PITTSBURGH, PA – DECEMBER 17: Pittsburgh Penguins Right Wing Bryan Rust (17) celebrates his goal with Pittsburgh Penguins Right Wing Jake Guentzel (59) during the first period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks on December 17, 2018, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)
In honor of Labor Day, we should celebrate those Pittsburgh Penguins players who wore a bloody stripe on their nose the same way patches now adorn jerseys, and a scowl was imprinted upon former Penguins coach Mike Sullivan’s face.
There have been some fierce, hard workers in the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby era. For the purpose of the list, we’ll avoid mere weight room reputations because who among us really knows the gym rats from scrappers just tossing iron? It has to translate to the ice to make the list.
It also seems many of the hard workers with the constant scar across the bridge of their nose, bruised shins, and banged-up shoulders have spent some time on Crosby’s line, too. However, that is not a requirement for the list.
We should also acknowledge, Crosby should indeed be at the top of the list. Perhaps no one has ever put more effort into being a great hockey player or used his competitive fire even in workouts like Crosby. But the list is to honor the workers who toil sometimes in the shadows.
Top 5 Hardest Working Penguins
4. Chris Kunitz
The scrappy winger’s career wasn’t going well in Anaheim. He was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005-06, then reclaimed two games later by Anaheim. However, he found his stride and was a 25-goal, 6o-point winger for the 2007 Anaheim Ducks that won the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins acquired Kunitz for defenseman Ryan Whitney in 2008-09, and the Kunitz-Crosby connection began. Kunitz did the dirty work alongside Crosby for most of six seasons until age and the effects of a hard-nosed game began taking their toll. Kunitz finished his career with 1022 games, 268 goals, and three Stanley Cups and the 2014 gold medal with Team Canada, all while using his speed and grit to get the next puck.
His 2017 double overtime goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final will stand as his signature goal.
3. Bryan Rust
Former teammate Jason Zucker liked to roast Bryan Rust and vice versa. The pair went back to their junior days in the US program, and among the barbs, Zucker liked to recall that he didn’t think Rust had any talent. It was in jest, but indeed Rust began his professional career as a fourth-line grinder whose job was to block shots, defend hard, and get off the ice.
He’s come a long way in his 11-year NHL career. Whenever asked, Sullivan typically remarked that he had never seen a player develop his offensive game over the course of years as much as Rust. However, the pillars of Rust’s game are the same–he is in the corners fighting for the puck, chasing defenseman in the forecheck, battling at the front of the net, and usually absorbing punishment to create offense.
Last season was Rust’s best, as he scored 31 goals and 65 points. He is the quintessential scrapper.
2. Kris Letang
The health maladies that Kris Letang has overcome would be enough to end many players’ careers. However, Letang continues to work through them, including surgery last spring to repair a small hole in his heart.
Letang’s career has been marked by playing 25 minutes per night, generating offense, but also playing an energetic, physical brand of defense. He’s undergone serious neck surgery (which cost him the 2017 playoff run), a couple of strokes, and various other injuries suffered by being a fearless defender who is, in reality, about 5-foot-9 or 10, and 190 pounds (the sheets list him at 6-feet, 193 pounds).
Letang’s gym work is legendary. He doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his physicality, which in 25 minutes per game is enormously taxing.
1. Gary Roberts
Gary Roberts was the player who made Chuck Norris sleep with the lights on. Roberts made the boogeyman check under his bed. Roberts’ blend of stoic intensity and physical work helped the 2008 Penguins exceed all expectations.
And he became a cult hero among Penguins fans who made T-shirts and adopted a line of Roberts jokes highlighting his vigorous severity on the ice (and sometimes off it).
The thought was that the 2008 Penguins were still a year or two away. After all, captain Sidney Crosby was just 20 years old–they weren’t ready to win a Stanley Cup yet. However, they made it to the Final, only falling to a great Detroit Red Wings team as Marian Hossa’s backhand fluttered wide of the post in the final second of Game 6.
Roberts was so renowned for his hard work that others visited him in the offseason to train with him. Penguins players were sent to work out with him. In short, he set the standard for the young Penguins and much of the league.
His zealous work on and off the ice was the result of his career transformation from a prolific 50-goal scorer to overcoming a serious back injury.
Roberts’s time with the Penguins was brief and at the end of his career. He arrived near the trade deadline in 2006-07 and only played 38 games for the team in 2007-08. But his impact was indelible.
Gary Roberts doesn’t sleep. He waits.
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