Hockey's Most Underrated Player

[Gaucho]

Aleksey Morozov!
http://rushockey.com/events.php?i=sl&st ... ews&id=469

"...maybe he’ll even get a better opportunity to play to his full potential and develop into a franchise player."

Of course he will!

[Mad City Mike]

Or half-brother, maybe? I stopped reading after about one paragraph. This article is not descrbing the Aleksey Morozov who played in Pittsburgh.

[NIN]

Or half-brother, maybe? I stopped reading after about one paragraph. This article is not descrbing the Aleksey Morozov who played in Pittsburgh.

If he could keep his head together he wasnt bad. Its just that his psyche is so frail its like he is a Pee Wee player searching the stands for his daddy. If he isnt getting constant praise and support he will disapear of the face of the earth.

Also im sure they dont hit every shift in that league like they do in the NHL. The every day punishment was more than he could bare. Poor ice princess.

[Ashamed87]

I still miss 95, I gained alot of respect for him after that OT game winner against the Canes the last season he played when he pulled on the crest of his jersey as if to say "we may be the worst team in the league but I still have team pride" that was an awesome moment that year.

[topshelf]

Do we still own his NHL rights?

Or I guess a better question would be, what the hell ever happened to him? Did we offer him too little? Did he like Russia better? I was out of the loop on this story. I always liked Morozov, and believe that even he could bang some pucks in on this team.

[Pitts]

We own his rights until July 1 of this year. The Pens didn't offer him a contract when his last one ran out. He has played the last 2 seasons in Russia. I suspect someone will offer him a contract once he hits UFA status in the summer.

[Scott]

If he just could have played the Devils every game he would have been a legend in the world of hockey, maybe even all of allegheny county.

[Draftnik]

Morozov sucks. Russia doesn't want him on their Olympic team. Pittsburgh doesn't want him on their NHL team. He can pile up good stats in a no checking league, but his game is not suited for physical NHL play.

[jmh70]

Morozov would be the 2nd or 3rd best forward on this team right now. But no, CP wasn't about to break his lengthy streak of bad decisions.

[Pens4Life]

Believe me,Aleksey is a great player... The article is right on.
CP is crazy horse... We should have him in Pittcity.
If he would be here next season i predict him a 60-65 pts season
with Malkin on line.

[MrKnowNothing]

Morozov and Kraft both wanted more than they were worth, which is why the Pens didnt sign them. Both of them have an upside to them, but for the guaranteed money they wanted in this cap world, no thanks. The Penguins could take that money and guarantee themselves a solid point producer, as compared to taking a chance on one of them.

I liked Morozov a lot when he was here, but he was asking for more than he is worth.

[Sigwolf]

Morozov is exponentially better than Recchi, Leclair, Palffy and Mario at this point.

So you even believe some of the things you post on this board, or do you just sit around trying come up with the most ludicrous statements you can think of to provoke reactions?

Exponentially better? Taken to the smallest degree, exponentially better than Recchi's production would put Morozov at 480 points! What was CP thinking not signing that kind of player!

Ahhh, but it was just hyperbole to represent his superior defensive play compared to Recchi... no, that can't be it because that would be a wash at best. It must be the superior presence in front of the net during power plays that he would offer over Leclair... nope, Morozov did his best to stay away from that part of the ice. Oh, he would be much better than a season, and career NHL, point-a-game player in Palffy, who managed to come away with a +5 on *this* team. Hmmm, no Morozov's career hasn't even had a sniff at a point-a-game *season*, much less lifetime, and his last (+) year was 1999. It is not even remotely worth the time comparing him to a HOF superstar who still managed to put up nearly a point a game despite playing through the third or fourth major health problem in his career.

So what, exactly, was your point, because the outrageous exaggeration has certainly obscured it? To suggest Morozov would be better than any of these players, even at this point, is a stretch. To suggest that he would be significantly, or "exponetially" better flies in the face of all logic and past precedent.

Keep in mind I was disappointed that Aleksey was not signed this year, and certainly don't think he could *hurt* the team in any way. But none of this means that he would in some way be "better" than any of the players listed.

This has been an unbelievably disappointing season, but I can't help but shake my head when I see you, and a few others here, suggesting that this team would be so much better off without these so-called washed up old vets who just happen to account for four out the top five Penguin scorers (5 of 8 if you include Lemieux, who played in less than half the games to date).