Longtime New Jersey superstar winger Alexander Mogilny was in his first stint with the Devils in 2001. Mogilny didn't have anything to prove, as he was a team-first competitor.

NHL icon Alexander Mogilny had a stellar NHL career -- one many think he shoulld be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame becaus of -- but in 2001 in New Jersey, Mogilny was capable of showing he still had lots of gas left in his competitive tank. And in this cover story from THN's Feb. 16, 2001 issue, regular correspondent. Rich Chere spoke with Mogilny about his on-ice success, being a scoring sniper, and much more. 

SHOOTING STAR

By Rich Chere

It took a $44,000 platinum, diamond and ruby Stanley Cup ring to bring back the sparkle in Alexander Mogilny’s game.

Skeptics might suggest it’s the final year of a four-year contract, which pays him $5.2 million, that has pushed Mogilny back among the NHL’s elite scorers. But Mogilny says his rejuvenation comes from winning his first Cup and because he no longer feels he has to carry a team all by himself.

“It’s not about big numbers and a new contract,” says Mogilny, who stands to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. “The contract is not a big deal to me. Coming into this season I just thought about staying healthy and having a great playoff again. I want to get the same feeling I had on June 10 again this year. When you feel it once, you want to feel it every year.”

A commitment to team play was one noticeable aspect of Mogilny’s success last spring when he came to the Devils in a March 14 trade with Vancouver for centers Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson. He is one of the game’s great snipers with one of the best wrist shots in the NHL, but has not been a selfish Player.

“The more I got to know him, the more I realized what a great person he is,” says Devils’ coach Larry Robinson. “He thinks team first. He gets more excited when somebody else scores.”

In fact, Robinson had to convince Mogilny to shoot more often. That, according to the Russian right winger, has been the single biggest factor in a resurgence that has him on pace to score more than 40 goals for the first time since 1995-96. Through 51 games, Mogilny ranked 19th in the NHL with 166 shots - an average of 3.3 per game. Last year, he averaged 2.7 shots per game; the year before just 1.9. In his most productive season (1992-93 in Buffalo, 76 goals), Mogilny took a whopping 4.7 shots per game.

“I’m not playing any better than I ever have played. I’m shooting the puck more and I’m getting the breaks,” says Mogilny, who, with 27 goals was just four back of league leaders Pavel Bure and Markus Naslund. “That’s the biggest reason I’m scoring more goals. It’s a matter of confidence with me. When I lose confidence, I become a very average player.”

Of course, once you score 76 goals, the expectations are always high. Unreasonable expectations, Mogilny claims, are what led to his reputation as an underachiever.

“I don’t know anybody who scored 76 goals and went out the next year and scored 77 or 78. Maybe Mario (Lemieux),” Mogilny says.

“It certainly wasn’t me who was going to do that. It’s hard to keep that far up there. I wish I’d never done it. Well, I don’t really mean that, but it wasn’t easy after that.”

The 76 goals came in his fourth NHL season after Mogilny became the first hockey star to defect from the former Soviet Union in 1989. His career improved incrementally from 15 goals as a rookie, to 30 and 39. Then came his blockbuster season playing on a line with fellow Sabres Pat LaFontaine and Dave Andreychuk.

“We had a good team and playing with great players makes your life easier,”

Mogilny recalls. “(LaFontaine) was great. He understands your needs. I had nothing to do but shoot the puck.”