Pittsburgh Penguins
Starter
Who should be next into the Penguins’ Hall of Fame?
Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66713/who-should-be-next-into-the-penguins-hall-of-fame
The Penguins announced the newest members into their revived team Hall of Fame. The inductions will be spread out over the next three seasons, suggesting new members won’t be added on an annual basis.
The newest members are:
- Tom Barrasso
- Ron Francis
- Jaromir Jagr
- Chris Kunitz
- Larry Murphy
- Kevin Stevens
- Scotty Bowman
- Eddie Johnston
- Jim Rutherford
- Ray Shero
It sometimes gets lost in the shuffle but those names join the ones below, who have previously been named to the team’s HOF.
- Syl Apps
- Les Binkley
- Dave Burrows
- Paul Coffey
- Rick Kehoe
- Mario Lemieux
- Joe Mullen
- Jean Pronovost
- Mark Recchi
- Ulf Samuelsson
- Bob Johnson
- Craig Patrick
- Jack Riley
- Then a list of contributors: Dr. Charles Burke, A.T. Caggiano, Ed DeBartolo, Elaine Heufelder, Mike Lange, Vince Lascheid, Frank Scuilli
Now the question becomes, who should be next?
Marc-Andre Fleury – Duh. Easy one, only the self-imposed rule about being retired for a year prevents Fleury from going on, obviously he will be a part of whenever the next batch of inductees are named. Might as well space things out and give people something to look forward to down the line if it takes a few years to get there (and possibly have the announcement line up with a couple certain former teammates of Fleury’s) but of all the names out there this is by far the easiest.
Mike Sullivan – Jim Rutherford isn’t retired and was named to the Pens’ HOF, so why not Sullivan? He’s the leading coach in every category and the only Pens’ HC to win two Stanley Cups. The only debate about wanting to put him in while he’s a member of another organization can possibly slow this down, which is a pretty good point of emphasis to make. It’s one thing to put another team’s President of Hockey Ops in the Pens HOF, it’s another thing to put the sitting coach of a major rival..Time will heal whatever wounds might be out there once Sullivan gets more distance from the team.
Martin Straka – No Stanley Cups hurts the legacy — and maybe the chances since only 4/20 players (all pre-Mario) are in the Pens’ HOF without helping win a championship — but Straka ranks 12th in franchise history in points. That’s the highest player not inducted among currently eligible players, so he certainly has the bonafides. One of the most popular players for a generation of Pens’ fans, Straka would be a great pick for nostalgia.
Phil Kessel – Kessel only spent four seasons with the Pens from 2015-19, but few players were as magnetic, productive or successful. It’s not a big stretch to say that the latter two championships in the Crosby/Malkin era might not have happened without the 45 total points in 49 playoff games that Kessel chipped in during the 2016 and 2017 runs. A team’s individual HOF is about feeling and nostalgia more than raw numbers or pure contributions and Kessel’s popularity/legend status is worthy enough to make him a strong candidate to one day be honored by the Pens.
Sergei Gonchar – Gonchar’s case is similar to Kessel’s, a short-term Penguin (five years in this case) but one instrumental in raising the team’s level and being a major force in winning a championship. Besides Coffey and Letang, Gonchar might be the best defender that Pittsburgh has ever had. I’d say that’s enough to get in one day.
Bryan Trottier – Trottier was a key piece in putting the Pens over the top in ‘91 and ‘92 for the first Cup runs. He only spent three years as a player and then jumped behind the bench with four more years in Pittsburgh. The 1990’s Cup teams already have 10 players in the team’s HOF, but if they add another it should probably be the affable and influential Trotts.
John Barbero – Should be in as a contributor, the sound of his voice remains an imprint on the franchise.
For now that seems like a deep enough list for me, in the next few years the Crosby/Malkin/Letang wave of players can dominate and take over for a while too. There have been plenty of fan favorites over the years, from Alexei Kovalev to Pascal Dupuis and maybe some more that are worthy of discussion, let me know who you want to see in the Pens’ own Hall of Fame.
Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/news/66713/who-should-be-next-into-the-penguins-hall-of-fame