On the Penguins: Team of the '70s

For a decade that gave us bad clothes and bad hair, it also gave us some players that were fun to root for and even a few postseason memories worth remembering.

Sunday, January 10, 2010
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

There's a lot about the 1970s that's best forgotten -- lime-green leisure suits, anyone? -- and people who were following the Penguins then probably know that better than most.

After all, that was the decade when they became just the second team in NHL history to take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven playoff series, then lose it, and when the franchise went into bankruptcy for the first time.


Clockwise from bottom, Bryan "Bugsy" Watson, Dave Burrows, Rick Kehoe, Syl Apps, Greg Polis, Lowell MacDonald and Jim Rutherford. INSET: Jean Pronovost is one of two players to make the teams of the 1960s and '70s.

Still, there were a few high points worth celebrating -- George Ferguson's series-winning overtime goal in Buffalo in 1979, for example -- and players who were highly entertaining, whether it was for their talent, their toughness or both.

They were the guys who made things interesting on the ice, and challenging when trying to select the Penguins' Team of the 1970s.

The objective is not simply to identify the 12 most talented forwards and six most skilled defensemen, but to assemble a team that follows the template of the 2009-10 Penguins:

Two lines counted on to drive the offense, a third that's good at both ends and an "energy line" that blends physicality with responsible defense. Ideally, the blue-line pairings offer a balance of offense and defense, although that won't always be the case (as evidenced by the third group).

Players were chosen on the basis of their performance for the Penguins during the period in question and for purposes of this feature, the decades will break down this way: 1967-68 through 1969-70, 1970-71 through 1979-80, 1980-81 through 1989-90, 1990-91 through 1999-2000, and 2000-01 through the present.

Thumbnail notes

Anderson: Rugged, big hitter who was not shy about dropping his gloves.

Apps: The glue that held the "Century Line" together.

Burrows: Shot-blocker extraordinaire.

Carlyle: Consistent point-producer.

Ferguson: Speedy goal-scorer with an underrated defensive game.

Fonteyne: Great penalty-killer who rarely took one.

Harbaruk: Hard-hitting and committed to sound defense.

Herron: Good goalie on some pretty bad teams.

Hextall: Two-way contributor and enthusiastic, effective fighter.

Kehoe: One of the great goal-scorers in franchise history.

Kelly: Those hands could hurt you any number of ways.

Larouche: Could handle and shoot puck like few others.

Malone: Capable of scoring goals as well as setting them up.

MacDonald: Great hands eventually were betrayed by bad knees.

Paradise: Sound defensively, and a terrific hitter.

Polis: Reliable goal-scorer with unfortunate, but understandable, nickname of "Porky."

Pronovost: Outstanding sniper who put equal effort into his defensive play.
Rutherford: Got by more on tenacity than talent.

Stackhouse: Good two-way defenseman who wasn't physical enough for fans.

Watson: Aggressive and fearless, a classic agitator.

PDF
Roster for the team of the 1970s

For more on the Penguins, read the Pens Plus blog with Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Dave Molinari can be reached at dmolinari@post-gazette.com.

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First published on January 10, 2010 at 12:00 am