So, *why* is Alex Mogilny not in the HHOF?

[MadLuke]

How can we know when the contract was signed, we only know when the newspaper learned about it..no ? which was just after he came back, same for if he holded up or not if that was the case, that something that just purely impossible to know has the major leg injury and when you are ok enough to play contact nhl game is extremelly subjective.

Would have had a near career injury and asked to play again with 0 security in that kind of negotiating position (76 goals seasons)....

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I know it’s kinda a “if my aunt had a penis…” type of thing but lets say Maruk has one more big season when he gets to the North Stars, like 100 points or so. Is Mogilny that much better than him?

 

[The Panther]

Yeah, I feel like this whole "Why-isn't-Mogilny-in-the-Hall-of-Fame?" thing is starting to become a bit overblown.

The main reason he's not in the Hall of Fame is... he wasn't a Hall of Famer, by NHL performance. I can't speak to his international hockey credentials much, but maybe that pushes him up (or doesn't it? I don't know).

And yes, he defected successfully... but so did the Šťastný brothers, like, a decade earlier.

People are unfortunately starting to make this into a big deal, when it really isn't. I'm well aware of Hockey Ref's "Adjusted Stats" flaws, but to give Mogilny's NHL results some context:

Player with TWICE as many 'adjusted' 40-goal seasons as Mogilny:
-- Ilya Kovalchuk
Players who have more 'adjusted' 40-goal seasons than Mogilny:
-- Rick Martin
-- Peter Bondra
-- Theoren Fleury
Players who have the same number of 'adjusted' 40-goal seasons as Mogilny:
-- Joe Pavelski
-- John Tavares