Tag Archives: Patrick Marleau

San Jose Sharks – Shark Bite

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Throughout the year, the Sip Advisor will alphabetically travel the National Hockey League (NHL), discovering the best and worst each team has to offer in a variety of subjects. We will also feature a drink based off the franchise. Today, we visit the Bay Area and go swimming with the San Jose Sharks:

Establishment Story: The Sharks joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1991. The Gund family wished to return a team to the San Francisco Bay Area, having previously operated the California Golden Seals there. The Seals were relocated to Cleveland and later merged with the Minnesota North Stars, which the Gunds wanted to sell their share of. A Dispersal Draft was held to divvy up players between the Sharks and North Stars.

Stanley Cups: The Sharks have never won the Stanley Cup and have only made one Finals appearance, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in 2016. This, despite long stretches of time being considered among the best teams in the league, reaching the Western Conference Finals on four other occasions. San Jose have qualified for the playoffs in 21 of the 31 seasons they have been an NHL franchise.

Celebrity Fan: The Sharks have a number of famous followers, including musician Neil Young, tech guru Steve Wozniak and members of the band Metallica. Young and Wozniak have been season ticket members for years, while Metallica – who have been based in San Francisco for much of their careers – have provided the team with their entrance song, Seek & Destroy, since 2013 and were honoured with Metallica Night in January 2015.

Sharks

Super Fan: Sam Tageson grew up a fan of the Sharks. On March 18, 2014, the then 18-year-old, who suffers from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, was signed to a one-day contract by the team. Tageson participated in the teams pre-game practice and hit the ice with them for their contest that night against the Florida Panthers. The night was immortalized with an Upper Deck rookie trading card of Tageson posing by the team’s shark entrance prop.

Mascot: S.J. Sharkie debuted a few months after the rest of the Sharks, in January 1992. He has been called ‘The Hardest Working Fish in Sports’, making 450 public appearances each year, including fundraisers, birthday parties, corporate events and even weddings. S.J. Sharkie was named the 2012 Most Awesome Mascot for the Cartoon Network’s Hall of Game Awards, becoming the first hockey mascot to win the honour.

Tradition: For home games, Sharks players enter through a menacing looking shark mouth, while Seek & Destroy by Metallica blasts throughout the arena. A former entrance song, Get Ready for This by 2 Unlimited, is the team’s current goal song. Another long-standing ritual for fans is to do a chomping gesture with their hands, particularly while the team is about to go on a power play, as the memorable theme track from the movie Jaws plays.

Appearances in Media: Due to his unique look and personality, during his time with the Sharks, defenseman Brent Burns appeared in two episodes of the TV series Vikings and was featured in commercials for Kit Kat Chunky chocolate bars and CCM Hockey equipment. Also, the character of Lester Averman wears a Sharks hoodie in The Mighty Ducks, years before San Jose and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would be rivals.

Tageson

Events/Scandals: Evander Kane was no stranger to controversy by the time he joined the Sharks in 2018, but things seemed to get worse during his San Jose tenure. Incidents included Kane being sued for unpaid gambling debts, Kane filing for bankruptcy, accusations from Kane’s estranged wife that the player bet on his own games, as well as assaulted her, and Kane using a fake COVID-19 vaccine card. In the end, the organization had enough and terminated his contract in January 2022.

Rivalry: The Sharks chief rival is the Los Angeles Kings, who they met in the playoffs four times between 2011 to 2016, with each club taking two series. The feud is not surprising, given rivalries between San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles teams in other leagues (Giants-Dodgers [MLB], 49ers-Rams [NFL] and Earthquakes-Galaxy [MLS]) and the general Northern California vs. Southern California opposition.

Tragedy: Bryan Marchment, who had played parts of six seasons with the Sharks from 1998 to 2003, had moved into coaching and scouting roles with the team after retiring in 2006. On July 6, 2022, while attending the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal in his scouting capacity, Marchment died suddenly. No cause of death was released. Sharks GM, Mike Grier, paid tribute to Marchment prior to the team’s first-round draft selection.

Player Nicknames: Long-time Sharks star Joe Thornton was given the nickname Jumbo, thanks both to his large stature and also because there is a statue of the famous circus elephant of the same name in Thornton’s hometown of St. Thomas, Ontario, where the elephant died after being hit by a train. Thornton gained another nickname, Big Joe, in contrast to teammate Joe Pavelski, who was dubbed Little Joe. Pavelski was also known for a time as The Big Pavelski, a reference to the film The Big Lebowski.

Evander Kane

Line: The Jumbo Heated Patty Line (also known as the Burger Line), consisted of Joe Thornton (Jumbo), Dany Heatley (Heated) and Patrick Marleau (Patty). When defensemen Dan Boyle (Boiled) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (Pickles) were added to the mix, you had the Boiled Jumbo Heated Patty with Pickles Line. These players comprised the core of the Sharks roster for many seasons.

Captain: Doug Wilson was the first captain in Sharks franchise history, leading the team for two seasons (1991 to 1993), prior to retiring. Wilson would return to the organization as GM in 2003, serving in the role until stepping down in April 2022, due to health issues. The team’s current captain, Logan Couture, has held the position since the 2019-20 season. Couture was drafted by San Jose ninth overall in 2007.

Enforcer: Although Link Gaetz only played 48 games with the Sharks, his NHL career ended by a car accident, he’s fondly remembered, in part because of his wild reputation and willingness to take on all combatants. Gaetz was nicknamed ‘The Missing Link’ and legend has it, he showed up to the 1988 draft with two black eyes from a bar fight the night before. In his brief Sharks tenure, Gaetz recorded 326 penalty minutes, a franchise single-season record.

Family Values: Cousins Scott and Joe Thornton played together with the Sharks for the 2005-06 season. Also, father and son, Ulf and Jonathan Dahlen, both enjoyed tenures with San Jose. Ulf played parts of four seasons (1994 to 1997) with the club, while Jonathan suited up for a single season (2021-22). Lastly, brothers Jamie and Tye McGinn had separate stints with the organization.

Link Gaetz

Returning Players: Patrick Marleau had three separate stints with the Sharks. The first began with him being drafted second overall in 1997 and lasted two decades. Following two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marleau had his contract bought out and he returned to San Jose. Following a trade deadline deal to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marleau returned again, allowing him to surpass Gordie Howe’s NHL games played record where it all began.

Short Stint: Hall of Fame goalie, Ed Belfour, was shockingly traded to the Sharks on January 25, 1997, when he refused to sign a contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks. Belfour’s time with San Jose did not go well, winning only three games in 13 appearances. While with the Sharks, Belfour changed his number from 30 to 20, as a tribute to legendary netminder, Vladislav Tretiak, who was his coach with the Blackhawks.

Undrafted: Jeff Odgers was signed by the Sharks in 1990, joining the team for their inaugural 1991-92 season. Over his five years in San Jose, Odgers set the franchise record for all-time penalty minutes with 1,001, and holds the runner-up spot for penalty minutes in a season with 253. Odgers also served as Sharks captain for a season and a half. He finished his career with 821 games played, 75 goals, 70 assists and 2,364 penalty minutes.

Trade: The Sharks acquisition of Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins early in the 2005-06 season is regarded as one of the most lopsided deals in NHL history. Thornton, a former first overall draft pick in 1997, was dealt for forwards Marco Sturm and Keith Primeau, as well as defenseman Brad Stuart. Thornton would go on to win the Art Ross (NHL regular season points leader) and Hart Memorial (NHL MVP) Trophies in his first season in teal and become a league superstar.

Patrick Marleau

Signing: In 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks loss, was the Sharks gain, as San Jose picked up the most recent Stanley Cup winning goalie (the first Finnish backstop to do so) on a relatively team-friendly deal. Antti Niemi had been rewarded $2.75 million by an arbiter, but Chicago was forced to walk away from the decision, due to their salary cap constraints. The Sharks swooped in and signed Niemi to a one-year, $2 million pact. He would go on to become San Jose’s netminder for the next five seasons.

Draft Pick: The Sharks have never drafted first overall, but have done well with the second choice, highlighted by selecting Patrick Marleau in 1997. The team also has a couple diamond in the rough picks that looked like steals later in Evgeni Nabokov (219th overall in 1994) and Joe Pavelski (205th overall in 2003). Time will tell how recent high draft picks, such as William Eklund (seventh overall in 2021) and Will Smith (fourth overall in 2023) turn out.

Holdouts: Goalie Evgeni Nabokov was one of the NHL’s best goalies going into the 2002-03 season and he wanted to be compensated as such. Five games into the season, after the Sharks managed to win only one contest, the team and Nabokov finally agreed on a new deal. One year prior, defenseman Mike Rathje sat out 24 games, before a four-year, $8.25 million contract brought him back into the fold.

Buyouts: In July 2017, the Sharks signed Martin Jones to a six-year, $34.5 million contract extension. Just three seasons into that deal, following a drop in performance (three straight .896 save percentages), Jones was bought out, owed $10 million over the next six years. Jones has bounced around the NHL since departing San Jose, playing for a different team in each subsequent season.

Joe Pavelski

Unique Game: The Sharks opened their 1998 season with a pair of games against the Calgary Flames in Tokyo, Japan. They also took part in the 2010 NHL Premiere with two contests against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as back-to-back matches against the Nashville Predators in Prague, Czechia, for the 2022 NHL Global Series. A 2015 Stadium Series event featured San Jose against the Los Angeles Kings.

Goal: The Sharks have a history of upsetting favoured teams in playoff Game 7s, based on memorable goals. Underdog Sharks teams defeated both the Detroit Red Wings and Calgary Flames back-to-back in 1994 and 1995, with goals from Jamie Baker and Ray Whitney in double overtime, respectively. In 2000, Owen Nolan’s center ice slap shot tally helped to eliminate the St. Louis Blues. Also, goaltender Evgeni Nabokov became the first European backstop to score a goal, when he did so on March 10, 2002.

Fight/Brawl: The playoffs brings a whole new level of intensity to NHL hockey. A great example of that occurred during the first round of the 2009 post-season, when the Sharks battled their California rivals, the Anaheim Ducks. In Game 6 of the series, Joe Thornton fought Ryan Getzlaf, while later Joe Pavelski scrapped with Ryan Whitney. All four players were not known for their fisticuffs, but rose to the occasion at the most important time of the year. The Ducks would go on the win the series.

Injury: It’s not often that an injury leads to good. That was the case in the 2019 playoffs, when Joe Pavelski fell to the ice after being hit by Cody Eakin of the Vegas Golden Knights and suffered a head injury. Eakin received a five-minute major, during which San Jose scored four goals, to erase a 3-0 deficit. While Pavelski did not return to the contest, the Sharks would go on to win the deciding Game 7 in overtime.

Joe Thornton

Penalty: Raffi Torres had a long history of NHL discipline before his hit to the head of Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg during a 2015 pre-season contest. Torres was suspended for 41-games (half the season, which is the longest ban in NHL history for a hit and longest non-lifetime suspension in league history). Torres never played again in the NHL, being assigned to the Sharks minor league affiliate after serving his punishment.

Wildest Story: The Sharks once invested in a Chinese hockey team, agreeing to send five players and three coaches to China. Thus, the China Sharks briefly existed, lasting two seasons from 2007 to 2009 in Asia League Ice Hockey, before the NHL Sharks were done with the international experiment and pulled their funding. Perhaps the most notable occurrence of the team’s existence, was Claude Lemieux beginning his comeback attempt there with two contests, before suiting up for San Jose for 18 games.

Blooper: Blunders happen, but it’s not often they result in playoff elimination. Game 5 of the 2011 Western Conference Finals went to double overtime, with the Vancouver Canucks one win away from a Stanley Cup Finals berth. Suddenly, Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa was celebrating, while few others had any idea he had just scored the winning goal. Replays showed the puck had bounced off a glass stanchion, allowing Bieksa to shoot the puck on net, while others on the ice had lost sight of the biscuit.

Miscellaneous: A little more on how the Sharks team name was chosen, the moniker could have been Blades, based on the name winning a fan vote, but concerns about the term’s association with violence, led to Sharks being selected, as it was the runner-up amongst 5,000 submissions. It should be noted, the Sharks minor league affiliate from 1990 to 1996 was the Kansas City Blades.

San Jose Sharks: Shark Bite

Shark Bite

  • 0.75 oz Spiced Rum
  • 0.75 oz Light Rum
  • 0.5 oz Blue Curacao
  • Top with Lemon-Lime Soda
  • Drops of Grenadine
  • Garnish with Shark Gummies

I amalgamated a couple different Shark Bite recipes here. This was a fun drink that took a little more prep than your typical cocktail, but was totally worth it!

Pittsburgh Penguins – The Pittsburgh Penguin

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Throughout the year, the Sip Advisor will alphabetically travel the National Hockey League (NHL), discovering the best and worst each team has to offer in a variety of subjects. We will also feature a drink based off the franchise. Today, we travel to the Steel City to get constructive with the Pittsburgh Penguins:

Establishment Story: The Penguins joined the NHL as it expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967. The original ownership group included some heavy hitters, including H.J. Heinz III, heir to the Heinz Company, and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney. The name Penguins was chosen from a contest, where 700 of the 26,000 entries suggested the nickname. Previously, the Pittsburgh Pirates had played in the NHL from 1925 to 1930.

Stanley Cups: The Penguins have won five Stanley Cups, including two back-to-back sets in 1991/1992 and 2016/2017. They also brought home the league championship in 2009. Their only Stanley Cup Final loss came the year before, at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, who they beat in the 2009 rematch. The Penguins five Stanley Cup victories ties them with the Edmonton Oilers for most among non-Original Six clubs.

Celebrity Fan: Michael Keaton, star of movies such as Batman, Beetlejuice and The Founder, resides in Pittsburgh and is an avid supporter of the city’s teams. Keaton has appeared as a presenter at some of the NHL Awards ceremonies. Another unlikely Penguins fan was Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers. Rogers appeared on a 1992 Pro Set hockey card as a Celebrity Captain of the club, donning his trademark sweater and sneakers.

Mr. Rogers

Super Fan: Cy Clark, nicknamed The Hulk for his Hulk Hogan-inspired look, was an avid Penguins fan, first gaining media attention during Pittsburgh’s 2009 Stanley Cup run. In October 2011, Clark was invited to Penguins practice by coach Dan Bylsma, an honour the fan truly cherished. Sadly, Clark passed away in June 2014, following a battle with cancer. Both the Penguins organization and former Philadelphia Flyers player Scott Hartnell, who had a good-natured feud with Clark, sent condolences.

Mascot: The Penguins have had two mascots in their history. First, there was Penguin Pete, who was a real-life Humboldt penguin that was taught to skate on custom made skates. Pete only made seven appearances from February to November 1968, prior to dying. A second Penguin Pete, used in 1971-72, was nicknamed Re-Pete. In 1992, Iceburgh, a king penguin, debuted as mascot for the team, wearing jersey number 00.

Tradition: A pair of long-time Penguins employees became fixtures of Pittsburgh games for fans. First, Vince Lascheid was the Penguins organist from 1970-2003. He was inducted into the Penguins’ Hall of Fame in 2005, passing away in 2009 at the age of 85. Next, Jeff Jimerson has been the team’s national anthem singer for three decades, most notably being credited as ‘Anthem Singer’ in the movie Sudden Death.

Appearances in Media: The Penguins feature heavily in the Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie Sudden Death, as the film takes place during a fictional 1995 Stanley Cup Finals between Pittsburgh and the Chicago Blackhawks. When a group of terrorists invade a VIP suite with the U.S. Vice-President in it, Van Damme’s character has to come to the rescue, including some on-ice and around the arena fight scenes.

Sudden Death

Events/Scandals: Coming out of the 2004-05 NHL lockout, a formula had to be decided upon to see who would get to draft teenage phenom Sidney Crosby. The Penguins, who were battling financial issues and relocation rumours at the time, won the weighted lottery (dubbed the ‘Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes’) and the right to select the generational talent. Many view the event as having saved the franchise, as three Stanley Cups and a new arena have transpired during Crosby’s tenure.

Rivalry: The Penguins top rival is the Philadelphia Flyers, with their feud known as the Battle of Pennsylvania. Both teams joined the NHL as part of the ‘Next Six’ 1967 expansion and have met seven times in the playoffs. Pittsburgh has also had a long-running rivalry with the Washington Capitals, reignited by superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, who entered the league at the same time, following the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Tragedy: After a solid rookie season with the Penguins in 1969-70, Michel Briere returned home to Quebec, where he was to marry his long-time girlfriend and mother of his son. Sadly, Briere would be involved in a single-vehicle car accident, where he was thrown from the vehicle. Briere was placed in a coma, but passed away 11 months later at the age of 21. Even worse, the ambulance carrying Briere struck and killed a cyclist who was a friend of Briere.

Player Nicknames: The Penguins two franchise players have memorable nicknames. First, Mario Lemieux was dubbed Super Mario, a play on the Nintendo video game character, as both are able to achieve unbelievable acts. Next, Sidney Crosby has been known as Sid the Kid since he was, well, a kid, but the moniker has stuck even as Crosby plays the latter stages of his career.

Crosby and Ovechkin

Line: The combo of Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr figured into two of the Penguins most dominant trios, with Kevin Stevens as the towering Sky Line and with Ron Francis as the unstoppable Great Line. Other notable units include the Century Line (Syl Apps Jr., Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost), the HBK Line (Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel) and the Option Line (John Cullen, Mark Recchi and Kevin Stevens).

Captain: It’s hard to give this category to one player, given how much Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby have each meant to the Penguins organization. Lemieux served three separate stints (1987-94, 1995-97 and 2001-06) as the team’s captain. The Lemieux era gave way to the Crosby era, as Crosby took over the captaincy in 2007, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history and, in 2009, the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup. All five of the Penguins Stanley Cups have been won with one of these two at the helm.

Enforcer: Defenseman Paul Baxter holds the Penguins franchise record for penalty minutes in a season at 409. This mark is the runner up for the NHL single-season record. Baxter sits sixth on the team’s all-time penalty minute list, despite only playing three seasons with the club. Other notable brawlers for Pittsburgh include Georges Laraque, Eric Godard, Bob ‘Battleship’ Kelly, Dave Schultz, and Jay Caufield.

Family Values: Few know that Mario Lemieux’s brother Alain also played for the Penguins, with the two dressing for a single game together during the 1986-87 season. This would be Alain’s final NHL contest of 119 career games. Other brother combos had longer stints together in Pittsburgh, including Doug and Greg Brown in 1993-94 and twins Chris and Peter Ferraro in 1997-98.

Lemieux and Crosby

Returning Players: Mark Recchi had three stints with the Penguins. He began his NHL career with the team, drafted 67th overall in 1988. After winning the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 1991, Recchi was used as a trade chip to bring Rick Tocchet and Kjell Samuelsson to the Penguins. He returned in 2005, only to be traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he would win a second Stanley Cup. Recchi’s final Pittsburgh run, in 2007, resulted in being a waiver claim by the Atlanta Thrashers.

Short Stint: As the Penguins have perennially pursued Stanley Cups, hoping to cash in on the Sidney Crosby era, a number of top players have joined the team for playoff runs, only to leave for other clubs following post-season elimination. This includes Jarome Iginla and Patrick Marleau, who suited up for Pittsburgh for 28 and 12 games (regular season and playoffs combined), respectively.

Undrafted: Although his career ended in great controversy, Marty McSorely enjoyed quite a professional run for an undrafted player. He was signed by the Penguins in 1982, debuting for the team in the 1983-84 season. McSorely was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in September 1985, becoming the bodyguard of Wayne Gretzky for most of the next decade. During his brief time with Pittsburgh, he recorded 239 penalty minutes in only 87 games. McSorely also played 47 contests for the Penguins in 1993-94.

Trade: The best and worst transactions in Penguins history were both trade deadline day deals. The best was bringing in Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings from the Hartford Whalers in 1991, which resulted in back-to-back Stanley Cups. The worst was sending Markus Naslund to the Vancouver Canucks in 1996 for Alex Stojanov. Stojanov played a mere 45 games for Pittsburgh, while Naslund became one of the NHL’s best player for a few seasons.

Penguins Trade

Signing: Among the best signings the Penguins ever made, were for depth players who were veteran leaders, helping the team finally get over the hump and win back-to-back Stanley Cups. For the 1991 and 1992 championships, this role was played by Bryan Trottier, who came to Pittsburgh after his contract was bought out by the New York Islanders. For the Penguins 2016 and 2017 titles, Matt Cullen provided a solid two-way game, while in the twilight of his career.

Draft Pick: The Penguins have done very well with the first overall pick, selecting generational talents Mario Lemieux (1984) and Sidney Crosby (2005). Pittsburgh has also done well with the number two choice, taking Evgeni Malkin (2004) and Jordan Staal (2006). Lastly, nabbing Jaromir Jagr at fifth overall in 1990 was a huge steal, perhaps based on Jagr telling teams drafting earlier than the Penguins that he would not leave Czechia immediately to play for them.

Holdouts: Petr Nedved is the only Penguins player to stage a contract holdout, when he sat out the entire 1997-98 season and the start of the following year. The holdout was ended when Nedved was traded to the New York Rangers. The move colossally backfired for Nedved, who earned less than he would have had he accepted Pittsburgh’s original offer in 1997.

Buyouts: The Penguins have only bought out one contract in their history. That distinction belongs to defenseman Jack Johnson, who had his five-year $16.25 million deal bought out with three seasons remaining. Johnson’s contract will count against the Penguins salary cap through the 2025-26 season. The buyout may have worked in Johnson’s favour, as two years after his Penguins dismissal, he won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche.

Jaromir Jagr

Unique Game: The Penguins have participated in numerous Winter Classics (2008 vs. Buffalo Sabres, 2011 vs. Washington Capitals, 2023 vs. Boston Bruins) and Stadium Series (2014 vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 2017 and 2019 vs. Philadelphia Flyers) contests. Internationally, they opened their 2000-01 season with a pair of games against the Nashville Predators in Saitama, Japan, as well as taking part in the 2008 NHL Premiere, with two matches against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden.

Goal: One of the greatest feats in NHL history was Mario Lemieux scoring five goals in a game, in five different ways. On December 31, 1988, against the New Jersey Devils, he scored even-strength, power-play, short-handed, penalty shot, and empty net goals. Lemieux also recorded three assists that night, being involved in every goal of an 8-6 victory. In 2017, the achievement was voted the greatest moment in the NHL’s first 100 years.

Fight/Brawl: Things got real nasty on February 11, 2011, when the Penguins faced the New York Islanders. Their previous match saw two Islanders concussed and retribution was expected. As the game got out of hand (the final score was 9-3 for the Islanders), melees broke out everywhere, totalling 15 fighting majors and 21 game misconducts. The aftermath saw three players suspended and the Islanders fined $100,000.

Injury: On May 14, 1993, Penguins power forward Kevin Stevens went to hit New York Islanders defenseman Rich Pilon. The collision resulted in Stevens being knocked unconscious and falling face first onto the ice. Many of the bones in Stevens face were shattered and required metal plates to be reconstructed. Worst of all, the injury led Stevens to battle an addiction with prescription drugs that ended his marriage and affected the rest of his career.

Penguins Islanders Brawl

Penalty: Matt Cooke gained a reputation for delivering dangerous hits to the head of opponents during his Penguins tenure. Cooke was suspended four times for infractions, starting with a pair of two-game bans, followed by sitting out four games and 10 games plus the first round of the 2011 playoffs. His worst hit, practically ending the career of Marc Savard, wasn’t punished at all, but led to changes in NHL rules regarding blindside hits to the head.

Wildest Story: The Stanley Cup is the holy grail of hockey. After a summer of celebrating their 1991 championship victory, Penguins forward Phil Bourque noticed a rattling sound coming from within the trophy. When Bourque opened the Stanley Cup up to make repairs, he noticed others who had worked on it prior had inscribed their names inside. Bourque joined them, his message reading: “Enjoy it, Phil Bubba Bourque, ’91 Penguins.”

Blooper: As the Penguins pursued a wild card playoff spot for the 2023 post-season, they were coming up against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks with two important points in the standings up for grabs. Despite being heavy favourites, Pittsburgh lost the contest 5-2. This ended the Penguins 16-year playoff qualification streak (at the time the longest in major North American sports leagues) and opened the door for the Florida Panthers to go on their Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Miscellaneous: In 1993, Penguins owner Howard Baldwin invested in the HC CSKA Moscow team, hoping to gain better access to Russian players. The Russian Penguins played each of the 13 International Hockey League teams once during the 1993-94 season, only winning two games. Alumni from the club included goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin and forward Sergei Brylin. A 2019 documentary, titled Red Penguins, detailed the short history of the club.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Pittsburgh Penguin

The Pittsburgh Penguin

  • 1.5 oz Kahlua
  • 1 oz Goldschlager
  • Splash of Cream of Coconut
  • Garnish with Coconut Shavings

The Cocktails with the Penguins blog had a number of options for me to use, but I went with this one, an adaptation of the Panda Bear drink. There’s also a Pittsburgh Penguins Martini out there, using white chocolate liqueur, Irish cream, vanilla vodka and chocolate syrup.