The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we finally complete the list by naming the best #95 in Penguins’ history.
To conclude our list with #95 – the highest number anyone has worn in team history – we recall a player during the Penguins’ “X-Generation” who, while talented, never quite got to reach his full potential at the NHL level. And he’s also someone who was, unfortunately, a casualty of the 2004-05 lockout.
The best #95 in Penguins’ history is Aleksey Morozov.
© Lou Capozzola – USA TODAY NETWORK
The Penguins had high hopes for Morozov, a native of Moscow, who was drafted 24th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft – and who knew how to dangle and score goals. He scored his first goal on his first shot and his first shift – much like another famous Penguin who wore #66 – and showed some promise as his career progressed.
He was notoriously good against the New Jersey Devils, which earned him the nickname “The Devil Killer.” He scored 12 goals in 30 career games against New Jersey and 11 of them against hall-of-fame Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur – who once joked that he saw Morozov “in his nightmares” before games against the Penguins.
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The Devils aside, Morozov got better for the Penguins as the years went on. He, Mario Lemieux, and Alexei Kovalev actually formed a formidable “KLM” line during the 2002-03 season – Morozov had nine goals and 25 points in 27 games – before injuries derailed the seasons of both he and Lemieux. Kovalev was also traded that season.
Morozov was also one of the Penguins’ best players in the back half of the 2003-04 season. He started the season slow due to injuries, but he ended up putting up a respectable 16 goals and 50 points in 75 games.
Although it doesn’t seem like much on the surface, five of those were game-winning goals and three were overtime winners – including two in consecutive games – during an otherwise forgettable season for the “X-Generation” Penguins.
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By the time the 2004-05 lockout came around, Morozov had shown some value for the Penguins. Unfortunately, he would never return to Pittsburgh.
After becoming the star of his Russian superleague (RSL) team, Ak Bars Kazan, during that lockout season – and this team included NHL stars Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier, and Dany Heatley – he signed a one-year deal to remain with the team during the 2005-06 season because of the uncertainty of the situation with the NHL.
Morozov had plans to return to the Penguins in 2006-07, but after his team went on to win the championship, he made the difficult decision to stay with his world-famous “ZZM” line – which scored 51 points in 13 games during their 2006 playoff run.
He went on to captain Russia’s 2010 Olympic team, he retired after the 2013-14 season, and he is currently the president of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Over the course of his brief NHL career with the Penguins, Morozov registered 84 goals and 219 points in 451 games.
