Book Feature The Pittsburgh Penguins: The First 25 Years (by Greg Enright)

[Greg Enright]

Yes, it's clear now that management (namely GM Eddie Johnston) was making moves to decrease the Pens' chances of gaining points down the stretch. Sending Roberto Romano, their best-performing goalie, down to the minors, and calling up Vincent Tremblay, an AHL-calibre goalie at best, are two of the most cited pieces of evidence. Also trading away Randy Carlyle and not getting any immediate help in return. Coach Lou Angotti has fully admitted to it.

It's important to note, though, that the players had nothing to do with it. When I interviewed former Pens reporter Bob Grove for the book, he made a great point: these guys didn't give a damn about any draft pick. They were fighting for their careers and livelihood. And their effort on the ice makes it clear they were always giving it their all.

So, there's really no doubt EJ was engineering a tank. But after all that Lemieux has done for the franchise, I never hear any Pens fans complaining...

 

[The Panther]

To this day, Eddie Johnston denies that he made any attempt to let them finish in last. So, who knows? It appears like they were throwing in the towel over the last few weeks of the season, but it's hard to say. They were a really bad team, even on good days.

I mean, Denis Herron was their main guy in net, right? Well, he was in net when they lost 13-4 to Philly in the sixth-to-last game of the season. So, they started their top guy, late in the season... and gave up 13 goals. That's how bad they were.

I know they traded Randy Carlyle for a song, but that was in early February, with more than two months left in the season. The Pens were 11-36-5 at that point, had just won 2 out of 15 games, and Carlyle had 3 goals on the season and was -23. If he was helping them win, it wasn't really showing! (A few days after he was traded, they beat New Jersey... which shouldn't have happened if they were in full-on tank mode.)

The Pens did, however, lose three of the final four games against New Jersey that season, including the last one on March 6th. So, that probably swung Mario in their favor.

 

[Theokritos]

By the way, Greg Oliver has written a little about this book and talked with the author @Greg Enright in his SIHR column.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Bought the book @Greg Enright but haven't cracked it open yet.

 

[reckoning]

Four questions for the author:

1) In 1982 the Pens nearly knocked off the Islanders in the first round in what would have been a massive upset. Had the Penguins won that series, do you think they would have tried to build on that success and make some moves to put together a more competitive team over the next two seasons, or would they have ended up hitting rock bottom regardless?

2) I've seen random anecdotes on the Internet about Baz Bastien being somewhat "absent-minded" when he was Pittsburgh's GM, the most famous of which was that he supposedly thought he was getting Steve Shutt when he acquired Rod Schutt. Did you hear any Bastien stories while researching this book, and does the book go into any of them?

3) What was your opinion of Peter Lee? I remember when he was a huge junior star here in Ottawa. For awhile it looked like he was on his way to a promising future in Pittsburgh, but his career stalled in 81-82. Were there any specific issues that led to his decline?

4) In your opinion, who was Pittsburgh's MVP of the 1970s: Apps? Pronovost? Stackhouse? Somebody else?

 

[Theokritos]

I've seen random anecdotes on the Internet about Baz Bastien being somewhat "absent-minded" when he was Pittsburgh's GM, the most famous of which was that he supposedly thought he was getting Steve Shutt when he acquired Rod Schutt.

That's hilarious.

 

[Greg Enright]

Bought the book @Greg Enright but haven't cracked it open yet.

Thanks @Randy Butternubs. Hope you enjoy it.

 

[Greg Enright]

Four questions for the author:

1) In 1982 the Pens nearly knocked off the Islanders in the first round in what would have been a massive upset. Had the Penguins won that series, do you think they would have tried to build on that success and make some moves to put together a more competitive team over the next two seasons, or would they have ended up hitting rock bottom regardless?

2) I've seen random anecdotes on the Internet about Baz Bastien being somewhat "absent-minded" when he was Pittsburgh's GM, the most famous of which was that he supposedly thought he was getting Steve Shutt when he acquired Rod Schutt. Did you hear any Bastien stories while researching this book, and does the book go into any of them?

3) What was your opinion of Peter Lee? I remember when he was a huge junior star here in Ottawa. For awhile it looked like he was on his way to a promising future in Pittsburgh, but his career stalled in 81-82. Were there any specific issues that led to his decline?

4) In your opinion, who was Pittsburgh's MVP of the 1970s: Apps? Pronovost? Stackhouse? Somebody else?

Good questions. Here are my answers:

1 - They would have hit rock bottom anyway. Beating the Islanders would not have resolved the biggest problem the organization had - a dearth of top young talent in the system. They'd traded away so many high draft picks over the years that the youth cupboard was bare. The two following seasons (and even after Mario arrived), the franchise paid the price because of it. Pens fans could have had the satisfaction of looking back on knocking out NY in '82, but their team would still have been in the basement.

2 - Nobody I spoke with shared any such stories. My analysis of Bastien was two-fold: one, he made some of the worst trades in Penguins history (e.g. 1st round pick for Hartland Monohan) and had a completely misguided view of the value of draft picks. It was a doomed philosophy that down the road nearly led to the franchise's demise. I also believe he was in a bit of a bind because, with the franchise in such dire financial straits each year, making the playoffs was crucial to generating fan interest, making a bit more money , and helping the the team stay in Pittsburgh. Therefore, you can understand why he traded picks for aging talent to get them into the playoffs. BTW, Rod Schutt said many years later that there was no truth to the Steve Shutt-Baz story.

3 - Peter Lee was a decent NHL scorer but one who didn't live up to the promise that came from a great junior career. His career in Pittsburgh fizzled because Eddie Johnston wasn't a big supporter and relegated him to the third and fourth lines.

4 - Jean Pronovost, due to his consistency, his production, and his leadership. He was always the voice of reason through the tough years of the 70s. He left in 1978 as the franchise leader in games played and goals. Apps isn't a bad choice, but I would't take him over Pronovost. Two other names that deserve consideration, I believe, are Dave Burrows and Denis Herron.

 

[vikash1987]

Greg, sounds like this was a fun book to research. I loved reading how, as a kid growing up in Montreal in the '70s, you were inspired by the Penguins logo and by their blue uniforms! I have a hypothetical question for you: do you think the Penguins would've fared any differently in the late '70s/early '80s had they traded Pierre Larouche to the Cleveland Barons for Denis Maruk and Al MacAdam in 1977-78? This was a deal that was on the table, as I'm sure you recall, but it was vetoed by Larouche. What I have in mind, specifically, are Maruk's 50- and 60-goal seasons with Washington, and MacAdam's playoff heroics with the North Stars. It makes me wonder what they could've done as Penguins. (Though, of course, Pete Mahovlich was a tremendous player.)

 

[Greg Enright]

Greg, sounds like this was a fun book to research. I loved reading how, as a kid growing up in Montreal in the '70s, you were inspired by the Penguins logo and by their blue uniforms! I have a hypothetical question for you: do you think the Penguins would've fared any differently in the late '70s/early '80s had they traded Pierre Larouche to the Cleveland Barons for Denis Maruk and Al MacAdam in 1977-78? This was a deal that was on the table, as I'm sure you recall, but it was vetoed by Larouche. What I have in mind, specifically, are Maruk's 50- and 60-goal seasons with Washington, and MacAdam's playoff heroics with the North Stars. It makes me wonder what they could've done as Penguins. (Though, of course, Pete Mahovlich was a tremendous player.)

It was a lot of fun to research, and I'm glad you enjoyed that story. Those late-70s Pens uniforms are still my all-time favourites.

I do think they would have fared better had the Cleveland trade happened. Maruk and MacAdam were great young talents just about to enter their primes. Sixty goals from Maruk in a Pens uniform would have looked great and maybe helped them go a bit deeper into the playoffs. Although it was great to see Pete Mahovlich playing for the Pens, he was on the downside of his career. He played great in 77-78 but injuries caught up to him the next year and that was the end of his Penguins story. It's worth noting that they also got Peter Lee in that deal, who put a good number of pucks in the net for the Pens, but certainly not the 50 and 60 that Maruk put up in the early 80s. Had the Penguins been able to swing that deal and also keep their top draft picks in the ensuing years, they would not have been finishing in the NHL basement in 83 and 84. I think they would have been a respectable team.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

Until Mario, the Penguins in an era of uncertainty actually flirted twice with a tangible shot at the Stanley Cup or at least maybe making the Finals- 1970, when they got within 2 wins of the Cup Finals (closest they got to a Cup until the early 90s) and 1975 (best record in team history of that era, had a long unbeaten streak at home, famously blew a 3-0 lead to the Islanders).

Which of those years do you think was Pittsburgh's best shot to maybe take a shot for the Cup? Those were basically their deepest playoff runs until 1989 and the back-to-back Cup years. If they don't blow that 3-0 lead or they get past STL in 70, could they have been able to build a bit of a following (as you mentioned, they struggled to build a following in the Steel City. Those might have been their two beset shots to maybe build a following in the pre-Mario era)

Honestly, its probably still 1982. Its crazy because if you assume that everything else in that playoffs plays out the same way (no Oilers finding the strength to beat LA because they realize the cup is on the line), your options for the cup that year are Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, Vancouver, or Quebec. Pittsburgh has as good of a shot at the cup as any of them if they can just hang on in game 3

 

[Theokritos]

We have a new book feature coming up, but of course this thread is going to remain open for discussion and easily accessible via the first post in the Book Feature sticky.