Penguins Update: Winning a Cup Ain’t Easy

“It didn’t seem like our energy was coming from everyone,” said player number one.

“At times we looked like a junior team out there the way we were turning the puck over, not playing the right way, and it came back to bite us,” added a teammate.

“I don’t have the answer for why the energy wasn’t there; if I did, I’d tell you, but I don’t,” their coach remarked. “But it’s not good enough. You can’t win in this league unless you have every guy ready to go and give you his best. In the playoffs, you have to have that.”

These comments could very easily have been uttered by Penguins coach Mike Sullivan and, say, Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist, to describe the recent postseason plight of our Penguins. But they weren’t. Rather they were voiced by David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly and Craig Berube to describe the way the defending Cup champ Blues bowed rather ingloriously to Vancouver in first-round action.

While we’re at, Alex Ovechkin’s Capitals…the team that ended our two-year run as Cup champs…got kayoed in the first round for the second-straight year.

It reinforced a theme that’s been floating around in the back of my mind since our Pens got bounced from the qualifying round a fortnight ago.

Winning a Stanley Cup ain’t easy.

It also got me to thinking how blessed and fortunate we truly are as fans of the black and gold. In the past dozen seasons we’ve been to the Cup Final four times, more than any other NHL team during that span. We hoisted Lord Stanley’s coveted chalice three teams, tying Chicago for the most during that period. We won back-to-back Cups, only the second team to do so since Mario Lemieux’s Pens accomplished the feat in the early 1990s and the first to achieve it in the salary-cap era.

We’ve gotten to watch some extraordinary hockey along the way. So many amazing moments. The one that stands out the most for me was Chris Kunitz’ double-overtime winner during the riveting Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.

I can still see him drifting back to the top of the left circle, stick cocked, giving Crosby a target. Watching as he one-timed Sid’s picture perfect pass over the shoulder of valiant Craig Anderson, who stood frozen in defeat like a Biblical pillar of salt. Exploding in a guttural release of the purest joy. Celebrating long into the night with the rest of my hockey buds at the Pennsbury Pub & Grille.

It just doesn’t get any better. Unless it was Bonino, Bonino, Boninoooooooo…

Why am I reliving past triumphs? As I’ve written before, every champion has a life cycle. In the 1970s our Steelers looked like they’d win Super Bowls forever. But time caught up to them, too. The Blond Bomber, Mean Joe, Franco.

With our brilliant core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang ebbing, the Penguins are definitely on the downside of a fantastic run. While I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel…there’s always hope for one last rebuild, one last stab at the Cup…there’s a lot of work to be done. In particular, the defense and supporting cast need work.

Too, there’s a question of coaching. Has Sullivan reached his expiration date? Do we need a new voice? Who’s going to serve as assistants?

Given a flat cap and the pronouncement by ownership that they plan to spend short… Well, it’s going to be one heck of a challenge to return to the mountaintop to say the least.

That shouldn’t detract from we’ve accomplished during this amazing stretch of hockey.

I, for one, have been particularly blessed not just to watch and revel in it, but to write about it as well. It’s been my joy, privilege and pleasure to do so.

Back to my Captain Obvious statement. It ain’t easy to win a Cup. I’ve included a table that shows how each team has fared in Stanley Cup Final competition since the 1967-68 expansion. Thirteen of the league’s 31 teams…roughly 42 percent…haven’t won a Cup during that 51-season span. Six haven’t so much as reached the Final during that time, including Toronto, one of the Original Six.

It’s worth noting that prior to the ’67 expansion, the Maple Leafs were the reigning league power, capturing four Cups in six seasons. Who would have ever thought they’d go this long without winning another? Certainly no one in the Queen City.

A lot of terrific hockey players, Eric Lindros, Jean Ratelle, Mats Sundin and our own Jean Pronovost to name a few, never got their names engraved on the Cup.

It reminds me of something Pens Hall-of-Famer Ron Francis once said. “You never know when or even if you’re going to get back to the Final,” he said. “Look at our ’93 team. That was our best team and we didn’t win the Cup. You just never know.”

Given our recent flameouts, it’s okay to be critical. And it’s healthy and human to hope for better things ahead. But let’s not forget to celebrate and appreciate what our guys have achieved. As Pens fans, we’ve truly been blessed.