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers. You can’t compare the achievements of Lowe and Mogilny on stats alone since one played defense and the other was a winger. You can look at their contributions to the team. Was Lowe ever the best player on his own defense, let alone team? Mogilny was the best player or considered one of the best players on many of his teams, especially early in his career on the Buffalo Sabres.
Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure are two notable star Russians who are already in the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. However, Mogilny was just as good, if not better than his Russian counterparts. Fedorov has only 10 more goals than Mogilny, yet played in 258 more games. Mogilny has more goals and points than Bure, however, Bure’s career was cut short due to injuries. Over the course of their respective careers, Bure has averaged 1.1 points per game, Mogilny 1.042 and Fedorov .945. All three were great players, yet one is excluded from hockey immortality.
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It is apparent there is some kind of bias against Mogilny. There were many that did not go for his aloof, enigmatic personality. Former teammates say his inconsistent play was a result of a poor work ethic. There may be some merit to those accusations, but Mogilny would not be the first high maintenance player inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Also, there could still be some lingering concerns with his frosty relationship with the media, particularly early in his career in Buffalo. Coming straight from Russia, the language barrier must have been difficult and uncomfortable to deal with.
None of those factors should be held against him for what he did on the ice. Unfortunately in the eyes of people who dictate your fate, politics come into play. We could guess what they are, but voters will always shy away from answering tough questions on why a player is not elected in the Hall.
Alexander Mogilny had a phenomenal career whether he is in the Hall of Fame or not. 473 goals. Olympic gold. World Junior and World Championships gold. Stanley Cup Winner. Russian icon and ambassador. Hopefully one day voters will see the greatness that so many people around in the hockey world witnessed.