All-Time Teams: Penguins

From one end of Pennsylvania to the other, today's team is tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the most Stanley Cup victories among non-Original Six franchises. Here's the all-time roster for the Pittsburgh Penguins:

The Penguins have won five Stanley Cups, including back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992 and another back-to-back pair in 2016 and 2017. Pittsburgh has lost just once in the Final - to Detroit in 2008. They won the rematch a year later.

1st Line

Left Wing - Kevin Stevens Two-time 50-goal scorer is seventh in Penguins history with 260 goals and his 110 power play tallies are tied for fourth. A two-time Stanley Cup winner and 1st-team NHL All-Star in 1991-92, Stevens ranks eighth among Penguins with 555 points and his 1,048 penalty minutes are tops in team annals.

Center - Mario Lemieux One of the greatest all-around players in NHL history, Mario Lemieux saved the Penguins franchise twice - once after joining the struggling team as the first overall pick in the 1984 draft, and again when he rescued the club from bankruptcy as an owner. "Super Mario" leads all Pens with 690 goals, 1,033 assists, and 1,723 points - the eighth-most in NHL history. Injuries and Hodgkin's disease limited Lemieux to 915 NHL games but he made the most of them, posting the second-highest goals per game average (0.754) and the second-highest points per game average (1.883) of all-time.

Right Wing - Jaromir Jagr One of four players to post 1,000-plus points for the Penguins, Jaromir Jagr would have a Hall of Fame career on his Pittsburgh stats alone. The third-leading scorer in franchise history, Jagr played for eight other NHL teams over his 24-year career but won all five of his scoring titles as a Penguin. The 1999 Hart trophy winner ranks third in NHL history with 1,733 games played and second to Wayne Gretzky with 1,921 points.

2nd Line

Left Wing - Martin Straka Pittsburgh's first round pick in 1992, Martin Straka is tenth in Penguins history with 165 goals and his 126 even-strength goals are the team's eighth-highest total. The Czech forward posted 442 points in 560 games for the Pens, including a career-high 95 points in 2000-01.

Center - Sidney Crosby The most hyped prospect to enter the NHL since Eric Lindros, Sidney Crosby has been exactly as advertised over his 15-plus seasons in the Steel city. The two-time scoring champion and two-time MVP has captained three Stanley Cup-winning squads and worn the 'C' longer than any player in Pittsburgh history. "Sid the Kid" ranks second only to Lemieux in most offensive categories and has played the most games in franchise history.

Right Wing - Jean Pronovost Four-time 40-goal scorer set career highs with 52 goals and 52 assists for Pittsburgh in 1975-76. With 316 goals, Pronovost ranks fifth in franchise history - behind only legends named Lemieux, Crosby, Jagr and Malkin. He ranks seventh in team annals with 603 points, sixth in games played with 753, and eighth in point shares with 58.

3rd Line

Left Wing - Chris Kunitz An undrafted free agent out of Ferris State, Chris Kunitz played 1,022 games over his 15 years in the NHL. The four-time Stanley Cup champion scored over 20 goals in a season seven times, including the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. He ranks ninth in Pittsburgh annals with 169 goals and third in plus/minus with a +126 rating. I considered him for the Ducks out of necessity, but he's a much better fit in Pitt.

Center - Evgeni Malkin The second overall pick in 2004, Evgeni Malkin has thrived for fifteen seasons playing behind Sidney Crosby. A three-time Stanley Cup winner, "Geno" has also won two scoring titles, a Calder trophy, a Conn Smythe trophy, and a Hart trophy after posting his first 50-goal season largely in Crosby's absence. Malkin ranks third in franchise history in games played and assists, behind only Sid and Mario.

Right Wing - Rick Kehoe The fifth-leading point scorer in Penguins history, Rick Kehoe ranks just below Jean Pronovost on the team's goal-scoring list with the sixth-best total of 312. A six-time 30-goal scorer, Kehoe broke out in 1980-81, scoring 55 goals - tied for fourth in the NHL with that Gretzky guy. His 88 points that season, combined with taking just three minor penalties, earned him the Lady Byng trophy.

4th Line

Left Wing - Lowell MacDonald A two-time All-Star and three-time 30-goal scorer, Lowell MacDonald ranks eighth in Penguins' annals with a +77 plus/minus rating and his 140 goals are the 18th-highest total in team history. Serious knee and shoulder injuries limited Lowell to just 328 games for Pittsburgh over seven seasons from 1970-1978. He won the Masterton trophy for perseverance after his first all-star season of 1973 and set a career high with 43 goals a season later.

Center - Syl Apps The son of a Maple Leaf legend, Syl Apps Jr. posted more NHL points than his Hall of Famer father, and his 1.01 points per game average in Pittsburgh nearly matched his dad's 1.02 average in Toronto. Apps Jr. ranks seventh in Penguins history with 349 assists and tenth in team annals with an even 500 points. His plus/minus rating of +90 ranks sixth in franchise annals.

Right Wing - Rob Brown An NHL All-Star in 1989, Rob Brown finished fifth in the league with 115 points that season. He remained a point-a-game player in 1989-90, but Pittsburgh traded him to the Whalers at the end of the year for Scott Young. Returning to the Steel city in 1997, Brown totaled 342 points in 414 games for the Pens. His 68 power play goals for Pittsburgh are the eighth-most in team history. 

 

Spares - Mike Bullard, Ron Schock

This team is loaded with legendary centers so I tried to add some wingers as backups. However Bob Errey couldn't beat Bullard, whose 360 points in 382 games were good enough to overlook his awful -114 plus/minus rating. Ron Schock ranks 13th in team history with 404 points, and his 225 even-strength assists are eighth in team annals. He served as Penguins' captain for four seasons. Alex Kovalev and Joe Mullen could have been wedged onto this roster but they're better served in a top-six role on other teams.

Defense Pair 1

Kris Letang - Ron Stackhouse

Pittsburgh's leader in defensive point shares, Kris Letang is sixth among all Penguins players in total point shares with 90.6. The two-time Stanley Cup champion is ninth in Pittsburgh history with 539 points, and only five all-time great players rank ahead of him on the team's assists list. Stackhouse is second in DPS with a 34.6 score and followed up a 60-point season in 1974-75 with a 60-assist, 71-point season in 1975-76. An All-Star in 1980, he ranks third behind Letang and Paul Coffey among 'burgh blueliners with 343 points.

Defense Pair 2

Larry Murphy - Brooks Orpik

Murphy played for six teams in his Hall of Fame career but his services were needed for this roster more than the Capitals or Red Wings. The four-time Stanley Cup winner notched 223 assists and posted 301 points in 336 games for Pittsburgh, averaging 0.90 points per game. Orpik was far less offensive-minded, posting just 132 points in 703 games for the Pens. The two-time Cup champion ranks third in team annals with 29.2 defensive point shares and tenth with 734 penalty minutes.

Defense Pair 3

Olli Maatta - Darius Kasparaitis

Currently a Los Angeles King, Olli Maatta was the Penguins' first-round pick in 2012. In six seasons with the team the Finnish rearguard compiled 107 points, 24 point shares, and a plus/minus rating of +61. Kasparaitis was a hard-hitting defenseman over 14 NHL seasons, primarily for the Penguins. His 17.3 DPS ranks just behind Maatta and he scored fewer points in more games. But he's the most decorated defenseman among the few remaining players that qualified for this roster.

 

Spare - Dave Burrows

Dave Burrows is fifth among Penguins blueliners with 25.2 point shares over his eight seasons in Pittsburgh. His 0.23 points per game average is slightly higher than Kasparitis' and Orpik's but the three-time All-Star never scored 30 points in a season and finished his Penguins career with a -55 rating.

 

Goalies

Starter - Marc-Andre Fleury

Backup - Tom Barrasso

The first overall pick in 2003, Marc-Andre Fleury is first in Penguins history with 375 wins, 44 shutouts, and a 2.58 goals against average. A three-time Stanley Cup champion, "Flower" played for five finalists including the expansion Golden Knights in 2018. Barrasso's numbers were better in Buffalo - where he won a Calder trophy, a Jennings trophy, and a Vezina trophy. In 12 seasons with the Penguins, Barrasso won two Stanley Cups and earned 77.7 point shares - the seventh highest total in team history. He ranks second to Fleury in wins, shutouts, and games played by a Penguin goalie.

Head Coach: Dan Bylsma  Captain: Sidney Crosby

Dan Bylsma edged out Eddie Johnston for the most wins by a Penguins head coach and has a comfortable lead over Mike Sullivan in winning percentage. In another season or two Sullivan - a two-time Cup winner as Pens head coach - might bump Bylsma out of this role but for now it belongs to the bench boss of the 2009 champions.

If you're wondering why I didn't name Mario Lemieux the  Penguins' All-Time captain it's because Sidney Crosby has worn the 'C' one season longer than he has. Sorry, I don't make the rules. (Actually I do.)

 

 

I hope you'll join us tomorrow for our next All-Time Team, the St. Louis Blues.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

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