The penguins went from 24,34,30(Lemieux only played in 63 games), 36 to 40 wins in his 1st 5 years. His scoring an additional 58 points more in 89 than in 86 (and Coffey was on the team now) resulted in 6 more wins.
Sid's Penguins were vaulted into contender status in his 2nd year and have remained there ever since. (Part of the Pens success was due to the arrival of Malkin and Stall to be sure but conversely Mario's teams added parts in his 1st 5 years as well, Coffey being the main guy in years 4 and 5).
Now maybe Mario's 199 point season was one of the best stat wise in history (it is IMO) but it's really debatable on how much impact that Mario's increased scoring really had on his team winning and winning is kind of important at the end of the day.
And that is before we consider that it took 4 years for Mario to lead his team into the playoffs. sure teams make playoffs but at to some degree the teams best player(s) have some impact on that even if it isn't an exact science.
Indeed the Penguins were vaulted into contender status in Crosby's second year. As I've mentioned, in Sid's first year they improved to the tune of exactly zero points. So magnificent as Crosby was in 06-07, other factors must have played a significant part.
Having already tried to put Mario's first five seasons with the Penguins in a useful context, I'd just like to touch on the bolded point. The 06-07 Penguins benefitted from useful contributions by every first rounder they drafted between 2000 and 2004-the five years before Crosby entered the league. You've cited Malkin (04). Fleury (03) was number one goalie. Ryan Whitney (02) was the number two defenseman. Colby Armstrong (01) was a useful role-player as was Brooks Orpik (00).
What of Pittsburgh's first round picks in the five years before they drafted Mario?
In 83 they would have had the first pick overall in the year of Lafontaine, Yzerman and Barrasso. They traded down to get Ron Meighan and Anders Hakansson and drafted Bob Errey. Hakansson famously turned into Kevin Stevens, but by the end of 88-89, Stevens had only about 40 NHL games under his belt.
In 82 Penguins selected Rich Sutter. He was dealt in a transaction that landed Andy Brickley and Ron Flockhart as well as a first rounder, who proved to be Roger Belanger. Flockhart was traded for John Chabot.
In 81 the Penguins didn't have a first round pick. They'd dealt it to get Rod Schutt.(They would have drafted 7th overall. The Canadiens used that pick to get Mark Hunter. Later first rounders that year: Grant Fuhr, James Patrick, Tony Tanti, Al MacInnis)
In 80 the Penguins selected Mike Bullard. Good choice. Even a stopped clock etc.
In the legendary 79 draft, the Penguins had no first round pick. Whoops. The North Stars eventually bagged that pick, choosing Tom McCarthy. Later first round selections: Ramsey, Reinhart, Propp, McCrimmon, Duane Sutter, Goulet, Lowe.
Who did the Penguins get in exchange for that first rounder? Why Hartland Monahan. By 80-81, that trade had yielded Errol Thompson. By the summer of 81, Thompson was out of the NHL.
In brief, the Penguins pre-Lemieux were guilty of abominable asset management on a scale that barely seems credible now. Indeed, younger posters may look at the list of anonymous names the Penguins acquired and wonder if I'm making this all up. Reliable sources will prove it all actually happened.
Contrastingly, Craig Patrick made enough shrewd drafts pre-Crosby to create the foundations of a winning team once the salary cap bit.
By the way, in case my previous point didn't sink in, the 1984 Penguins did not add former all-stars via unrestricted free agency, as the 05 Penguins were able to do with Gonchar and Recchi. Whereas in 85, the Pens lost 40 goal Wendell Young to the Red Wings, who were scandalising the league by throwing money at the handful of players who were UFAs. Once more, team-building in the 80s was more restricted than in the post-lockout era, even if your general manager wasn't an imbecile.
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