Over the last several weeks, I have posted 2 entries discussing the Penguins' first two Stanley Cup Championship teams and titles in an effort to set the table for a comparison between those two squads and the Penguins' latest to determine which Cup is the franchise's greatest.
Today, I will render a verdict.
Before I do that, though, a few quick reminders about just how much the Penguins of 2008/2009 accomplished. I'm not going to break down their playoff run or team this past season with the detail I did the 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 teams, because the latest playoff run that culminated on June 12, 2009 -- and the players that accomplished it -- are, I would hope, still very fresh in everyone's minds. But there are a few things that I believe deserve mentioning about the latest group to skate around in black and gold.
The first thing worth mentioning is that the Penguins were in perilous danger of not even being able to compete for the Cup just 6 weeks before the end of the season. They struggled through about 2 and 1/2 months of below-average hockey mid-season before their General Manager was so fed up with the team's performance he dismissed a coach that led the team the Cup Finals the previous season in favor of a minor league bench-boss who had just completed only his 4th month in his first full time coaching gig ever.
That alone created a storybook finish when the Penguins' won the Cup, but their rise to the post-season under new head coach Dan Bylsma wasn't the full tale by any means.
Once the Penguins got to the post-season this last year, they were focused from the start. Things didn't come easy for them but when the chips were down, they stepped up and showed a tremendous amount of character.
After all, this is the squad that won every single series on the road on its way to the Silver Chalice -- including not one, but TWO game 7's away from home in extremely hostile environments. In both of those series', they managed to win 4 of the last 5 games after dropping the first two away from home. They are the only team in the history of the National Hockey League to have done that in one playoff season.
Of course, they were the first team in 38 years to win a game 7 on the road in the Stanley Cup Finals -- and the first team in 30 seasons to do it in any professional sport -- and only the 4th team ever to do it in the NHL.
But enough about those accolates.
Let's get down to comparing the 3 playoff runs and teams to compare which title is the best one the Penguins have captured.
It's hard to say that the Penguins had the same kind of depth and star power on their most recent championship squad as their 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 teams had. Sure, they have 2 of the top 3 players in the game on their team right now, and they also have one of the better defensemen and one of the better goaltenders in hockey, but overall, the teams of 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 were, I believe, stronger up and down the roster. Certainly the 1991/1992 team was.
All that said, to say that a team with less overall talent and a bit less depth captured the Cup this last season when there was so much more overall league parity speaks to how satisfying the franchise's lastest Cup win truly was when compared to the challenge at hand. Add to that the fact that this last year's outfit was one of the few teams in the last decade to win even a single playoff round after bowing out in the Cup Finals the year before, and then to go back up against the same era juggernaut that sent them home for the season last year by winning the Cup on their own ice, and the Penguins' 2008/2009 accomplishments shine in even greater light.
But don't overlook the difficult odds the 1991/1992 championship team had to face. They were forced to avoid elimination in 3 straight games just to win the opening round, then lost two of their best forwards almost right off the hopper in round 2 against the best team in the league that year. Those hurdles were almost so overwhelming that once the Penguins overcame them, they didn't lose again in their next 11 playoff games on their way to the Cup.
Clearly, the Penguins' 2nd championship team was the most dominating.
And that's where I think we can begin to narrow this debate.
The Penguins' first Cup-winning team doesn't compare to the 2nd one or the most recent one, either in terms of adversity or quality of opposition. Pittsburgh's opponent in the final that year had a whopping 68 regular season points. The Minnesota North Stars played well when it mattered most in the post-season and were no pushover for the Penguins in the Final, but the fact is that the Boys of Winter in 1991/1992 and this past year faced -- and overcame -- bigger challenges on their way to their titles.
So, while the franchise's first Stanley Cup Championship will always hold a special place in Penguins' lore because it was just that -- the first -- it undoubtedly cannot be considered the Penguins' best.
That leaves us to this last year's Cup-winning group or the 1991/1992 team.
It's not an easy call.
So what's it going to be?
Contrary to how I feel most Penguin fans would weigh in, I believe that the Penguins' 2nd Stanley Cup in '91/'92 is the franchise's greatest.
While this past year's team did more with less, the 1991/1992 team overcame an injury to the league's best player for nearly an entire series to beat the best team in the league in that series and do it fairly convincingly. After that, they were plain dominating the rest of the way, knocking off a team in the Final, the Chicago Blackhawks, that had come into the championship round having steamrolled their way to 11 straight victories of thier own.
The Penguins' championship team from this past year wasn't even close to being that dominating for that long.
And, as I mentioned earlier, the 1991/1992 team faced elimination 3 times. While this last year's team also did that, they didn't do it all in one round. I don't know that it makes it a better accomplishment because sometimes it can be easier to get on a roll against one opponent than have to fight off elimination repeatedly against different teams, but it was something the Penguins' title group of 2008/2009 did not do.
Of course, they didn't have to do that, and that says something, so again ... it's probably a wash on that factor.
But what really tips the scales for me in this debate is my belief that the Penguins wouldn't have won either the Washington or Detroit series' this past season if Crosby or Malkin had been lost for almost all of that series, like Lemieux was against the Rangers in 1991/1992. They might have been able to change things up enough to beat the Capitals because Malkin still might have been able to match Ovechkin goal-for-goal in that series if he had to, and Washington's support players weren't giving them very much otherwise. Their goaltender kept them alive in that series in game 1 to 6 until the Penguins broke through him big time when it mattered most.
However, if the Detroit Red Wings only had to deal with one of #87 and #71 in the Finals, I'm convinced that our offense would not have been able to overcome that. Look at what Zetterberg did to Crosby in that series. That's not to say Sidney played poorly. In fact, he played so well that Zetterberg wasn't nearly able to do what he could have otherwise accomplished offensively because he was so pre-occupied with Sid all series. If Malkin was all Zetterberg had to contend with, the Red Wings' depth would have proven far superior to the rest of Pittsburgh's roster during the remainder of the series.
I think that primarly makes the difference because, as I have already mentioned, I think while the 1991/1992 team had a stronger roster, that can be turned around to say that this last year's Cup team won with less, making those things almost come out even.
Sure, the 1991/1992 team didn't have to win the Cup Finals in game 7 on the road. But that's because they were so overwhelming in the championship round, thier opposition couldn't even get to game 5, let alone a game 7.
So, to me, that's it.
The 1991/1992 Pittsburgh Penguins' Stanley Cup Championship Team is the franchise's greatest.
You tell me what you think. Speak out if you feel differently. Vote in the poll on the right. Otherwise show your colors.
Regardless, it's been great to reminisce over all 3 of the Penguins' championships.
This last year remains vivid and thrilling in my mind and, there's no doubt as far as I'm concerned, the Penguin's 2008/2009 Cup run gave the 1991/1992 title team outstanding competition to determine which was the franchise's greatest championship.
But in the end, the 1991/1992 team stands just a hair taller.
Next week, I'll talk about the Penguins' rookie camp in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
Just a few weeks before the opening of the team's full training camp.
Let's Go Pens.
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