Did anyone from Pittsburgh talk to you during the tournament in British Columbia?
E. Malkin: Only my agent called me and told me that Mario Lemieux is watching me on TV, and very satisfied with my performance. Also, Sidney Crosby called me wishing best of luck.
I bet that was interesting.
Good interview from the RH digest. Malkin swears to pay Canada back in Turin.
At least Sid understands what is at stake with Malkin. Its too bad Mario didn't call the kid to recruit him or even go to BC. He obviously knew he was checking out of things.
CP is a dead man walking. The Pens need to get a guy in here who starts making moves for the future, even if it is an interim GM.
Relantel brings up a great point. Malkin's situation is exhibit A of why the Russian Federation didn't sign the transfer agreement. They also have all the legally binding artifacts on their side as well.
Crosby: Good luck Evgeni!
Malkin: Eh? No speak English.
Crosby: I hope the Canadians kick you ass!
Malkin: Thank you Sidney
With the dearth of scoring wingers in the Pens' organ-i-zation, and Malkin's inability to speak English, Morozov should be given a lot of thought to bridge both gaps.
and not take it for granted he's going to be here.
I don't take as solace the RSL's numbers, for look at what Nurse is doing over there, compared to what he couldn't do over here.
I'll take it a ton of solace in it, for sure.
First off, RSL is the lowst scoring, most defensive oriented league in the world, therefore anytime a player is over a point per game average, and especially when said player is under 20 years old, you can your money to the bank.
Malkin and Nurse should never be mentioned in the same breath again. EM is scoring his goals a plethora of ways, Nurse is doing his typical "I hate working hard" act and is firing away from the perimeter all night.
Malkin's success is more physical and straightforward. He takes responsibility for himself and puts forth a huge effort every night.
In RSL, Morozov makes Palffy look like Sidney Crosby with the way he skates. Morozov is a perimeter shooter and gets all his points the soft, nurse way.
Therefore, you can take your money to the bank with Malkin. A 19 year old is absolutely schooling the rest of the league and making the player that was supposedly to be his superior look like a chump.
Success might not always be indicative from one league to another, but to say you aren't sure about Malkin based on his RSL numbers is kinda absurd.
I wonder if Dave King would make a good GM or not? Right now he's coaching Malkin in Mettalurg and that could entice Malking to make the jump if he trusted the guy making personnel decisions knwos what Malkin needs.
I wonder if Dave King would make a good GM or not? Right now he's coaching Malkin in Mettalurg and that could entice Malking to make the jump if he trusted the guy making personnel decisions knwos what Malkin needs.
I was talking the other day to someone about this.
King is a smart man, and he has a magnetic (no pun intended) personality, from what I've read.
He turned Metallurg into a team that was just good enough to get near Avanguard, Ak Bars, and Dynamo, to a team that is absolutely dominating the league.
Their record now is 37-3-4-0. That's damn impressive.
The stat that is even better is their goal differential.
They've scored 155 and let up 68. Both of those numbers are by far number 1 in the league.
King has the experience and would be a great GM here, as I'm sure he wants to, but we might just be wishful thinking here.
I'm not arguing that Nurse=Malkin by any means, it's just success in that league doesn't automatically translate to success in the NHL.
Malkin's presence alone will affect how teams defend the Pens, just like they had to decide between Lemieux's line vs Jagr's line for their top 2 defensemen (when they played on separate lines in the early 90s)
jesse, please reply honestly, how many of morozov's games have you watched this season? honestly, how many?
i saw video clips of most of morozov's goals last season and they were scored in a variety of way, perimeter and at the net.
rushockey.com correspondant sergei balashov has called malkin and morozov the rsl's best players this year.
do you know how many of kovalchuk's league leading goals have been scored in tight? he must be a bad player too.
I've seen the majority of his goals this year, not as many games because my Russian contact Ilya moved away for school this past semester.
Morozov might be a good player in RSL, according to Balashov, but he's not a hard worker, and he isn't going in and working for the puck. I'd be willing to argue that all day.
He's a perimeter shooter. Kovalchuk is a monster in the NHL because there are times when he isn't cherrypicking and he's working hard.
We'll see how Evgenii does when he arrives here. I'll put my tuition up that he works about x10 as hard as Morozov ever would.
Morozov is a wonderful Superleague player. Great. He sucks here, and he's nicknamed Nurse for a reason.
Basically all your post did was put words in my mouth, your argument is moot because I never said players who scored from the Perimeter were bad players. I said Morozov wasn't a hard worker and he refused to get his nose dirty. I, and many others on this board, will argue that to the death.
Go on the AK Bars site, watch him play. He isn't exactly grinding away over there.
Let him stay in RSL where he can play on the bigger ice surface without bumping into anyone and falling down.
morozov isnt a good nhl player because he doesnt work hard in the corners. ridiculous. players have different strengths and abilities; just as morozov doesnt get his nose dirty in the corners like scot mellanby or maxime talbot, those players cant stickhandle around people or wire wristers past goalies like morozov. this is nonsense. i disagree that morozov doesnt work hard, but i agree that he isnt the type of lunchpail player that will go through a wall and fight and claw along the boards to get the puck out. that's fine. many great nhl players dont do that either. igor larionov didnt "work very hard" by your narrow definition. he might not be the player you wanted him to be, but why you would want to take a talented, graceful sniper and playmaker and make him a grinder i do not understand.
does marc savard do anything of the things you accuse morozov of not doing. no. if marc savard were counted on being a guy to drive to the net, dig pucks out, and not create turnovers, he would be the worst player in the nhl. thankfully, intellingent people realize thats not where his strengths lie and now he is in the top 10 in scoring.
morozov can and will be a 30 goal player in the nhl. he needs to play with talented players in a scoring role, getting pp time. if he gets that, are you telling me he cant be as effective as a martin rucinsky, andy macdonald, ray whitney, miro satan, david vborny, anson carter, and a slew of other scorers in the nhl. that is a sad joke.
HERE WE GO Metallurg Magnitogorsk, HERE WE GO
HERE WE GO Metallurg Magnitogorsk, HERE WE GO
HERE WE GO Metallurg Magnitogorsk, HERE WE GO
HERE WE GO Metallurg Magnitogorsk, HERE WE GO
Metallurg Magnitogorsk's going to the Russian Super League championship, here we go...
I'm telling you that Morozov is a garbage player that goes 40some games without a SINGLE POINT.
Not a goal, or an assist.
You're comparisons are garbage.
Marc Savard doesn't have to work hard because he makes a great living off of what he does.
There are plenty of great players in the NHL that work hard in different ways to make a living. Morozov doesn't work at much, if at all. And he's proven it by setting milestones for consecutive pointless games.
Morozov just isn't good at much.
All you're doing is sitting here saying "I know Morozov will be a good NHL player" and you're not basing it off of any facts at all.
Enlighten me. What is it that you know that no one else seems to?
Sorry, though. Morozov isn't missed and hopefully he can stay over in RSL and be a nancy-boy for the rest of his life.
i knew it was coming. so predictable. the goal-less streak. (by the way he didnt go 40 games without a point, he went 42 games without a goal, you are totally incorrect, weird).
awesome. the only ammunition morozov bashers have against him. remember that came during a season in which the pens were the worst team in the league (not unlike this year again, surprise surprise). it came during a season where morozov was at best playing with rico fata and ryan malone but often playing with much less (if that's possible). it came during a season where morozov (gasp) led the friggin team in scoring. this is arguably the dumbest argument to explain why a player is bad, because he had a very long goal-less streak. scorers are streaky. marorozov had a terrible sterak. a terrible streak in which he had a successful season. it's pretty amazing that despite such a cold steak he managed to lead the team in scoring.
it's interesting to note that a few games into that famous streak tarnstrom was quoted in the paper saying that he thought morozov was playing unbelievable and would soon take him over for the scoring lead (it happened, only 60 or so games later).
the evidence that morozov would be a solid nhl'er? when paired with skilled players (in his history w the pens this was very short stints w mario once and with mario and kovy once) he produced and he produced very well. is this not true? there are tons of players who have played with either of those players and not produced. you're right, he is not a good enough player to play w scrubs and produce points. sure, he's good enough to play w pen scrubs and scored close to 60 points (and lead the team inscoring) but he's not good enough to play w scrubs and be an all-star. you def got me there.
more evidence? more points in the rsl over the last 2 years, a league that isnt the nhl, but has had many nhl'ers during those 2 years. he can stickhandle, skate, shoot, and pass, and he knows where to go on the when paired with smart players. he's is not tough as nails, does not hit, etc etc. fine. dont like his game, fine. think there are many players who can score who can be more useful. fine. but saying he didnt have a good year in 03/04, saying he couldnt be a scorer in the nhl (especially with the new rules), all of this stuff is nonsense.
morozov doesnt work hard because he went 42 games without a goal. honestly, this is so absurd i dont even know how to respond to it. im pretty sure it refutes itseldf.
the facts are morozov is a skilled player, morozov is probably not enough to carry a line of scrubs, morozov has excelled the only times in the nhl he has been paired with talent, morozov was the best forward on a team w kovalev, heatley, lecavalier, kovalchuk, and slave kozlov (though i admit he, like the rest of that team, disappeared in theyre only 3 playoff games).
it's cool to hate morozov and you like to be cool. that is the only explanation i can see for you (and others) to not see the player he is.
You negate yourself. If Morozov can shoot, pass and skate so well, he should be able to score no matter who he's playing with.
You say he's so talented with so much potential, yet defend the fact that he goes 42 games without a goal?
I'm sorry, most players with some sort of "talent" don't exactly suffer those streaks, and I don't consider players that need good players to set them up for success a valuable asset to my team.
If Morozov was so good, why didn't one of the other 29 NHL teams offer him something up when he was restricted? No one cares.
You people who love Morozov get a kick out of fantasising about what a great player he is.
Great players don't go 42 without a goal, and can play with whomever and be successful.
Morozov needs someone to be his crutch, he needs a Lemieux or Kovalev because he simply can't do it himself.
Also, don't feed me the RSL numbers. I've told you already. Morozov has two times the ice to work with over there. It's not N. American hockey, the physical level of play isn't there, and Nurse loves it. He doesn't have to do anything! He can stand around from the perimeter and just fire away.
Good for him. He can stay there. He's had plenty of time to prove himself in the NHL and has never done so conisistently once.
Talk about negating yourself, Jesse, but you say that the RSL is a super-defensive league and someone who scores as much as Malkin is a great player, based on that context. But then you argue that Morozov is a bum even though he's had back-to-back big scoring seasons in that same league, and change the "rules" by saying "well, I saw some of his goals, and they're perimeter goals." Big deal -- they're goals, right? And it's a super-defensive league, right?
Sorry, kid, but you can't have it both ways.
Whether it's Morozov or another native Russian, the Pens are going to need another Russian forward to play for the Pens next year to ease Malkin's transition to America and NHL hockey. Gonchar's a great start, but I'd like to see a forward too.
I'd take Morozov back. Even if he goes 40 games without a goal, which I doubt would ever happen again, he will still outscore most of the losers we have now.
I'd take Morozov back. Even if he goes 40 games without a goal, which I doubt would ever happen again, he will still outscore most of the losers we have now.
We need offense.
Hell begins to freeze over, when many of us actually consider taking Morozov back
