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Canadian_Yzerman_Fan

Will Malkin Ever Develop a Fedorov Complex?

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I was watching the Pens/Habs game earlier, and while the constant CrosbyFest was going on I got thinking... Will Malkin ever get sick of playing second fiddle on that team?

I know he's locked up for a lot of years still and is probably still humbled by his youth, but I'm thinking at some point he's either going to demand a trade take his opportunity as a UFA. As the title of my thread implies, we saw it happen with fellow Russian Fedorov when he realized he would always be in Yzerman's shadow.

Maybe he's already sick of Crosby as much as people around here? (I'm not sure that's possible)

What do you all think?

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Fedorov started his career as the clear cut second line center behind an already established superstar in Yzerman. Malkin started his career just as good, if not better, than Crosby. Fedorov established himself as a superstar after a few seasons when Yzerman missed 24 games with a knee injury; Malkin established himself as a superstar as soon as Crosby did. After Fedorov established himself, he took over the top role and Yzerman took the second line without complaint. Malkin and Crosby are both top talents, and both want to be paid like top talents, so it would not be surprising to see Malkin end up out of town after this contract or the next one, simply because Pittsburgh can't afford to put that much cap space into two players.

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Its a bad analogy or comparison.

Crosby isn't a better player than Malkin, though time will tell on whether that changes or not. Second, they're basically the same age chronologically and with the team. The only fair part of your comparison is that you've got English speaking as first language captains, and I don't really think that was the issue with Feds and don't expect as much from Malkin.

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Malkin doesn't strike me as the type of person that wants to be the "face of the franchise" on a team. He seems fairly comfortable in his current situation.

Fame is overrated anyway. Give me the fortune and a hot wife and I'll be more than satisfied.

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Fedorov started his career as the clear cut second line center behind an already established superstar in Yzerman. Malkin started his career just as good, if not better, than Crosby. Fedorov established himself as a superstar after a few seasons when Yzerman missed 24 games with a knee injury; Malkin established himself as a superstar as soon as Crosby did. After Fedorov established himself, he took over the top role and Yzerman took the second line without complaint. Malkin and Crosby are both top talents, and both want to be paid like top talents, so it would not be surprising to see Malkin end up out of town after this contract or the next one, simply because Pittsburgh can't afford to put that much cap space into two players.

While I fully agree with your assessment and conclusions it is still funny how you mention "Malkin started his career just as good, if not better, than Crosby".

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Its a bad analogy or comparison.

Crosby isn't a better player than Malkin, though time will tell on whether that changes or not. Second, they're basically the same age chronologically and with the team. The only fair part of your comparison is that you've got English speaking as first language captains, and I don't really think that was the issue with Feds and don't expect as much from Malkin.

Pretty much.

Malkin is a good kid though. I have no doubt that if he were a Red Wing we would absolutely love him from the start. I'm just thankful they awarded him with the Conn Smythe and not what's his face.

Fedorov was without a doubt the most naturally talented Red Wing in this day's modern era of Red Wings success. Lidstrom is a close second. I have yet to see anybody come even close to those two.

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Guest micah

Pretty much.

Malkin is a good kid though. I have no doubt that if he were a Red Wing we would absolutely love him from the start. I'm just thankful they awarded him with the Conn Smythe and not what's his face.

Fedorov was without a doubt the most naturally talented Red Wing in this day's modern era of Red Wings success. Lidstrom is a close second. I have yet to see anybody come even close to those two.

This. There was never really any discussion about who was the better hockey player, Feds or Stevie - Feds was the man. There are still a fair number of people who think Malkin is a better player than Crosby. He isn't, but he is darn good, and closer to Crosby than stevie was to Sergei.

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Pretty much.

Malkin is a good kid though. I have no doubt that if he were a Red Wing we would absolutely love him from the start. I'm just thankful they awarded him with the Conn Smythe and not what's his face.

Fedorov was without a doubt the most naturally talented Red Wing in this day's modern era of Red Wings success. Lidstrom is a close second. I have yet to see anybody come even close to those two.

Im sorry but I honestly think the most naturally SKILLED player is Datsyuk. He does things NO ONE can do night in and night out, "Dats all Folks".

(and Feds was my boy by the way, I just think Dats is a progidy)

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Im sorry but I honestly think the most naturally SKILLED player is Datsyuk. He does things NO ONE can do night in and night out, "Dats all Folks".

(and Feds was my boy by the way, I just think Dats is a progidy)

Actually I was just thinking that Datsyuk has a very good chance of being near Lidstrom when it's all said and done in regards to talent.

Yeah Datsyuk can do tricks and can really entertain a crowd and will probably be an NHL YouTube legend but Fedorov had a lot more substance in his game. The guy averaged a point per game for 13 seasons while being the best defensive player on the team in most of those years.

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Guest micah

Im sorry but I honestly think the most naturally SKILLED player is Datsyuk. He does things NO ONE can do night in and night out, "Dats all Folks".

(and Feds was my boy by the way, I just think Dats is a progidy)

Dats' skills have not resulted in him being the force that Lidstrom, Feds or Crosby are (were). While Dats is an outstanding two-way forward, he isn't as offensivly or defensively gifted as Sergei was. He will likely play at a high level longer than Feds did, but that's about it.

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Im sorry but I honestly think the most naturally SKILLED player is Datsyuk. He does things NO ONE can do night in and night out, "Dats all Folks".

(and Feds was my boy by the way, I just think Dats is a progidy)

Datsyuk is a flashier player and a better stick handler than Fedorov, but skating is a skill and even though Pavel is a very good skater, Fedorov crushes him in this department. Fedorov's top gear was higher and his ability to accelerate to that top gear was absolutely world-class. Plus, Fedorov was a more natural goal scorer but still a brilliant playmaker. Have to give this one to Sergei overall.

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True say to all of you, except the part of Dats not being as defencive as feds thats debatable. I more ment at the end of there careers here...this post season has been a good one for Dats so I hope he keeps building on his legacy here :thumbup: I would love it if he could be spoken among Feds, Lids and Yzerman!

(and sorry I made this a Dats thread for a bit)

Edited by 13dangledangle

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Guest Lidstromboli

does the fedorov complex include the selke trophies :ph34r:

Edited by Lidstromboli

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Sorry to continue the hijack, but a couple of things pop out to me here.

1) As much as I love Datsyuk (and believe me, I do), he's nowhere near the talent that Fedorov was. I won't rehash at length what's already been said, but Fedorov in his prime was the best player in the NHL. He could, quite literally, do it all, and do it all better than anyone else. His head for the game was only overshadowed by his physical gifts.

2) I know this is nitpicking, but I can't even put Lidstrom in the same category as Sergei in terms of pure "talent." Lids is one of the smartest players ever to grace the game, and his play style reflects this. He's not the biggest, strongest, fastest, and doesn't have any discernible skill (e.g. a blistering slapshot) that puts him ahead of the competition. His game is all about his head. Sergei, while not on the level of Lidstrom, still had an insanely high hockey IQ AND physical gifts few could approach. I'm not saying Fedorov was a better player, necessarily, only that based on pure talent, I've yet to see Red Wing approach what #91 had in his prime.

As for Malkin, I doubt it will be an issue. The team continues to win, and Crosby and Malkin's individual successes are largely helped by the success of the other. He's also far less comfortable with English than Feds was, and seems to enjoy the limelight a fair bit less. I honestly never saw Fedorov leaving as a measure of dissatisfaction with living in Stevie's considerable shadow, and more a measure of a rough period in his life (women will do funny things to a guy's head, no?) that led to a decision he stated regretting later.

If anything, Malkin should take a lesson from Fedorov and not mirror his mistakes. He's got a great thing going, and I hope/think he knows that. As much as I dislike Crosby for his hype, I like Malkin and his game. The hockey fan in me hopes they continue their success together. It's always more fun as a fan when you have a worthy adversary to root against, Malkin is a pretty likable foe and they both are sure fun to watch play.

Edited by Uncle Danny

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Just an addendum to the English portion of what I typed. It's also worth noting that the landscape in the US for Russian immigrants is far different today than it was during Fed's time in Detroit. Fedorov defected from the Soviet Union at a time when I'll bet 99% of our country had never met an off-the-boat Russian immigrant. The influx of Russians was beginning, but most of the people coming to the US from USSR at the time were families with children and not 22 year old kids like Sergei... and I'm quite sure Detroit was not one of their main destinations. This almost certainly led to some of the brooding and sense of isolation that were hallmarks of #91's stay in Detroit.

Flash forward 20 years, and all those Russian children are now adults in the US (think: Larionov's daughters) and make for a much softer landing for kids moving across the planet to play in the NHL. There is also (thank you, Igor and Slava!) a much wider acceptance of and appreciation for Russian players than there was in the early 90's.

I guess this was just a long winded way of saying that I think the larger Russian communities available today in the US, coupled with a more Euro friendly atmosphere in the hockey world will help Malkin to avoid some of the pitfalls Sergei could not. His road should be easier, and that's a good thing.

Edited by Uncle Danny

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