The history of the Pittsburgh Penguins is filled with anomalies and precursors.
Consider, for example, the strange case involving three of the team’s brightest stars—Michel Briere, Mario Lemieux, and Sidney Crosby. If you add the uniform numbers of Briere (21) and Mario (66), it equals Sid’s 87.
Stuff like that.
Along those lines, the paths of our three Stanley Cup winners and our present Penguins have followed an eerily familiar trail.
I’m not a believer in signs and omens. And the last thing I want to do is jinx us. But here are some of the remarkable similarities I’ve noted between this season and Cup years past.
Stormy Weather
It hardly was a case of smooth sailing for our Stanley Cup teams. Each endured struggles of titanic proportions during the regular season before catching fire in time for the playoffs.
Fresh off a dismal 4-9-1 skid that culminated in a disastrous 6-2 loss at Calgary, the 1990-91 club stood at a pedestrian 32-30-4 on March 1. Rumors that the players had tuned out coach “Badger” Bob Johnson swirled in the air.
The 1991-92 squad endured a similar slide, stumbling through a ghastly 5-15-4 midseason swoon. With his gifted but underachieving group chaffing under the stewardship of Hall-of-Famer Scotty Bowman, then-GM Craig Patrick met with the players to clear the air.
Following a trip to the Finals in 2008, the ‘08-09 team grew decidedly stale under Michel Therrien. An ugly loss to Toronto on St. Valentine’s Day dropped our record to an unsightly 27-25-5—and cost “Iron Mike” his job.
This season? The Pens sat virtually in cold storage at 15-14-3 on December 19 following a four-game winless jag. As recently as January they were on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Let’s Make a Deal
In each of the Cup seasons, a big trade or series of transactions helped restore the Pens’ sagging on-ice fortunes.
In the spring of ‘91, Patrick pulled off “the Trade,” acquiring Ron Francis, Grant Jennings and rawhide tough Ulf Samuelsson from Hartford. The Pens responded with a 9-3-2 stretch run.
Next season, the Hall-of-Fame GM engineered an epic three-way deal with the Flyers and Kings. Quicksilver defenseman Paul Coffey and scoring ace Mark Recchi departed. Jeff Chychrun, Kjell Samuelsson, rugged Rick Tocchet, and backup goalie Ken Wregget joined the locals. Following a brief adjustment period, the black and gold went 12-5-1 to enter the postseason on a roll.
Fast-forward to 2008-09. Ray Shero traded for feisty Chris Kunitz and veteran leader Bill Guerin, and plucked gritty PK specialist Craig Adams off the waiver wire. The Pens responded with a scorching 15-2-3 mark over their final 20 games.
Our present run of success? Trace it to Carl Hagelin’s arrival from Anaheim on January 16. And a passel of savvy moves by GM Jim Rutherford.
Who’s in Charge?
The back-to-back Cup winners of the early ‘90s didn’t experience an in-season coaching change. However, each club was working under a new bench boss.
After guiding the Pens to their first-ever Cup in his inaugural season, Johnson fell gravely ill. While the beloved coach waged—and tragically lost—his courageous battle with brain cancer, Bowman assumed the helm in the fall of ‘91.
The transition from the fatherly Johnson to the gruff Bowman? Anything but silky smooth. Thanks, in part, to some soothing by Patrick, the team and coach eventually embraced. Bowman’s brilliance emerged; the Pens won 11-straight playoff games to capture their second Cup.
This season’s coaching change had much in common with the ‘08-09 switch. Weirdly so. In both cases, coaches who favored a more conservative approach were replaced with attack-oriented skippers.
Each time the waddling waterfowl took wing. The Pens wove some “Bylsmagic” with an 18-3-4 homestretch before capturing the ’09 Cup. Inspired by Mike Sullivan’s damn-the-torpedoes approach, our boys punctuated the ’15-16 regular season with a stunning 14-2 flourish.
Did I mention our initial Stanley Cup team was up for sale? Just like this one.
Does this mean the Penguins are destined to win it all?
Hardly. Teams have rallied from 0-2 deficits to win the Cup on numerous occasions. Including our Pens in ‘09. With the series shifting to San Jose for Games 3 and 4, the Sharks—talented, resourceful and well-coached—aren’t dead in the water by a long shot.
Still…
An artisan friend, Ray Pietrangeli, mentioned an odd coincidence to me a few weeks back. He said he’d been out of town on business each time the Pens won a Cup.
Where is Ray now?
Yep.
Out of town on business.
Hey Rick,
I agree with you 100% about the Carl Hagelin deal being the impetus that changed the direction of the team. Yes, the coaching change in December was a big deal, but the Hagelin deal in my opinion was a double bonus. The deal removed a lazy paycheck collector, David Perron, from the team and brought in an extremely competitive player who wants to win any way that is needed.
The first game Hagelin played I noticed a big change in players around him on the team. His going all out on every shift every night infected the team, especially the rookies.
Now if Rutherford could get something in return for the paycheck collector named Beau Bennett, that would be amazing!
Hey Phil,
I felt exactly the same way. Up until JR acquired Hagelin, I honestly didn’t think we’d make the playoffs.
As soon as he arrived, there was an audible shift. Like someone literally dragged a stereo needle across a phonograph record.
I think the other personnel changes—acquiring Daley, calling up the kids—helped point the team in the right direction. But it all seemed to jell with Hagelin.
Like you, I was amazed at the difference he’s made. He brings so much speed. And he handles the puck so well. He creates a ton of time and space—not to mention options—for his linemates. A complete player.
By comparison, Perron was such a poor fit. He was a plodding skater. Didn’t handle the puck very well, either. When his linemates zigged, he zagged. He just seemed totally out of step.
I was quite surprised when he starting producing with Anaheim (8 goals, 20 points in 28 games with the Ducks). But a friend…I believe The Other Rick…explained that Perron’s half-court game (to draw a basketball analogy) is more in sync with the Western Conference, while Hagelin’s full-court press fits the Eastern Conference.
Anyway, I’m sure glad JR made the swap.
I agree wholeheartedly about Bennett.
Hi Rick,
We lost a close one last night. I have spent the last 30 minutes reading other sites for “Fans” reaction to the game. To say the least,I am a loss for words. Did we watch the same game last night? Does NBC and HNIC broadcast two different games? Hardly… These so called knowledgeable fans complained that Murray was the sole reason for the 3 goals against, and MAF would have stopped them all, plus they talk like the Sharks completely destroyed the Pen’s and we are going to lose the cup ! …Where do these people come from ? Here is my take on the game…
Point 1. We lost by 1 shot….in over time…and it was a PERFECT shot. Same exact thing happened in the Capitals series.Every goalie can be beaten with a
perfect shot. Not Murray’s fault. We easily could have won that game in OT.
Point 2. We out shot the Sharks by a wide margin and held the territorial advantage over all. In a must win game for the Sharks,yes they played better,especially Brent Burns,but they did not dominate us like they did the Blues.The Pen’s were not being pushed around by the Sharks and a lot of their shots were not getting thru to Murray.The Sharks still can not beat our team defense.That fact should worry the Sharks brain trust.
Point 3.The first goal scored by the Sharks…Murray was completely screened and had NO CHANCE to stop it. Not his fault. Watch the replay !
Point 4. We killed 3 minutes and 59 seconds of a 4 minute double minor power play that was supposed to destroy us. The goal that went in was a soft one. Agreed ! It was a lucky shot that should have been stopped. But what these other ” intelligent fans ” apparently fail to see is that Murray stopped at least 5 quality scoring chances during that previous 3 minutes and 59 seconds and no way would MAF been able to do that !! Murray’s height advantage alone helped in that power play situation.That was a great PK !!
Point 5. Our fourth line,Matt Cullen outplayed Joe Thornton’s line on several occasions last night and kept them in their own zone for long periods of time. That would worry me if I was the coach of the Sharks.
Finally Rick, for 3 games into the series ,I think it is apparent which team is the better and the Sharks are in trouble. Barring any serious injuries,we should take the game on Monday and win it home in game 5 with a demoralized Sharks team. Last night’s game was a win for the Shark’s but a lot of their weaknesses have been exposed.Pen’s played well…Can they do better absolutely and they will.
Let’s Go Pens.
Hey Jim,
I just have a moment, so this will be fairly brief. But I wanted to respond to your comments.
Spot on, my friend. I couldn’t agree more. Except for the Ward goal, which we’d obviously like to have back, I thought Murray looked sharp and played a strong game. Totally agree with your assessment of the first and third Sharks goals. Not the kid’s fault at all.
We all knew the Sharks would give it everything they had. But, honestly, if that’s the best they’ve got…I’m not too concerned. Yes, San Jose did a better job of posting up and keeping the Pens pinned in their zone. But they were hardly dominant.
Maybe the crappy ice conditions played a part. I didn’t think the Pens totally shifted into top gear. A little too much east-west, too. Yet they still carried the play for chunks of the game. If Bonino hadn’t taken that unfortunate (and accidental) high-sticking penalty, we may well have won.
Frankly, the Polak-Dillon defensive pair is vulnerable. We just need to exploit them.
Anyways, I couldn’t agree more with your thoughts … 🙂
PS–Excellent observation about the Cullen line. I thought they dominated Thornton’s line…especially early on.