Goodbye Sergei

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyID=2006-01-31T115939Z_01_L31783506_RTRUKOC_0_US-NHL-BRYLIN.xml&archived=False

Wont be long now. You dont critize Lou and stay here. Nice knowing you Sarge. Good luck in Washington or wherever you go.

"This is strictly off-the-record, right guys?"
"Suuurrrre Sergei..."
Too bad he doesn't recognize the loyalty Lou has shown to him.
}:-(>
Wonder what we could get for him?

File under lost in translation. Robinson wasn't sacked for one thing.

WOW. For years, Brylin has been the loyal soldier. I guess he felt his comrades weren't getting the same treatment as the rest of the grunts.

But macho, you're right. Bye-bye Brylin. He knows it, and maybe he wants it. He's been with Jersey long enough to know that words like this get you shipped out faster than you can say Pat Verbeek.

A trade by the time they play Wednesday is my guess.

wow.

I always felt Sarge looked up to Lou and admired his work as a brilliant GM.

Sarge needs to understand that Lou fessed up to his mistakes, took accountability, placed the entire 2005 debacle on his shoulders and cleaned the mess up quicker then any other GM of recent time.

If a player is signed and they do not work out or help the Devils (or any team for that matter) win then they cannot expect to be excused. Sarge should know that Malakhov and Mogilny being demoted/froced to retire or whatever was for the good of the team.

Besides Lou never ruled out Mogilny for next season. I don't rule him out for the postseason! Atleast until I hear that there is some CBA restriction that will not allow him to be called up for it.

I am dissapointed in Sarge's remarks but he was sticking up for his fellow teammates and natives.

Marty once said he would rather play in front of sold out buildings. Gomez said this past ofseason he would walk when he becomes a UFA in two years if he is not ofered what he wants. They are still with the team.

Maybe these Sarge remarks can be blown over.

File under lost in translation. Robinson wasn't sacked for one thing.

yeah i'm wondering if some of the things were mistranslated. Seems so out of character for Sarge. Besides why stick up for his fellow russians when the bums won't give him a shot at the olympics... ;)

File under lost in translation. Robinson wasn't sacked for one thing.
Exactly. I also would not be suprised if he was misquoted or they were taken out of context. Stop worrying, Sarge is not going anywhere.

The fact the writer said that "Lou sacked Larry Robinson" after the team was not playing well tells me that he does not have his facts straight and that he probably misquoted or misinterpteted what Brylin was trying to express. Thinking about it this is a BS story blown out of proportion.

Maybe he's just pissed that the Russians took Korolyuk as Zhamnov's injury replacement instead of him...

It is not Malaknob and Mogilny's fault that Brylin was not asked to be on the Russian team. He is not going to be mad at them for it.

It is not Malaknob and Mogilny's fault that Brylin was not asked to be on the Russian team. He is not going to be mad at them for it.

Mad at them? Who said that? I don't think he was mad at them (M & M) in the article. In fact, it's not blatantly obvious that he's mad at anyone in the article, but the closest guy he comes to criticize is Lou. What he said sounded more questioning that anything, and Russian translations are infamous for sounding much more terse and pointed than they really are.

Mad at them? Who said that? I don't think he was mad at them (M & M) in the article. In fact, it's not blatantly obvious that he's mad at anyone in the article, but the closest guy he comes to criticize is Lou. What he said sounded more questioning that anything, and Russian translations are infamous for sounding much more terse and pointed than they really are.

I agree with you. I did not mean to insinuate he was mad at M & M. I misinterpreted an earlier post in this thread.

Besides on the contrair he did the opposite. He expressed his dissapointment (despite how misinterpreted his words might be) on Malakhov and Mogilny getting cut from the team.

in hockey....dissent is obviously not allowed.

even in cases of gross oddness, antics or poor decisions. NJ must be a delight.

I agree with you. I did not mean to insinuate he was mad at M & M. I misinterpreted an earlier post in this thread.

Besides on the contrair he did the opposite. He expressed his dissapointment (despite how misinterpreted his words might be) on Malakhov and Mogilny getting cut from the team.

Yeah, overall I don't think there is much there to get worried about. I doubt this results in Brylin's immediate expulsion from the circle of trust.

Ouch. Nice knowing you Sarge. I'll never forget you.

Maybe if the other Russians weren't lazy and underwhelming, with attitude to boot, they'd still be here, Sarge.

Brylin is a rarity, sadly, among the Russian NHL players. Most of them are hugely talented but lazy or disinterested (or both).. and underperform, and detract from the team. See: Malakhov, Yashin, etc.

It was totally unnecessary for Brylin to speak out after we just got out of a nine game win streak.

Mad at them? Who said that? I don't think he was mad at them (M & M) in the article. In fact, it's not blatantly obvious that he's mad at anyone in the article, but the closest guy he comes to criticize is Lou. What he said sounded more questioning that anything, and Russian translations are infamous for sounding much more terse and pointed than they really are.


This translation is the flowery, sugared up version ;) I believe he used the equivalent of "an even shadier story with Mogilny" in the Russian interview. Although he did not say anything that has not been said on these boards or by most knowledgeable hockey fans.

I think it is a shady news article. I will wait for a few more days to actually see how Lou responds. I really hope the reporter misunderstood brylin.

I'll give you Richard Park for him!

And thinking about it I remember watching an Elias interview on hockeynight and he said Lou doesnt have a big hand in practices as people might think. he just watches so I am thinking it is usually the coaching staff that reports to Lou. and anyone of us watching the games know mogilny was not up to his game. Plus robinson resigned. It sounded like he had a break down. and gomez said robinson was crying and all after he resigned. He said he couldnt coach a team like this b/c of the pressure and blah blah. This just doesnt add up.

Brylin=significant devils history. i cant believe this.

I'll give you Richard Park for him!


We'll take Big Bert and the Sedins. :sarcasm:

File under lost in translation. Robinson wasn't sacked for one thing.


Because it could have been a situation where he was pressured out of the job.

mogilny was terrible as was malakov they got what they deserved, the team has been better since they left

if brylin is po'd we can get somithing in return for him

Sarge has been a Devil for life so far, and I hope Lou sees it that way.

Because it could have been a situation where he was pressured out of the job.
Yeah Lou actually kicked him on the way out, I can't believe people are believing interviews with the guy over hard speculation.

Everyone here must be brainwashed.

Yeah Lou actually kicked him on the way out, I can't believe people are believing interviews with the guy over hard speculation.

Everyone here must be brainwashed.
:handclap: Add me to the non-brainwashed list.

Lou Lamoriello is much more important than Sergei Brylin. Brylin is an interchangeable part.
Sarge has been a Devil for life so far, and I hope Lou sees it that way.Brylin hadn't blasted the organization and Lou Lamoriello "so far."

Pat Verbeek, Kirk Muller and John MacLean were also “Devils for life so far” when they were traded.

Is there a drink like Kool-Aide in Russia?

Lou Lamoriello is much more important than Sergei Brylin. Brylin is an interchangeable part.
Brylin hadn't blasted the organization and Lou Lamoriello "so far."

Pat Verbeek, Kirk Muller and John MacLean were also “Devils for life so far” when they were traded.

Is there a drink like Kool-Aide in Russia?

Vodka.

I'm just surprised that he is the only guy speak like that, maybe because he's a russian also.

The other guy who told that Mogilny sucks, just to tell you i agree at one point that he's not had best season so far but if you can see Devils stats he is still 5th in scoring and 3rd in goals, not too bad for a guy who sucks.

As i said in another thread why not thinking that Elias return help the Devils instead of demote Almo ??? In my mind NJ will miss Mogilny a lot the winning streak justifies Lou's decision but in a long stretch he will see that the Devils line-up miss goal scorer badly.

File under lost in translation. Robinson wasn't sacked for one thing.

I love how the translation makes Brylin sound like a disgruntled robot: "There were also many questions regarding the sacking of our head coach Larry Robinson."

I doubt Sergei would be on the outs just because of this article, but I'm curious if some a local reporter will ask him about the quotes. This isn't Montreal, there's a real good chance the local media might not even mention it.

Wow talk about a complete over-reaction with this thread. Its an article in the Russian press, nothing more. If he gets traded over this i would also consider Lou crazy. Even if these comments are accurate, who cares, the guy cant have an opinion? give me a break sergei is a human capable of formulating an OPINION about something, this isnt the USSR you can state what you think about a leader freely. I dont think Sergei's work ethic will change as a result of this meaningless article and i think Lou is a little above this non-sense. If he did say this, put yourself in his shoes, to the observer wouldnt you feel as though your countrymen were being specifically disrespected on this team. If it were reversed and this were Russia you would be a lot more than one or two small articles about American or Canadian players being treated unfairly by a Russian couch. i love the devils but i happen to think there is a certain level of disrespect and somewhat unfair treatment of russians within this organization at times, it does seem irrationale but at times seems real. bottom line this will go by the wasteside.

Wow talk about a complete over-reaction with this thread. Its an article in the Russian press, nothing more. If he gets traded over this i would also consider Lou crazy. Even if these comments are accurate, who cares, the guy cant have an opinion? give me a break sergei is a human capable of formulating an OPINION about something, this isnt the USSR you can state what you think about a leader freely. I dont think Sergei's work ethic will change as a result of this meaningless article and i think Lou is a little above this non-sense. If he did say this, put yourself in his shoes, to the observer wouldnt you feel as though your countrymen were being specifically disrespected on this team. If it were reversed and this were Russia you would be a lot more than one or two small articles about American or Canadian players being treated unfairly by a Russian couch. i love the devils but i happen to think there is a certain level of disrespect and somewhat unfair treatment of russians within this organization at times, it does seem irrationale but at times seems real. bottom line this will go by the wasteside.

I agree with you about this being blown out of proportion. I disagree that the Devils "mistreat" their russian players. Heck we were one of the earliest teams to use Russians (along with the Wings) and this year we gave huge contracts to Mogilny and Malakhov.

IMO this is how the "quotes" came about:

"I don't think it's normal that such a great player like Malahov is forced to quit hockey,"

Q: How did you feel about what happened to Malakhov?

A: He's been a great defenseman for many years, it's certainly surprising to see a quality hockey player basically forced out of the game.

"The Mogilny case made even less sense. I have no doubt that Mogilny could still play at the highest level but (Lamoriello) made a strong-willed decision to send him to the American Hockey League, the level of which is not comparable to the player's ability,"

Q: What happened to Alexander Mogilny? He is a living legend in Russia, yet the Devils have them on their farm club? Has he completely lost his game?

A: Yes, that is even more surprising. But I think he can still be an elite player. Lamorello made a decision in this case to improve the team. Unfortunatly that has left Alex in a league that is far below his talent.

"There were also many questions regarding the sacking of our head coach Larry Robinson. I must say that when we, the players, found out about it, we were shocked. I was shocked as well.

Q: What happened to Larry Robinson. He led the team to the cup 5 years ago, and now he has been fired for the second time in 4 years. Was it really health related, or was it just an excuse?

A: It happened very suddenly and we (the players) still aren't sure exactly what happened. It was certainly surprising as he was well liked by the players.

"Everyone knows that Lou is a tough person. With his moves, he was cutting really close to the bone, "

Q: What do the players think about Lou?

A: Lou is dedicated to winning, and sometimes that means making painful choices.

he wont be going anywhere, u watch

...this isnt the USSR...
Hell...even the USSR isn't the USSR anymore.
But I do agree that the article is being blown out of proportion. I don't honestly think Sergei will be packing his bags any time soon for another team.
}:-)>

I agree with others here that it is impossible to know what Brylin said compared to what was written based on that translation. I am a huge Brylin fan and always expected he would be a career long Devil. I don't think this one article, especially depending on how his comments were or were not distorted, would send him out the door, but with NJ and Lou Lamoriello's history, I guess it could happen. Still, I think this is being blown out of proportion. I was disappointed that he was not chosen for the Olympic team.

Interesting to note that Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record picked up on the info - see end of the Elias article:

after describing the report he notes: "Brylin could not be reached to confirm the comments."

Link to article (http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMzImZmdi ZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4NzIyOTImeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZU VFeXk2)

Here (http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060201/SPORTS/602010445/1002) is another blurb about Brylin at the end of an article about Stevens:
}:-)>
Brylin hates when his words get mixed up in translation, so he was a bit miffed to learn of a Reuters report Tuesday that indicated he was criticizing Lamoriello in a Russian newspaper. According to Reuters, Brylin said, "I have no doubt that (former Devils forward Alex) Mogilny could still play at the highest level but (Lamoriello) made a strong-willed decision to send him to the American Hockey League, the level of which is not comparable to the player's ability." Brylin said he had not spoken to that newspaper lately, but did not completely deny the quote.

Russian newspapers, especially Sport Express, tend to "interpret" player commentary a bit, so Brylin may not have said exactly the things that were translated. Plus - why are people in such a huff? Sending Mogilny down was a cap decision and he can still play at the level. And he didn't say that Lou was wrong, he just said it was a tough "strong willed" decision.

I hate it how people blow things out of proportion and start criticizing players and their loyalties, etc. etc. etc. What I read was that he felt Malakhov could still play, which he can and will probably do so in Russia with Vityaz (he liked it there), and Mogilny should be in the NHL. Malakhov was bad in the NHL, but Mogilny, even with the recent struggles, was still one of the top scorers on the team. I like how quickly people turned on him. If a healthy Elias struggled, people would have been a lot more patient with him, saying he just lost his way or something.

...Mogilny, even with the recent struggles, was still one of the top scorers on the team. I like how quickly people turned on him. If a healthy Elias struggled, people would have been a lot more patient with him, saying he just lost his way or something.
It wasn't the fact that Mogilny had been struggling prior to being sent to Albany, so much that Lou felt that his presence in the lockerroom was becoming a distraction.
You can choose to either believe or disbelieve what Lou was saying...but Lou just doesn't do these sort of things without thinking of the good of the team.
}:-)>

It wasn't the fact that Mogilny had been struggling prior to being sent to Albany, so much that Lou felt that his presence in the lockerroom was becoming a distraction.
You can choose to either believe or disbelieve what Lou was saying...but Lou just doesn't do these sort of things without thinking of the good of the team.
}:-)>

Stats also don't tell the whole story. He wasn't putting numbers up at the end and there was the game against the thrashers that we lost in OT, Mogs did a better job killing our power plays than Atlanta. All he did was cough up the puck. I don't know what Lou saw in the locker room but his last few games on the ice was AHL caliber hockey at best.

mogilny was terrible as was malakov they got what they deserved, the team has been better since they left

if brylin is po'd we can get somithing in return for him


how was mogilny "terrible" he was third in points on the team.... good job for brylin
sticking up for his fellow russians, especially for mogilny who i'm sure segei looks up to, as does any other russian player. mogilny wrote the books for russian hockey in north america..... this whole ordeal is a huge discrace to mogilny and its really sad to see such a classy guy being brought down like this....he deserves very high respect

how was mogilny "terrible" he was third in points on the team.... good job for brylin
sticking up for his fellow russians, especially for mogilny who i'm sure segei looks up to, as does any other russian player. mogilny wrote the books for russian hockey in north america..... this whole ordeal is a huge discrace to mogilny and its really sad to see such a classy guy being brought down like this....he deserves very high respect

100% agree.

how was mogilny "terrible" he was third in points on the team.... good job for brylin
sticking up for his fellow russians, especially for mogilny who i'm sure segei looks up to, as does any other russian player. mogilny wrote the books for russian hockey in north america..... this whole ordeal is a huge discrace to mogilny and its really sad to see such a classy guy being brought down like this....he deserves very high respectSlava Fetisov did more for Russian players with the way he joined the NHL than Mogilny's method. Fetisov went through the channels that allowed other Soviet players to follow him to North America.

From Robert Picarello's NHL.com article, "Starry night at Hockey Hall (http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/halloffame/starry_night.html)," November 12, 2001,When Fetisov received the call that he was going to be enducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, one of the first people he called was Lou Lamorillo, to thank the Devils General Manager for all that he did in helping Fetisov make it to the NHL.

"One of the first things I did was call Lou Lamoriello to share with him this great moment in my life," the current Devils assistant coach said. "I will never forget what he and Dr.(John) McMullen did for me. They fought for me to open the door for (Eastern) European players."

Brylin should be more worried about his fellow Devils than with his fellow Russians, and I think that he probably is.

I feel bad for Almo, but the Devils have crawled back into playoff contention by sheer force of will. On paper this Devil's roster has all sorts of problems. Why are they in 7th place, rather than floundering among the also-rans like Boston or Isles? Because they are playing like there is a gun against their head. They give 110%, leave everything on the ice and all that crap every pro-athlete talks about but rarely delivers. This team isn't talented enough to win carrying floating veterans.

Mogilny came back in part because Robinson was coaching again and just wasn't motivated after Larry resigned. Some players like Elias and Brodeur (the Tom Cruise of Louology) thrive as Devils, but winning takes sacrifice and supreme effort and that's not for everyone.

Along with Brylin being my favorite Devils player all time, I have always been a huge Mogilny fan. I hope a team (Devils or someone else) finds a way (trade, re-entry, etc.) to bring him back to the NHL (later this season or next) and he plays his last N.A hockey game in the NHL not the AHL. It is disappointing to see the situation he is in, but hard to know what actually happened. By the way, I have not seen it mentioned on these boards, but JP Barry (Mogilny's agent) was on HNIC last week and was asked about the situation between Mogilny and Lamoriello. Of course, he was very careful with what he said, but it does sound like there was a miscommunication/misunderstanding about Mogilny's role on the team, etc., from early in the season.

Back to Brylin, today's papers include Lamoriello and Brylin's responses to the reported comments:

excerpts
"Sergei Brylin admitted he was shocked when Vladimir Malakhov left the Devils and Alexander Mogilny was demoted to the minors, but the veteran forward blamed poor translation from the Russian daily newspaper Sport-Express for making it appear he was ripping general manager Lou Lamoriello....This is a good lesson for me. I don't want to have to defend myself about what is and isn't accurate." "

"Lamoriello offered a "no comment" and said he hadn't spoken to Brylin about the quotes"

Star Ledger article (http://www.nj.com/devils/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/113886270866810.xml&coll=1 )


also similar (but less info) in the Bergen Record game summary:

Record link (http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMDYmZmdi ZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4NzI4NTEmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZU VFeXk2)

Trust me...I live in Italy.

Having learned languages and seen the differences that exhist, one would be amazed at how the spin works..

During the world cup (I hate soccer, but they live and breathe it here) againt Korea (close friends of mine are Korean)...

their win against italy was criticized from anything from bribery of officials to whatever...seriously.

Newscasts would take direct interviews and translate form Korean to italian WRONG...love italians but they are incredibly insecure people.

ALWAYS use your head and never trust what is translated from another country. Words translate completely differently..and many times there are NO ways to directly translate.

It took me even longer to learn Italian due to the fact I could not stop thinking in English formats...

Sergei is a good guy..it had taken delicate subject matter that could have fallen either way and of course translation screwed it up...nothing more...

It has happened before...


bye

Alexander Mogilny

first russian to play in the nhl
first russian to score over 50 goals in a season
first russian to play in the all star game

along with pavel bure only russians to score over 70 goals in a season

hes like the russian wayne gretzky he set standards for other russian to follow.

Alexander Mogilny

first russian to play in the nhl
first russian to score over 50 goals in a season
first russian to play in the all star game

along with pavel bure only russians to score over 70 goals in a season

hes like the russian wayne gretzky he set standards for other russian to follow.

He set standards for making great quotes and lackadaisical play as well.

I LOVE Mogilny. He is one of my fave players ev-er.

But all those stats doesn't mean he automatically gets a spot in the lineup. And if you're dragging other people down with you, which seems to have been the case, then you are not for the Devils.

Alexander Mogilny

first russian to play in the nhl
first russian to score over 50 goals in a season
first russian to play in the all star game

along with pavel bure only russians to score over 70 goals in a season

hes like the russian wayne gretzky he set standards for other russian to follow.


Krutov, Makarov, Larionov and some others play before him and by the way Pavel Burer never score 70 goals also 60 was his seasons best.

But he still my favorite ;)

Alexander Mogilny

first russian to play in the nhl
first russian to score over 50 goals in a season
first russian to play in the all star game

along with pavel bure only russians to score over 70 goals in a season

hes like the russian wayne gretzky he set standards for other russian to follow.
I think I remember Sergei Pryakhin being the first Soviet trained Russian to appear in the NHL; with Calgary in '88-'89, though a few guys in the early years of the league were Russian born and then usually Western prairie raised. I also thought Sergei Federov was the first to play in an all-star game but I checked and they both played in 1992.

Almo often also likes to state that as he was born in Khabarovsk he is the first Asian to do all these things, rather than the first Russian.

I'm sure everyone on this board loves Alex. He is so talented but also an unusually entertaining and quirky personality by pro sports standards. The difference is that those of us who also love the Devs have to agree the move was correct as the team comes first for us. Those of you for whom he was not playing this year are free to be outraged as your teams were not affected, although any of them could have saved him from assignment just by calling Lou with a decent offer.

I feel bad for Almo, but the Devils have crawled back into playoff contention by sheer force of will. On paper this Devil's roster has all sorts of problems. Why are they in 7th place, rather than floundering among the also-rans like Boston or Isles? Because they are playing like there is a gun against their head. They give 110%, leave everything on the ice and all that crap every pro-athlete talks about but rarely delivers. This team isn't talented enough to win carrying floating veterans.

Mogilny came back in part because Robinson was coaching again and just wasn't motivated after Larry resigned. Some players like Elias and Brodeur (the Tom Cruise of Louology) thrive as Devils, but winning takes sacrifice and supreme effort and that's not for everyone.
That sums it up perfectly.

Krutov, Makarov, Larionov and some others play before him and by the way Pavel Burer never score 70 goals also 60 was his seasons best.


Mogilny defected as a young player and came over a year or 2 before the guys you mentioned came over with the blessing of the Soviets.

Mogilny defected as a young player and came over a year or 2 before the guys you mentioned came over with the blessing of the Soviets.


its true, they were the first to come over with russias permission..... mogilny risked alot to come play in the nhl, he was actually flown here secretly in 89 after the soviets had won the world championships and was in fear for his parents safety back in russia as the commies could have locked them up.... as for the bure goals ya i guess its them two the only russians to score 60 or over

edit..... another first for mogilny was being the first russian to captain a team, although he was only back up for lafontaine when he was injured but he actually played alot of games.... the first russian to be actual captain was yashin i think but maybe i'm wrong

Mogilny defected as a young player and came over a year or 2 before the guys you mentioned came over with the blessing of the Soviets.
They finally all started their career 1989-1990, i was sure that Makarov-Larionov-Krutov start 1 year before but Mogilny has that harder that the 3 other for sure. He almost die when he ran out of Russia. I can't translate all the story (my english sucks) I read that in a local paper some years ago.


But please recall him, Lalime clears re-entry so maybe teams dont wanna take him and keep money for trades, also i think if there is some lessons to learn Almo and Lou should take a seat and discuss. I can't imagine he wont help in the last stretch and help the team to make playoff or have a bettre spot.