Depth players: Historical March Of The Penguins

By: Josh Boulton (@ToughCallBlog)

Dating back to the pre-Lemieux era, the 1983-84 Penguins roster was filled with some beauty depth players. This was an amazingly bad year for the club in an amazingly bad era. The most amazing stat for me is that on a 48 man roster, only THREE players were a plus/minus of even or better. 14 players were -20 or worse. Mike Bullard led the team with 92 points, but was a -33. The second leading scorer, Doug Sheddon, had 57 points but was an even more dismal -38! But the core was there for a great run. The young depth guys such as 19 year old Bob Errey, Troy Loney (20), Phil Bourque (21), and a Rich Sutter, would all play key roles in the 1991-1992 cup runs. All they needed was a superstar or two.

In 1990-91, Errey had 42 points in 79 games, Bourque had 34 in 78, and Loney had 16 in 44. What these guys did in the playoffs though was nothing short of sensational. Points wise it was proportionately about the same, but the penalty killing and the shutting down of opposing stars was second to none. My favourite goal of the finals was a Troy Loney short handed go-ahead goal in a huge 6-4 game 5 win. In describing the goal Loney said "I was in the net, the puck was in the net, and I just thought I'd better get out of there before they ask any questions." My kind of guy.

In 1991-1992 Errey had 35 points, and Bourque and Loney had 26 apiece. But again they paid massive dividends in the playoffs. Loney and Bourque were part of just a handful of players to play all 21 playoff games. Mario Lemieux played just 15 of those, and Rich Tocchet only dressed for 14, yet they defended their cup largely off the play of the depth guys. One of the more popular goals of this series was Jagr's famous march across the slot for a beauty backhander, but watch number 15, depth guy Shawn Mceachern, set two picks for 68 to give him some room. That's why they won.

Video: JaromirJagrtv

As the 90's wore on, the role players were replaced and although the team did pretty well with the likes of Rob Brown, guys like Ian Moran and Shean Donovan never developed into what was needed and the Pens could never make the climb back to the top.

Fast forward to the mid 2000's. With Crosby just starting out, and Malkin and Letang still to come, the Penguins needed some depth guys to step up. Enter Ryan Malone, Max Talbot, and Colby Armstrong. The core was there. They just needed a superstar or two.

By 2007-2008 the Penguins had the big 4, and the lower ranks had been added to with Jordan Staal and Pascal Dupuis (which sent Armstrong to Atlanta) along with aging playoff veteran Gary Roberts. Again, the younger grinders would play in all 20 playoff games in a trip to the finals.

In the following championship season, it was Staal, Talbot, and Dupuis complimented by the additions of Tyler Kennedy and Chris Kunitz. We all know the instrumental roles these guys have played over the years, but the torch has been passed as only one of these names remains(Kunitz), and he's definitely not considered a depth guy now, if he ever really was. There's been a couple of notable depth guys since then, such as Zach Sill and Craig Adams, but not as of late. So if the torch is passed, who's holding it?

The bottom 6 of the Sullivan era is the answer. The young depth guys of today may be as good as any in the history of the franchise. We only need to examine the play of Tom Kuhnhacki, Bryan Rust, and Scott Wilson, all 24 years old or younger.

These three players have supplied most of the energy in the resurgence of the Penguins this year, and more than their fair share of the offense as well. They are continuously called on by the coach in crucial situations, and if the Penguins are going to go anywhere, they need to contribute as much or more as their counterparts from days of Penguins lore.

#Brown #JoshBoulton #Depth