gold star for USAHOF

A veteran of seven seasons at the time of his mid-season trade in 2007-08, Pascal Dupuis would play the second half of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It would also be the better half.

After playing 10 seasons combined with the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames, Joe Mullen would bring to Pittsburgh a resume as a previous Stanley Cup ring (Calgary in 1989) and was a two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner.  You could argue that Mullen was stolen, as Calgary gave up a 1990 second round pick for him, as they thought he no longer would be productive as he dropped from 110 to 69 Points.  They would be wrong.

Jan Hrdina was chosen in the 5th Round in 1995 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and after playing in Junior for another year and the minors for two, he was ready to debut in the NHL in 1998.

Best known for his time with the Washington Capitals, where he would thrice finish in the top ten in Norris Trophy voting.  After his successful run in Washington, he would spend two seasons in Dallas before being traded for Sergei Zubov after the 1995-96 season.

Robert Lang played four seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, and he would sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a Free Agent before the 1997-98 season.

Greg Malone came to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a 1976 Second Round Pick, who would have a good rookie campaign with a 37 Point output.  He would have a 61 Point year after and had 65 Points the season after that.  That would be a personal best, as was his 35 Goals.  

Considered to be one of the more cerebral Defenseman in the game, Finland’s Olli Maatta, was a First Round Pick (22nd Overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012. 

In the last half of the 1970s, one of the most exciting young players was Pierre Larouche, who set many records as the youngest to achieve specific benchmarks.  He was the youngest to score 100 Goals, 200 Points, and 300 Points (though Wayne Gretzky would break this), but nevertheless, he still had that record at one time.

From the United States, Brooks Orpik played three years at Boston College, where he helped his institution with the 2001 NCAA Championship.  The year before, he was drafted 18th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, with whom he would join after winning that coveted amateur accolade.

Mike Bullard was the ninth overall pick in the 1980 Draft Pick, and he would debut that year for Pittsburgh, and he appeared in 15 Games.  He was a full-time Center for the Pens the season after and proved to be a solid performer with a 63 Point Season.

The most important goal that Ron Schock would have would be in a St. Louis Blues uniform when he lit the lamp in double overtime in Game 7 of the 1968 Conference Finals.  That put the Blues into the Stanley Cup Finals in the first year of the club's existence.  St. Louis didn't win, and a year later, Schock was not even a Blue.

A member of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first six seasons of his NHL career, Jordan Staal wasted no time as the second overall pick of the 2006 NHL Draft to become one of the better defensive forwards in the NHL. 

Martin Straka came to Pittsburgh as a 1992 1st Round Pick from Czechoslovakia, and he debuted that year, appearing in 42 Games for the team.  Straka would have a strong sophomore season where he had 64 Points in 1993-94, but the young forward was traded for a pair of gritty performers in Troy Murphy and Norm MacIver.  This deal would, however, not be the end of Straka in Pittsburgh.

Dave Burrows debuted in the NHL in 1971 with Pittsburgh after he was claimed from the Chicago Blackhawks in the Intra-League Draft.  Burrows was a defensive cornerstone for the Penguins in the '70s focusing on his end of the ice.  Twice named an All-Star with Pittsburgh (1974 & 1976), Burrows would finish 10th Hart Trophy voting in 1975-76.  He wasn’t known for scoring but did accumulate 108 Assists for Pittsburgh.

21. Syl Apps

Syl Apps was the son of Syl Apps Sr., who was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame.  As the son of a legend, it was not easy to play hockey, but Apps Jr. was a very good player in his own right.

Alex Kovalev played 365 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he would first arrive when he was traded from the New York Rangers in November of 1998.  The Russian Right Winger would score 95 Points in 2000-01, which would be a career-high.  Kovalev followed that with a 76 Point campaign and then would have 64 Points in 54 Games before he was traded back to the Rangers.

When most people think of Randy Carlyle these days, they likely think of his coaching, which included helping the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to a Stanley Cup in 2006.  What many people forget is that he was one solid hockey player who once won the Norris Trophy, an award he collected as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Prior to his arrival to Pittsburgh, Sergei Gonchar had been chosen for two Second Team All-Stars as a member of the Washington Capitals.  He may not have done that with Pittsburgh, but there is no doubt that he made his presence felt in Western Pennsylvania.

Chris Kunitz was traded from the Anaheim Ducks late in 2008-09 season with the hope that he would provide potency to the Penguins' second line ahead of their playoff run.  That is precisely what he would do.

Ron Stackhouse played four and a half years in the NHL (with the California Golden Seals and Detroit Red Wings) before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1973-74 Season.  It was in Western Pennsylvania where he really found his groove.