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As part of the 2020 Hockey Hall of Fame class, Marian Hossa was selected in his first year of eligibility; while Hossa was certainly worthy of induction, Alexander Mogilny, who has been on the ballot for more than a decade, was snubbed once again. Yet a closer look at the statistics and accomplishments of Hossa and Mogilny show two players who were relatively evenly matched in terms of both peak performance and overall career achievements – thus, let us compare these two offensively gifted Eastern European NHL stars and evaluate the question:
Who was better – Marian Hossa or Alexander Mogilny?
The Beginning
As native sons of Eastern Europe, Hossa and Mogilny both honed their hockey skills in their home countries before coming over to the NHL (in a rather dramatic fashion for Mogilny, I would add).
Born in what was then Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), Hossa grew up playing hockey (his younger brother Marcel would also later play in the NHL) and was playing for Dukla Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga as a teenager. Then, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected 12th overall by the Ottawa Senators, but first played a season with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and led the team to both the President’s Cup and the Memorial Cup. However, Hossa suffered an injury in the Memorial Cup championship game and thus missed the first 22 games of the 1998-1999 NHL season; nevertheless, as a rookie with the Senators, he compiled 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points and a +18 +/- rating in 60 games played to finish second for the Calder Trophy as top rookie.
Similarly, as a youth growing up in the then-Soviet Union, Mogilny was recruited to the CSKA Moscow team as a teenager AKA the Red Army Team, where he played alongside a young Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure. Though he was drafted 89th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, Mogilny remained with CSKA Moscow until defecting to the United States after the 1989 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden; in doing so, he was the first player to defect from the Soviet Union to the NHL and would wear #89 for the duration of his career to commemorate the event. As a rookie with Buffalo in 1989-1990, he put up 15 goals and 28 assists for 43 points with a +8 +/- rating.
Career Comparison
In starring for numerous teams over their long and illustrious hockey careers, Hossa and Mogilny were each among the elite offensive players in the league at their respective peaks, and arguably among the most talented players their countries have ever produced.
Hossa continued to improve each year in Ottawa, notching the first of six straight 30-goal seasons in 2000-2001: 32 goals and 43 assists for 75 points with a +19 +/- rating. Moreover, ahead of the 2004-2005 lockout, he posted back-to-back 80+ point seasons:
- 2002-2003: a career-high 45 goals with 35 assists for 80 points and a +8 +/- rating; finished fifth for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability” and a career-high 10th for the Hart Trophy for MVP
- 2003-2004: 36 goals and 45 assists for 82 points with a +4 +/- rating
During the lockout, Hossa returned to Europe and played for both his original team Dukla Trencin and with Mora IK of the Swedish Elite League; upon returning to the NHL, he was dealt in a sign-and-trade deal along with Greg de Vries to the Atlanta Thrashers (now the new incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets) for fellow star winger Dany Heatley.
Paired in Atlanta with lethal scorer Ilya Kovalchuk, Hossa had the highest scoring seasons of his career with the Thrashers – first, he posted 92 points (39 goals and 53 assists) with a +17 +/- rating in 2005-2006, followed by a career-best 100 points (43 goals and a career-high 57 assists) with a +18 +/- rating in 2006-2007 to again finish 10th for the Hart. Though he was on pace for another point-per-game campaign in 2007-2008, Hossa was set to become a free agent and consequently moved at the trade deadline to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Pascal Dupuis in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Eric Christensen, Angelo Esposito, and a 2008 first-round draft pick (used on Daultan Leveille). However, after less than half a season with the Penguins, he then signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings (who had just beaten the Penguins for the Stanley Cup) and had 40 goals and 31 assists for 71 points and a +27 +/- rating in his lone season in the Motor City.
At 31 years old, Hossa would sign a massive 12-year, $62.8M contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he would spend the rest of his career. As part of a balanced team that also included star forwards like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Hossa remained a consistent point-per-game producer, but no longer put up the same gaudy numbers as he did with previous teams; in his first season as a Blackhawk, he had 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points and a +24 +/- rating in 57 games played. Statistically, his best year with Chicago came in 2011-2012: 29 goals and 48 assists for 77 points and a +18 +/- rating. From 2012 to 2015, Hossa displayed his all-around skills with three straight top-10 finishes for the Selke Trophy as top defensive forward, including a final 30-goal season in 2013-2014 (30 goals and 30 assists for a career-best +28 +/- rating). The next year, he reached 1,000 career points and in 2016-2017, Hossa became just the second Slovakian-born player (after Stan Mikita, who also starred for the Blackhawks) to reach 500 career goals. Though he remained a productive player that year (45 points and a career-best fourth-place Lady Byng finish), it would be Hossa’s final NHL season at age 38 due to a progressive skin disorder (and he would thus be eligible for the Hall of Fame starting in 2020); nevertheless, his contract was later traded to the Arizona Coyotes, with Hossa intending to formally retire after the contract expires in 2021.
Likewise, Mogilny quickly blossomed into a star with the Sabres, tallying his first 30-goal season in 1990-1991: 30 goals and 34 assists for 64 points with a +14 +/- rating. The next season, he improved further to 84 points (39 goals and 45 assists) with a +7 +/- rating. Then, with the acquisition of Pat LaFontaine from the New York Islanders, he and Mogilny teamed up to embark on incredible 1992-1993 seasons – Mogilny led the league with a career-high 76 goals (tied with rookie Teemu Selanne) and added 51 assists for a career-best 127 points with a +7 +/- rating; not only did he finish eighth for the Lady Byng, but Mogilny also became the first European to lead the NHL in goals scored and set single-season goal and point records for a Russian-born player (Nikita Kucherov has since tallied 128 points in 2018-2019). Additionally, though he did score 50 goals in his first 46 games played, it did not officially count as 50 goals in 50 games because it took place during Buffalo’s 53rd game. As an encore, Mogilny had 79 points (32 goals and 47 assists) in 66 games and became the first Russian-born player to be named a team captain, though he suffered a broken leg for the second straight year.
Post the lockout-shortened 1994-1995 season (in which Mogilny scored 47 points in 44 games), salary cap issues forced the Sabres to trade him plus a fifth-round draft pick (Todd Norman) to the Vancouver Canucks for Michael Peca, Mike Wilson, and a first-round pick (Jay McKee). In Vancouver, Mogilny was expected to reunite with Pavel Bure for an explosive pairing, but Bure missed the season with injury; still, Mogilny had a standout season with 55 goals and a career-best 52 assists for 107 points and a career-best +14 +/- rating to place fourth for the Lady Byng. However, his production with the Canucks would decrease each year: 73 points (31 goals and 42 assists) in 1996-1997, followed by back-to-back 45-point campaigns (though he played fewer than 60 games each year). As a result, Mogilny was on the move once again at the 1999-2000 trade deadline, this time traded to the New Jersey Devils for Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson.
In his first full year with the Devils, Mogilny had a terrific year with 43 goals and 40 assists for 83 points and a +10 +/- rating, but would become a free agent and subsequently join the Toronto Maple Leafs. During three years with Toronto, he won the Lady Byng in 2002-2003 with his last great season (33 goals and 46 assists for 79 points and a +4 +/- rating) and overcame major hip surgery in 2003-2004 to reach 1,000 career points. After the lockout, Mogilny returned to the Devils, though only played 34 more NHL games (spending some time with the team’s minor league affiliate) before a chronic hip condition led to his retirement at age 36.
With a longer NHL career by three seasons and over 300 games, Hossa not surprisingly has the career advantage in all major offensive categories (goals, assists, points, and +/- rating). However, when you dig in a little more, both players compiled eight 30-goal seasons (and three 40-goal campaigns, though Mogilny scored 50+ goals 2x) and Mogilny had a pair of 100+ point seasons to Hossa’s one, as well as a higher points-per-game average (1.04 vs. 0.87). This also translated into more All-Star Game selections for the Russian star (6x vs. 5x) and he has the only major individual piece of hardware between the two in a Lady Byng. As mentioned at the start, Hossa was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (2020), while Mogilny remains on the outside looking in despite being eligible since 2009; in fact, among eligible players with at least 1,000 career points, the only player with a higher points-per-game average not in the Hall of Fame currently is Bernie Nicholls (1,209 career points and a 1.07 per-game scoring rate).
Regular Season Statistics
| Marian Hossa | Player | Alexander Mogilny |
| 19 (1997-2017) | Seasons | 16 (1989-2006) |
| 1,309 | Games Played | 990 |
| 525 | Goals | 473 |
| 609 | Assists | 559 |
| 1,134 | Points | 1,032 |
| +245 | +/- | +81 |
| 5x | All-Star Games | 6x |
| – | Hart Trophies | – |
| – | Ross Trophies | – |
| 3x | Stanley Cups | 1x |
| – | Conn Smythes | – |
| – | Other Awards | 1x Lady Byng |
| 2020 | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
In terms of the quest for Lord Stanley, both players would achieve postseason success later in their careers; while Hossa won multiple Stanley Cups and objectively was a better playoff performer, Mogilny likewise played in multiple Stanley Cup Finals and came away with a championship.
In all, Hossa played in the postseason 17x across all five of his teams, notably making the Stanley Cup Finals in three straight seasons with three different teams:
- 2007-2008: lost to the Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg-led Red Wings in six games after being traded to the Penguins; best individual playoffs with 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points with +8 +/- rating
- 2008-2009: as the saying goes, “if you can’t beat them, join them” – upon signing with the Red Wings, ironically lost to the Penguins in a seven-game Finals; 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points with a +7 +/- rating for the postseason
- 2009-2010: in his first year with the Blackhawks, defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games for first Stanley Cup; 3 goals and 12 assists for 15 points with a +7 +/- rating
Additionally, Hossa would win two more championships with Chicago in 2012-2013 (six-game victory over the Boston Bruins) and 2014-2015 (six-game victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning), tallying double-digit postseason points on each occasion.
As for Mogilny, during his dozen postseason trips, he never advanced past the first round with either Buffalo or Vancouver, instead experiencing his best success around the turn of the 21st century. This included back-to-back Finals trips with the Martin Brodeur-led Devils:
- 1999-2000: defeated Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars in six games; however, Mogilny was quiet with only 7 points (4 goals and 3 assists)
- 2000-2001: lost to Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and the Colorado Avalanche in seven games; Mogilny’s personal-best postseason with 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points with a +3 +/- rating
The following year, after joining the Maple Leafs, Mogilny would also advance to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes.
On the international stage, Hossa and Mogilny both represented their native countries with varying degrees of success. Despite playing for Slovakia in the Winter Olympics 3x (2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turin, and 2010 Vancouver) and in numerous World Championships, Hossa never medaled for his country; in contrast, Mogilny is a member of the prestigious “Triple Gold Club” (Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, and World Championship gold), having won a gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Alberta, Canada and another gold at the 1989 World Cup, both for the then-Soviet Union.
Playoff Statistics
| Marian Hossa | Player | Alexander Mogilny |
| 205 | Games Played | 124 |
| 52 | Goals | 39 |
| 97 | Assists | 47 |
| 149 | Points | 86 |
| +25 | +/- | -2 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; both players ultimately saw their careers ended by health issues – Hossa by a skin disorder and Mogilny by a degenerative hip issue. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Marian Hossa | Player | Alexander Mogilny |
| 2000-2004, 2005-2007, 2008-2012 | Decade of Dominance | 1990-1997, 2000-2003 |
| 761 | Games Played | 685 |
| 344 | Goals | 382 |
| 407 | Assists | 418 |
| 751 | Points | 800 |
| +155 | +/- | +74 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Even though he played fewer games during his decade of dominance, Mogilny outperformed Hossa on both an absolute and relative basis – more goals, assists, and points, as well as a significantly higher per-game scoring rate (1.17 vs. 0.99 points per game).
My Thoughts
During the 1990s and 2000s, respectively, Alexander Mogilny and Marian Hossa were two of the most electrifying offensive players in the NHL, with both ultimately reaching the career milestones of 1,000 points and a Stanley Cup title (or three). Between the two, despite the fact that Hossa is higher up on the career scoring charts, won more titles, and made the Hall of Fame first, I would actually argue that Mogilny was the better overall player – the Russian star not only had the best individual season between the two of them (his 76-goal campaign in 1992-1993), but also the better 10-year peak (i.e. decade of dominance) and the higher career scoring rate. As to Mogilny’s Hall of Fame worthiness, I think it is a no-brainer – not only does he have the numbers (e.g. the 76-goal season, 1,000+ career points, a higher per-game scoring rate than numerous current Hall of Famers with similar totals like Darryl Sittler, Joe Mullen, Paul Kariya, and Martin St. Louis, just to name a few), but he also has the historical impact (first Russian to defect to the NHL, first Russian captain, season scoring records for a Russian-born player, member of the “Triple Gold Club”, etc.) and helped pave the way for future generations of Russian hockey stars in the NHL.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Alexander Mogilny
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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