Ranking 10 Best NHL Teams That Didn't Win the Stanley Cup | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Despite winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992, the Pittsburgh Penguins had never finished with the NHL's best regular-season record. That changed in 1992-93, as they sported a record of 56 wins, 21 losses and seven ties for 119 points. It remains the only Presidents' Trophy that the Penguins have won in their history.
More remarkable is the Penguins did it while team captain Mario Lemieux was sidelined for 24 games receiving treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma. In one of the greatest individual comebacks in NHL history, Lemieux returned and went on to win the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and the Bill Masteron Memorial Trophy.
The '92-'93 Penguins also possessed a deep, talented roster. Four players (Lemieux, Ron Francis, Larry Murphy and Joe Mullen) would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. So would their coach, Scotty Bowman. They also had a young superstar named Jaromir Jagr, who became one of the NHL's greatest scorers and is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
They also possess a rugged scoring forward in Rick Tocchet, a 111-point winger in Kevin Stevens, and a former Vezina Trophy winner in goaltender Tom Barrasso. There was a promising young scorer in forward Martin Straka, plus a mean, physical shutdown defenseman in Ulf Samuelsson patrolling their blue line.
Buoyed by Lemieux's stunning return and with the confidence of a two-time Stanley Cup champion, the Penguins eliminated the New Jersey Devils in five games in the division semifinals. They were expected to make short work of the New York Islanders in the division finals but were upset by the determined underdogs in seven games.
The Penguins declined after that season, and Lemieux retired for the first time in 1997. He returned in 2000-01 and helped the Penguins reach the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the defending champion Devils in five games. Lemieux hung his skates for good in 2005-06, passing the torch to a rising young Penguins star named Sidney Crosby.
