Penguins Glorious Postseason Run Comes to an End

A strange thing happened last night. Our Penguins were eliminated from qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2006.

Unlike our Pens, the Islanders made the most of their second-chance opportunity by defeating the Montreal Hab-nots by a score of 4-2.

It seems so surreal, doesn’t it? I mean, the last time we missed the postseason was Sidney Crosby’s rookie season some 17 years ago. To put that in perspective, former GM Jim Rutherford still had reddish-brown hair and his ‘Canes won the Stanley Cup.

Truth be told, I’m still not sure how to process how I feel. An odd Mulligan stew of sadness tinged with emptiness, mingled with frustration and disappointment over what could’ve (and should’ve) been, not to mention a certain resignation and acceptance of the inevitable.

As they say, all good things must come to an end.

Perhaps in an effort to fill the void, I found myself reminiscing about the 2006-07 team that started our amazing run. Needless to say, it’s one of my all-time favorite black-and-gold teams.

Then 19, Crosby won his first scoring title with 120 points, which turned out to be his career high. A performance that earned Sid the first of his two Hart Trophies and the Pearson (Lindsay) Award. Evgeni Malkin defected from his homeland and burst onto the scene like a Russian supernova, tallying 85 points to garner the Calder Trophy.

A center by trade, 18-year-old Jordan Staal notched 29 goals while manning the unfamiliar left wing slot, including a rookie-record seven shorthanded goals! They were aided and abetted by fellow young guns and home-grown talents Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Ryan “Bugsy” Malone, Michel Ouellet and peppery “superstar” Max Talbot.

On defense, with 14 goals and 59 points former first-round pick Ryan Whitney of Spittin’ Chiclets fame was an emerging stud. Wrecking machine Brooks Orpik and steady shot-blocker Rob Scuderi provided muscle and a stay-at-home presence. Waiting in the wings…a mercurial 19-year-old from Montreal named Kris Letang.

Between the pipes, Gumby-esque phenom Marc-Andre Fleury appeared in 67 games and backstopped the team to 40 wins.

First-year general manager Ray Shero wisely surrounded his young charges with a veteran supporting cast that included the “Sarge” Sergei Gonchar, ’90s black-and-gold Cup hero Mark Recchi and abrasive pot-stirrer Jarkko Ruutu. At the trade deadline Shero imported power forward and leader extraordinaire Gary Roberts (“Scary Gary” to foes) and “Big” Georges Laraque, the NHL’s reigning heavyweight champ and the Ryan Reaves of his day.

Talk about a team burgeoning with promise and potential! Following four down seasons, I can’t begin to express how much I loved this bunch and how excited I was about our future. On a personal level, it inspired me to put the finishing touches on what would become my first book, Total Penguins.

That spring, during our first playoff appearance since 2001, we were taken to school by the battle-hardened Senators, who would go on to lose the Stanley Cup Final to the Ducks. But I knew in my heart this team was destined for greatness. You could just sense it.

Indeed, in ’07-08 we made it to the Final, only to be defeated by the powerhouse Red Wings. The very next season we dethroned the defending champs to capture our first Cup since ’92!

Basking in the afterglow, then-senior advisor Eddie Johnston gushed, “We could have clubs for the next eight or nine years like this.”

Veteran winger and current Wild GM Bill Guerin, a key pickup at the trade deadline, agreed. “This team is set up for a great future,” he observed. “These guys are all in their early twenties.”

EJ and Billy G proved to be prescient.

What a glorious run it’s been.

Peering into the abyss that lies dead ahead, we’re liable to be facing a long-delayed and much-needed tear-down and rebuild, similar to what we experienced in the early 2000s. It could be a long (long) time before we’re good again. There’ll be plenty of time for wailing and gnashing of the teeth in the days, months and years ahead.

As the Bible states in Ecclesiastes, there’s a time and season for everything.

For now, I wanted to pay homage to the team that started it all.