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Sunday, June 21, 2009
Ryan Malone watched Game 7 from a bachelor party, but we'll get to that in a minute.
First, let's be frank: If a man owns even an ounce of humility, he will, at some point, find himself in a reflective mode during his most triumphant moments, thinking of those who lit the trail for him.
So, it was for the Stanley Cup-champion Penguins of 2009.
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Ryan Malone tries to score on Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood during the first period of game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on May 24, 2008. (UPI Photo/Brian Kersey)
Executives, coaches, players and scouts echoed a similar refrain in the wake of a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
"I'm going to celebrate with the people who helped me get here," assistant coach Mike Yeo said Monday, during the parade, when asked how he would spend his day with the Cup. "That might sound boring, but it's the truth."
How about you, general manager Ray Shero, what was running through your mind when the horn sounded in Game 7?
"I thought of everyone who helped me get here, quite honestly," he said, during the post-game revelry at Joe Louis Arena. "I thought of my wife and kids and (Nashville Predators GM) David Poile, who hired me in Nashville. Just everything comes through your mind."
Long-time scout Chuck Grillo, a holdover from the Craig Patrick era, will never forget the moment the clock hit zero. He has been working in the NHL since 1981. He'd never touched the Cup 'til Friday night.
"What happens," Grillo said, "is your whole life flashes in front of you."
Grillo stayed up late into the night with the Penguins' hockey operations staff at a Detroit hotel. His colleagues had one request of him: Be sure to thank the men who came before us in this organization.
"They wanted to pay tribute to those guys," Grillo said. "And I will."
That is appropriate, because so many perhaps-forgotten contributors helped pave the way to the Penguins' third Stanley Cup title.
Obviously, the people on hand — everyone from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to Philippe Boucher and Pascal Dupuis, to Shero, Lemieux and coach Dan Bylsma — deserve most of the acclaim, in varying degrees, for this championship.
They get credit for the goal, so to speak, but a bunch of folks who've since moved along deserve to share in a second assist.
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As the minutes tensely ticked away in Game 7 nine nights ago, ex-Penguins winger Ryan Malone watched from a bar in Faribault, Minn.
Malone was attending a bachelor party for Carolina Hurricanes winger Patrick Eaves.
"When we first got there, the Penguins were up going into the third period, and I was like, 'Oh my God, Pittsburgh's going to win it,' " Malone recounted Friday. "You're happy for 'em, but it was weird watching, because you know so many of the guys, and you were in that position last year."
Last year, Malone was on the ice at Joe Louis Arena, unable to breathe out of his nose because of an injury, but battling gamely with his teammates to win a memorable Game 5.
One image this reporter will take from that series is Malone slumped at his locker after the crushing Game 6 loss, a baseball hat pulled low over his face, unable to move a muscle. He had literally given everything, and that is the main point here:
Guys like Ryan Malone helped to create the culture and spirit that carried the Penguins one step farther in 2009.
Gary Roberts is another one. When he and Mark Recchi were teammates in Pittsburgh, they modeled a champion's work ethic to the younger players.
Roberts, now retired, texted defenseman Brooks Orpik before Game 1 of the Final.
"He said, 'I know this is your guys' year; you guys are going to do it,' and, 'I know everybody is doubting you, just stay with it,' " Orpik said on the ice after Game 7.
Getty Images
PITTSBURGH - MAY 31: Niklas Kronwall #55 of the Detroit Red Wings pushes off on Gary Roberts #10 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during game four of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Mellon Arena on May 31, 2008 in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania.
Ex-Penguins defensemen Darryl Sydor and Ryan Whitney texted Orpik on the morning of Game 7.
"I think it says a lot about all those guys," Orpik said. "They had a huge effect on the guys here and how professional we are. Obviously, they're not here to enjoy it, but I think we probably should share it with those guys. They were genuinely, really, really pulling for us."
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Ryan Malone's father, Greg, remembers general manager Craig Patrick's game plan when the Penguins sank to the NHL basement shortly after the turn of the millennium.
A former Penguins player, Greg Malone was Patrick's long-time chief of scouting.
"Craig told us, 'We may not be here to reap the benefits, but we're going to do it the right way; we're going to rebuild through the draft,' " Greg Malone recalled Friday.
It's not like they had much choice — they weren't going to rebuild with high-priced free agents — but give the Patrick regime its proper due for drafting several key members of this year's team.
I'm not talking about Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Those were gimmes. I'm talking about goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, taken first overall in 2003, and several other picks, including defenseman Rob Scuderi (fifth round, 1998); Orpik (18th overall, 2000); forward Max Talbot (eighth round, 2002); winger Tyler Kennedy (fourth round, 2004); and defenseman Kris Letang (third round, 2005).
Talbot was the 234th pick of a 291-pick draft. Hard as it is to believe now, the knock on him was his skating ability. Veteran scout Gilles Meloche, who has added goaltending coach to his duties, lobbied for Talbot a few rounds earlier. Patrick and Malone finally relented.
On picking Orpik, who's had a better career than most of the players drafted in front of him, Greg Malone says, "We had him rated much higher than 18th, so that was an easy one."
In 2003, the Penguins were torn between Fleury and Eric Staal with the top pick, when scout and long-time NHL goalie Les Binkley piped up, saying, "When are we ever going to be positioned this high to take a goaltender?"
Credit also must go to Patrick for signing Sergei Gonchar to that five-year, $25-million contract (looks pretty good now, eh?) and hiring Michel Therrien as Wilkes-Barre's coach and later promoting him. Ironically, Therrien wound up revamping the laissez-faire locker-room atmosphere that had germinated in Patrick's later years.
Shero's former top assistant, Chuck Fletcher — another guy who helped immensely before moving on — spoke eloquently to Therrien's impact, two months into Bylsma's tenure.
It was Fletcher, by the way, who brought Bylsma into the organization.
"Michel Therrien did a terrific job of bringing accountability, bringing a sense of defensive responsibility and structure to a team that had a lot of inexperienced players," Fletcher said. "He took the team a long way. Dan was able to come in and open up the spigot a little bit, if you will."
Greg Malone, still living in Pittsburgh but now a pro scout with the Tampa Bay Lightning, sent a text to Craig Patrick after the Penguins won the Cup last Friday. Malone declined to reveal the message but indicated it was a reminder to Patrick of Patrick's positive impact on this team.
"When you're at the bottom, that's hard, from the trainers right through to the coaches on up," Malone said. "Those are the guys who made a lot of sacrifices in keeping this thing together. They are the ones who had to bear the brunt of losing."
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Born and raised in Upper St. Clair, Ryan Malone was a Penguins fan long before he was a Penguins player. One wonders if he felt a part of this title.
"You kind of feel a part of it," he said. "My dad being in the organization when I was kid, knowing Mario on different levels, knowing Ed Johnston, to see all those guys have success is great.
"To me, it's always been kind of like a big family."
After our conversation, Ryan Malone texted an additional thought: "I'd like to add it was nice to see them win for the fans! They were patient and now they have the reward."
He'd just arrived in Atlanta, where some current Penguins players and some former ones, including Roberts, were expected to be in town for ex-teammate Colby Armstrong's wedding.
How fitting that such a group would have a chance to celebrate together.
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