Many credit 1991 trade for shaping Penguins' organization

By Josh Yohe, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Friday, March 4, 2011

Hockey fans still gather around their televisions and computers on NHL trade deadline day, hoping their team pulls off a magical deal that propels it to championship glory.

Twenty years ago today, such a trade occurred.

Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings were traded to Pittsburgh a generation ago, but the reverberation of that deal is still felt today.

"If that (trade) didn't happen," said Scotty Bowman, the director of player personnel that season, "I doubt if we could have reached our Cup win."

Two of the most important figures in Penguins' history orchestrated the trade. Penguins general manager Craig Patrick, who was about to begin a remarkable run, was contacted by then-Hartford general manager Eddie Johnston, who had drafted Mario Lemieux almost seven years earlier.

Francis was about to become a free agent.

"Hartford ownership told E.J. to trade Francis," Patrick said. "E.J. started calling around. No one actually thought Ron Francis would be available."

Some interesting tidbits have recently come to light regarding one of the most significant trades in the history of Pittsburgh sports.

• According to Patrick, a deal that would have sent John Cullen to Hartford for Ron Francis — with no other players involved — nearly came to fruition until further discussions.

• Samuelsson, the linebacker of a defenseman who became a cult figure in Pittsburgh, was seriously contemplating playing in his native Sweden following the 1990-91 season.

• Francis, whose contract was set to expire following the season, feared signing an extension with the Whalers because he thought such a move would make him more likely to be traded.

Once Francis became available, it didn't take Patrick long to pounce.

"We started talking right away," Patrick said. "We needed people with more character in our locker room. That isn't to say John Cullen didn't have good character, because he did. But we needed someone like Ron Francis. No one had character like him. He was the perfect fit."

The Penguins were blessed with numerous offensive savants but were badly lacking defense. Cullen and Zarley Zalapski were considered above average offensive talents but were not strong defensive players. Francis, Samuelsson, and even Jennings, a reliable defenseman, immediately changed the team's approach to winning.

"They had star power," Samuelsson said. "They had Mario. And we brought the defense."

The trade was executed after the Penguins had allowed 28 goals during an 0-4-1 road trip. They were closer to missing the playoffs than to catching the first-place New York Rangers, whom they trailed by a dozen points.

After a week in Pittsburgh, however, Francis had already developed a special premonition.

"Ulf and I grabbed a bite to eat after our third game there," Francis said. "I said I thought the talent was there to win the Stanley Cup."

The Penguins, of course, caught the Rangers before winning the first of two straight Stanley Cups.

While Francis was among hockey's most cerebral players, Samuelsson preferred to use brute force.

Most remembered for the infamous hit on Boston power forward Cam Neely during Game 3 of the 1991 Wales Conference Final, the hard-hitting Samuelsson always played against the opposition's best players.

"Such an underrated player," Francis said. "Actually, when I arrived in Pittsburgh, I spoke with Craig Patrick. Craig wanted to know about the other two guys he had gotten in the trade. I told him that Ulf was one of the five best defensive defensemen in the league. Craig said, 'Really?' I said, 'Oh yeah.'"

Samuelsson immediately felt at home in Pittsburgh, his thoughts of returning to Sweden suddenly forgotten.

His physical — some might say nasty — approach to hockey was quickly adopted by Western Pennsylvania sports fans. The end of the Chuck Noll era saw the Steelers struggle, but fans who still craved violent, dominant defense found a hero in Samuelsson.

"I remember my first few games there," Samuelsson said. "I was doing my thing, hitting people, that kind of stuff. I heard the crowd cheer. At first, I thought someone else had gotten into a fight, or something like that. But no. They were cheering for me. They always cheered when I did that kind of stuff, and I always liked playing for them. Being there was the highlight of my career. I knew then I wasn't going back to Sweden. I just needed a change, and Pittsburgh gave me exactly what I needed."

History shows the Penguins never won anything until Francis and Samuelsson came around. Their impact during the golden age of Penguins hockey was always felt, and illustrations remain. Samuelsson scored the game-winning goal in the team's 8-0 rout against Minnesota in the series-clinching Game 6 victory. A year later, Francis scored the game-winning goal when the Penguins finished a sweep of Chicago for another championship.

"If they don't make that trade, they might not even make the playoffs that season," said Tom McMillan, the Penguins vice president of communications who covered the 1991 team during his newspaper days.

"Things were bleak. It was the granddaddy of all deadline deals."

Francis and Samuelsson, now assistant coaches with Carolina and Phoenix, respectively, still sometimes long for Pittsburgh.

"It was home," Francis said. "My dad was a steel worker. I loved it there. The trade was a great thing."

Samuelsson wouldn't mind coming back again someday.

"What a special time it was and what a special place," he said. "Maybe someday, if I'm still in the game, I will work there in the future. What a town. What a trade."


Making a point

How each player in the 1991 blockbuster trade fared in that postseason:

Ron Francis: 24 games, 7 goals, 10 assists, 17 points, 24 penalty minutes

Ulf Samuelsson: 20 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, 34 penalty minutes

Grant Jennings: 13 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, 16 penalty minutes

John Cullen: 6 games, 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points, 10 penalty minutes

Zarley Zalapski: 6 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, 8 penalty minutes

Jeff Parker: DNP


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