Who should be on the Penguins' Quarter-Century Team?

01/06/2025 11:15 AM

Getting early entries into the Penguins' quarter century team

The NHL is beginning to announce each franchise's "quarter century" team for this early part of the 21st century. Each team is getting six forwards, four defensemen and two goalies.

Who should be on the Penguins' team?

Unfortunately, it's not going to be a lot of B.C. (Before Crosby). The lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season, and the subsequent drafting of Crosby in '05 sets a clear break for before and after. And for the early parts, now that the century is going on 25 years, there's not a lot from back then that still stacks up to all that's happened in the 20 years since. Mario Lemieux only played 170 games in the 2000's. Is that enough to put him in anyways? Well, maybe, since he's a unique case. Alexei Kovalev (266 games), Martin Straka (222) and Jaromir Jagr (109) are in the same boat. Great all-time players, but minimal impact in Pittsburgh in the 21st century.

With that disclaimer and reminder out of the way, here's the Pensburgh stab at the Penguins' Quarter Century team.

First team

Forwards

Sidney Crosby
Evgeni Malkin
Chris Kunitz

Defensemen

Kris Letang
Sergei Gonchar

Goalie

Marc-Andre Fleury

Forwards: It's no surprise for the top two picks, Crosby and Malkin have combined for going on 3,000 points (2,966 as of today) as far and away the best and longest lacking 1-2 punch in the NHL's salary cap era. They've led the Penguins to three Stanley Cups. They're all-timers and legends that fans dream of seeing once in a lifetime and Pittsburgh got two of them at the exact same time, a truly amazing alignment. Jake Guentzel had more goals, assists and points than Kunitz, but Kunitz gets the nod to the first team on this list for playing more games and being up 3-1 in Cups on Guentzel. It just feels more right to put a key player who was on the team from 2009-17 on this list rather than one on it from 2017-24, considering Kunitz's window lined up with more memorable and better times.

Defense: Letang is third in games played and points for the franchise in this century, he's a shoo-in as a bedrock franchise player and legit No. 1 defenseman for over a decade. Gonchar only played five seasons with the Pens, but remains seventh in assists (and 10th in points) for the franchise in this century. His impact and ability as a power play general was unmatched, as were his contributions to raise the Pens up to championship-level in the late 2000's.

Goalie: Lists like these are nice to celebrate those who deserve to be celebrated and tied to a franchise. Fleury was the rare No. 1 overall pick as a goalie and lived up to the billing. He was instrumental in several deep playoff runs and will be the smiling face many think about for years to come when one thinks about a Pittsburgh goalie.

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Second team

Forwards

Jake Guentzel
Phil Kessel
Mario Lemieux

Defensemen

Brooks Orpik
Brian Dumoulin

Goalie

Matt Murray

Forwards: Bryan Rust has over double the points in the 2000's that Mario Lemieux has and would be a worthy inclusion, but dammit, Lemieux is going on my Quarter Century team. His return from retirement at age 35 while sitting out three seasons and instantly returning as one of the absolute best forwards in the game is the stuff of absolute legends. And what is this type of list for it not legends? Lemieux's late-career coda played perfectly into passing the torch to Crosby and the next golden Penguin generation. Guentzel and Kessel were apart of that later golden era, Kessel played the best hockey of his career in the 2016-18ish zone that aligned nicely with the Pens' last championship runs.

Defensemen: Orpik was the franchise's first draft pick in the 2000's and he ended up playing 703 games, winning a Cup and providing some physicality and defensive back-bone to a high-flying team that wasn't always thinking about the rougher and tougher aspects of the game. Similarly, Dumoulin was the eventual Orpik replacement as Letang's partner and while he wasn't nearly as physical, Dumoulin ended up being a defensive force in his own right by use of his stick, gap defending and excellent hockey IQ to provide a defensive conscious to the Pens for many years. It's fitting the first team defense is the high-flying offensive defensemen and the second team is relegated to the steady, defensive-minded players who helped back them up.

Goalie: Murray's peak was short, but his overall stats couldn't be beat in the 2016-19ish range. Without him and his level of play as the absolute best playoff goalie in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins don't win either of their last two Stanley Cups. That's good enough to be recognized with a spot on the Quarter Century team.

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Based on stats, the snubs would be Bryan Rust, who has the longevity but not the sheer star power of the forwards who made the Quarter Century team. That's the trouble with being a Penguin, with so many generational talents it takes a lot to stand out. Similarly, would have loved to find a spot for Patric Hornqvist but there wasn't enough room. Same with Ryan Malone, had there been the cap space to re-sign him in 2008, one gets the feeling he would have stuck around long enough to make a list like this. Alas. (Same with Jordan Staal being an extension away from getting the time needed to deepen his importance to the franchise).

On defense, feeling pretty good about where the cut line is. Rob Scuderi spent a lot of games with the Pens and Ryan Whitney's stats look nice thanks to a few good years but I'm OK with neither of them being on a Quarter Century team. And then after that it's not like there's too many extraordinary blueliners who spent a significant amount of time in Pittsburgh.

In goal, Tristan Jarry has more wins and shutouts than Murray, but post-season accomplishments and results make it an open and shut case for which goalie to pick to join Fleury.

Who would make your Quarter Century team for the Penguins?