Pittsburgh Penguins 2nd Mount Rushmore

[MikeyMike01]

Lots of votes for Coffey, Francis, Barrasso, even Recchi. But I see them as guys who just passed through Pittsburgh as part of a phase of their careers. To me they're much more strongly identified with other teams than with the Pens.

At that point, might as well include Trottier

 

[Regal]

Lots of votes for Coffey, Francis, Barrasso, even Recchi. But I see them as guys who just passed through Pittsburgh as part of a phase of their careers. To me they're much more strongly identified with other teams than with the Pens.

To me, Kehoe, Apps, and Pronovost defined the Pens for a generation. I went with Kehoe and Apps, but now I'm starting to think it should have been Kehoe and Pronovost. Pronovost was their best scoring star prior to Mario.

I went with them as well as Letang (who will be a 1000-game guy with that franchise) and Fleury (who owns the goalie part of their record book).

I gotta disagree on Barrasso and Francis. Barrasso had his best years in Buffalo, sure, but he spent 12 years and 561 RS+playoff games in Pittsburgh compared to 6 years and 278 RS+playoff games in Buffalo, was a Vezina finalist twice with them and won two cups. I think he’s more well known as a Pen than a Sabre.

Francis obviously is more known as part of the Whaler/Hurricane franchise, but he still played 8 seasons in Pittsburgh, played more playoff games with them, won his only Selke, and was a huge part of the two cups.

While Kehoe, Apps and Pronovost defined the early Pens, those teams were also pretty mediocre. The 90s Pens are pretty iconic, and most people think of Francis right after Lemieux and Jagr.

At that point, might as well include Trottier

Really not even close to a comparable

 

[tarheelhockey]

I gotta disagree on Barrasso and Francis. Barrasso had his best years in Buffalo, sure, but he spent 12 years and 561 RS+playoff games in Pittsburgh compared to 6 years and 278 RS+playoff games in Buffalo, was a Vezina finalist twice with them and won two cups. I think he’s more well known as a Pen than a Sabre.

Francis obviously is more known as part of the Whaler/Hurricane franchise, but he still played 8 seasons in Pittsburgh, played more playoff games with them, won his only Selke, and was a huge part of the two cups.

While Kehoe, Apps and Pronovost defined the early Pens, those teams were also pretty mediocre. The 90s Pens are pretty iconic, and most people think of Francis right after Lemieux and Jagr.

When you say it that way, I can kind of see it for Barrasso. I guess it depends on what you view as the more "meaty" part of his career, his peak as a goalie or his peak as a Cup winner. In either case, he's nowhere near as deserving as Fleury and I don't think Barrasso's time in Pittsburgh really warrants Rushmore status. Not even on the second go-round.

Beyond that, I think you're treading dangerously close to saying there have only been two really meaningful periods in Pens history: 1991-96 and 2009-17. That's 15 years out of 55. In particular, it erases the first 20 years of the franchise's history, in favor of honoring the 4th best player on a Cup team.

I mean, I know not a lot of people think of Kehoe or Pronovost first when they think of the Pens. But people definitely did think that way for a very long time before Mario overshadowed them. Some people probably still do think of those guys first, if those 60s and 70s teams were the only ones they really cared about. Whereas nobody, absolutely nobody, has ever thought of Ron Francis first.

 

[JoeSakic13]

The poll is missing Naslund

 

[wetcoast]

Letang and Fleury should be unanimous

Francis is also close to a shoe-in for me. He didn't play as many seasons as some, but his impact was tremendous in the 90s, with the cup runs, and playing behind Lemieux/Jagr.

#4 is more open - I voted Barrasso due to his importance on the 2 cups. But could see a few other names

I agree but also wonder if Jake Guentzel is trending to battle for 4th in the future?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

The poll is missing Naslund

It’s really not.

 

[Xspyrit]

Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby, Malkin

Doh

Somebody is not reading!

The poll is missing Naslund

This.

His 67 pts must be 5th-6th in Penguins all-time scoring

 

[pi314]

I was considering Robert Dome, Hans Jonsson and Morozov, but your post got me on track of the right ones

Dick Tarnstrom, Jan Hrdina, Martin Straka, and Ryan Malone.