My Next-Best Ten Penguins (Honorable Mention)
As promised, here’s the follow-up to my top ten all-time Penguins post. My honorable mention list or “second ten,” so to speak, in alphabetic order.
There were some really tough choices here. So many terrific players have graced the Steel City ice surfaces over the years. Although I’m no doubt missing some, I’ve mentioned at least a few of the outliers at the end of the article.
Here goes:
Syl Apps Jr., Center (727 games, 183 goals, 423 assists, 606 points, plus-36)
Scion of a Hall-of-Famer, Apps shared more than his father’s famous name. He inherited his dad’s supreme playmaking ability as well. Following his arrival in a 1971 trade with the Rangers, the smooth-skating center quickly emerged as the Pens’ first bona fide scoring star. Centering the high-powered Century Line, “Sly Syl” piled up 468 points over six seasons…an average of 76 points a season.
Tom Barrasso, Goalie (777 games, 3.24 goals against average, .892 save percentage, 38 shutouts)
You simply don’t win Stanley Cups unless you’re strong down the middle. In the late 1980s goaltending was the Pens’ glaring Achilles heel…until Barrasso arrived in a big trade with Buffalo.