Penguins Update: The Cup vs. Size: Is Bigger Better?

Spurred by curiosity and being an extreme hockey nerd at heart, I decided to delve deeper into the correlation between size and winning the Stanley Cup in hopes of answering a burning question.

In the Cup/size debate, is bigger necessarily better?

With that in mind, I decided look at the average weight of Cup winners dating back to when our Penguins first hoisted Lord Stanley’s chalice in 1991. The results are displayed in the table below my narrative. Average weights and rankings are courtesy of Elite Prospects.

The results generally support the notion that heavier teams ruled back in the clutch-and-grab 1990s, followed by a shift in the paradigm in the seasons immediately following the 2004-05 lockout. Carolina won the 2006 Cup with a light, fast team, a blueprint that was duplicated and perfected by Detroit, Chicago and our Penguins.

The trend was interrupted by the Kings, who won two Cups in three seasons with a heavy team that also employed a puck possession game. Very similar to this season’s Calgary Flames, who happened to be coached by none other than former LA skipper Darryl Sutter. Then the needle swung back in the other direction when the Blackhawks and Pens went small and speedy to capture the next three Cups.

Since then? There’s been an audible shift in favor of brawn beginning with the Capitals’ triumph in 2018, followed in short order by the heavy Blues and even bulkier Lightning.

By comparison, smaller teams (e.g. ones built like our Pens) are struggling to stay afloat. This season eight of the lightest 11 teams missed the playoffs. The three that made it…the Kings, Maple Leafs and Pens…all went out in the first round.

Think that’s an anomaly? Uh uh. In 2020-21, seven of the 11 lightest clubs missed the postseason. Of the four that got in, only the Bruins advanced to the second round. Skipping over ’19-20, when just about everyone made it to the qualifying round, only three of the 14 lightest teams made the playoffs in ’18-19.

Although this season’s Cup is still up for grabs it, too, will go to a heftier squad. The Lightning are the burliest bunch in the league with an average weight of 206 pounds. The Avalanche 13th at 199.

As for our Penguins? I was surprised to learn that we were the heaviest team in the league for a number of seasons during the early-to-mid ‘90s, followed by an abrupt drop in weight class during the Kevin Constantine/Euro Pens era. It should be noted that Constantine was a precursor to present Pens coach Mike Sullivan in terms of his preference for smaller, quicker players.

The black and gold returned to a more sizeable lineup during the dog days of the early 2000s and with few exceptions have mostly been middleweight or lightweight since. Especially during Sullivan’s tenure.

Speaking of, we’ve lost five straight playoff series under Sully to considerably heavier teams like the Rangers and Islanders. Reinforcing the notion that our Pens could sorely use some functional size.

To that end, a pair of sizeable 18-year-old skaters could be available when we make our selection with the 21st pick in the upcoming Entry Draft. Conor Geekie, a 6’3” 196-pound center out of Winnipeg in the Western Hockey League, tallied 24 goals and 70 points in 63 games with the Ice to go with a sterling plus-46. He’s regarded as an excellent puckhandler.

On the backend, 6’5” 225-pound Lian Bichsel is noted for his rugged play and heavy shot. The Swiss-born hammer patrols the blue line for Leksands IF (Ulf Samuelsson’s alma mater) in the Swedish Hockey League. Appropriate, given his hard-hitting style.

Either could be just the right tonic for a black-and-gold squad in need of some bulk.