The Five Most Underrated Pittsburgh Penguins Are Revealed
The Pittsburgh Penguins have a rich history of elite players in NHL history. From Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux to Jaromir Jagr among others many of the best players in NHL have come through Pittsburgh. Today we will take a look at some of the more underrated players in Penguins history.
PHN Takes A Crack At Top 5 Most Underrated Penguins
The Pittsburgh Hockey Now team took on the task of coming up with the 5 most underrated players in Pittsburgh Penguins history. For their list, the group went back to the 1990-91 season. This brings the list to a more modern era. The list they came up with is as follows.
Jake Guentzel kicks off the list for this iteration of underrated Penguins. Jake Guentzel is a 40-goal scorer in the modern-day NHL. A part of the Penguins' core and a Stanley Cup champion.
This begs the question How is Jake Guentzel considered one of the most underrated Penguins of all time?
Well, it is because his name is almost exclusively mentioned alongside Sidney Crosby. Many around the league believe Guentzel would be nothing without Crosby. However, his multiple All-Star appearances and point-per-game season say otherwise. While Guentzel may not be on this list by the end of his career he is currently very underrated.
4. Martin Straka
Next up at 4th most underrated is Martin Straka. Straka first played with the Penguins from 1992-93 to 1994-95. This stint was relatively uninspiring but his best season he did put up 64 points in 84 games.
His next stretch with Pittsburgh would come from 1997-98 all the way until 2003-04. In this period of time, Straka would have multiple 80-point seasons and top out at 95 points in 2000-01. Straka was a fantastic playmaker on lines with the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Alexei Kovalev.
He was also a part of many of the teams in Pittsburgh during an era where the fate of the team was in question. While he does not have a Stanley Cup ring he was a significant part of the organization for almost a decade in total.
For the third most underrated Penguin of all time, we come back to a more modern era with Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin spent over a decade in the Penguins organization.
He first started with three seasons in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton followed up by seven seasons in Pittsburgh. During his time in Pittsburgh Dumoulin won two Stanley Cups. Dumoulin is remembered as the defensive anchor to the Penguins dynasty. He was the compliment to superstar Kris Letang.
During his final few seasons in Pittsburgh, Dumoulin struggled with injury which left him in a spot where he was not remembered as much for his fantastic play in his prime.
2. Ken Wregget
Ken Wregget was with the Penguins in net from 1992 to 1998. During this time he provided stability to the Penguins who were chasing Stanley Cups. He was a Stanley Cup champion in 1992. He also led the league in wins in 1995.
While he was never relied on as the main option in the net he was a stable option behind the often-injured Tom Barrasso. While this type of role will never be the most important without Wregget the Penguins likely do not stay afloat as long as they did in the 90s and may not have won that Stanley Cup in 1992.
1. Bob Errey
Finally, we have come to number one on the most underrated Pittsburgh Penguins list with Bob Errey. Errey spent a good portion of his NHL career in Pittsburgh from 1986 to 1993.
Errey was not the superstar scoring forward of the 1980s and 90s Penguins. Errey is most valued for his physical and fast play style. He was the guy out there to provide space for the Jagrs Lemieuxs and Recchis of the team to do their thing. Along the way, he was named an assistant captain. He also racked up two Stanley Cup championships.
When NHL dynasties are brought up players like Bob Errey are often left out. But without players like himself and the others on this list, the stars would not have had the success they did.
Championship teams are built around glue guys who are often eventually forgotten in history but today we remember some of those players who will always be essential to Pittsburgh Penguins hockey.
As Read On - Pittsburgh Hockey Now - PHN Debate: Top 5 Most Underrated Penguins
| POLL | ||
Who is the most underrated Pittsburgh Penguin of all time? | ||
| Bob Errey | 156 | 20.3 % |
| Ken Wregget | 181 | 23.6 % |
| Brian Dumoulin | 135 | 17.6 % |
| Martin Straka | 296 | 38.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
