Rewind to 2009. The Pittsburgh Penguins had just won the Stanley Cup and were beginning to look like the start of the next NHL dynasty. It’s hard to blame anyone for thinking Pittsburgh would be the next Gretzky-era Edmonton Oilers.
Captain Sidney Crosby was only 21 years old, fellow center Evgeni Malkin was 22 years old and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was just 24 years old. The Penguins were loaded with young, superstar talent — and most of them were under team control for years.
On June 12, 2009, would you have believed Crosby would have to wait seven years to the day to skate around the ice with the 35-pound Cup? Or that it would even take that long just to make it back to the finals?
Probably not.
Instead of the Penguins being the NHL’s next great dynasty, a mere six months ago they were considered the NHL’s biggest disappointment. There was talk whether this season would be the end of the Crosby-Malkin era in Pittsburgh, an era that was marked by more disappointment and heartbreak than titles.
In December, would anyone have thought the Penguins would hoist the Cup in June carried by a quartet of (at the time) no-name AHLers? Did the that thought Crosby — who looked like a shell of his former self — winning the Conn Smythe seem plausible?
If you answered yes to these questions, it’s time to hit the Power Ball.
So what’s it all mean?
That nothing in sports is certain.
Maybe the Penguins would’ve won sooner if a concussion didn’t take the better part of two years of Crosby’s prime. Maybe they could have hoisted the Cup in 2011 if they didn’t have that complete meltdown against the Philadelphia Flyers. Maybe 2013 could have been their year if an offense that had Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and James Neal as complimentary pieces didn’t forget how to score against the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals.
There’s a reason no one has repeated in the NHL since 1998: The league is just too good, and too many things have to break right for a team to win.
Of course, the Penguins could repeat in 2017, and they’ll likely be a favorite next year. Matt Cullen, Ben Lovejoy and Jeff Zatkoff — and possibly Justin Schultz if Pittsburgh doesn’t want to match his $3.9 million contract — are the team’s only unrestricted free agents. And next season, promising prospects such as Daniel Sprong, Oskar Sundqvist and Derrick Pouliot will be knocking on the door for more playing time. The once-bleak future is now glaringly bright.
But if the last seven years have taught Penguins fans anything, it’s that nothing is certain.
So, when the Penguins travel down Grant Street on Wednesday for their parade, enjoy it. Don’t take Sunday’s win for granted.
It might be another seven years until you can experience it again.
Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
