Tag Archives: best Russian hockey players

H2H 103: Marian Hossa vs. Alexander Mogilny – Who was Better?

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?

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H2H 75: Pavel Datsyuk vs. Henrik Zetterberg – Who was Better?

As one of the Original Six NHL franchises, the Detroit Red Wings have been blessed with a plethora of superstars throughout the years, from Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, and Terry Sawchuk in the mid-20th century to the likes of Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, and Nicklas Lidstrom in more recent times.  Detroit has always embraced foreign stars (see the “Russian Five” from the 1990s) and thus, it should come as no surprise that in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the latest generation of Red Wings was led by Pavel Datsyuk from Russia and Henrik Zetterberg of Sweden. Though each dealt with his fair share of injuries, the duo were among the most electrifying players in the league when fully healthy, and helped Detroit add to its Stanley Cup trophy case.  With their stellar careers essentially overlapping, let us look back and ask:

Who was better – Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg?

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