It took some time, 16 years to be exact, but Alexander Mogilny is finally going into the Hockey Hall of Fame. This was a place he should have been a long time ago.
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Alexander Mogilny Welcome to the Hockey Hall of Fame #njdevils #leafsforever #canucks #sabrehood pic.twitter.com/EfYVtCql2i
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) June 24, 2025
On Tuesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2025 Class, and alongside Mogilny are Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Joe Thornton, Jennifer Botterill, and Brianna Decker. Additionally, the Builder Category features Boston University coach Jack Parker and former Canadian Women’s National Team coach Danielle Sauvageau.
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And while everyone is deserving to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame, Mogilny is the most deserving. As previously mentioned, he has been waiting 16 years for this moment. He has been eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame since 2009. So this is a special moment for him and his family.
As John Madden, current Utah Manmoth assistant coach and his teammate, when they won the 2000 Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils, said of Mogilny, “To me, Alexander Mogilny is one of the best players not to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.”
John Madden was right. There is no denying that Alexander Mogilny was worthy of being in the Hockey Hall of Fame, before this time. Waiting that long was a crying shame. But the public debate is finally over, and the words that one of the best players not in the Hockey Hall of Fame doesn’t have to be muttered anymore.
If you’re not familiar with his story, it is truly remarkable. Mogilny was the first Soviet player drafted to defect, joining the Buffalo Sabres in 1989. He hit the 30-goal plateau four times with the Sabres, scoring 76 goals during the 1992-93 season. He is one of six players in NHL history to score 75 or more goals in a season. With Mogilny’s announcement on Tuesday, every member of that club is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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Although he struggled with the Vancouver Canucks after his time with the Buffalo Sabres ended, Mogilny found new life with the New Jersey Devils from 1999 to 2001. As Madden recalled, Mogilny had a knack for scoring big goals at the right moment as the Devils made back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2000 and 2001, winning the Stanley Cup in 2000.
Pierre Turgeon, who got into the Hockey Hall of Fame, averaged 1.02 points per game during his NHL career. In 124 games in the playoffs, Mogilny recorded 86 points (39 goals and 47 assists). In total, he scored 1,118 points (512 goals and 606 assists) across 1,114 regular-season and playoff games.
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Then there is the international part of the resume. He is a member of the Quadruple and Triple Gold Club, having won an Olympic Gold Medal, a World Championship Gold Medal, a World Juniors Gold Medal, and a Stanley Cup. If you look at those in the Hockey Hall of Fame, there are 30 members in the Hall of Fame from that exclusive club. Mogilny now makes 31 members of that elusive club in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Whether you want to believe it or not, the political climate surrounding Russia notwithstanding, Pavel Datsyuk, a Russian-born player, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year. So that argument did hold water.
So, whatever the case may have been, the greatest mystery is finally solved and resolved as Alexander Mogilny is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
