Pittsburgh Penguins TBT: With the Fifth Pick, The Pens Select…
By Mike Necciai
In our Pittsburgh Penguins Throwback Thursday, we’re going to visit a draft in which Pittsburgh changed the face and destiny of their franchise. Of course, many immediately think of Mario Lemieux or even Sidney Crosby considering the struggles in Pittsburgh prior to each of them being drafted. But, I’m not talking about either of them. I’m actually not even talking about a first overall pick.
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The Penguins finished the 1989 season with a 32-40-8 record, which landed them fifth in the Patrick Division standings. It also meant that they held the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.
What they didn’t know is that all four teams in front of them would pass on a player that would later become one of the best scorers to ever play the game. That player would become known as an ageless wonder and still compete in the NHL at the ripe old age of 43. That player is Jaromir Jagr.
Picks one through four that year belonged to the Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers. They selected Owen Nolan, Petr Nedved, Keith Primeau and Mike Ricci, respectively. While all of those players had solid, if not prominent NHL careers, can you imagine being the guy that passed on Jagr?
The Pittsburgh Penguins faithful are sure glad they all did.
Jagr’s Pittsburgh tenure ended in fairly negative fashion with many still irate over his comments about “dying alive” during his last season with the team. The consensus is that he asked for a trade due to being unhappy in Pittsburgh but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Jagr was quoted in 2011 stating the following…
"When I got traded, I came to Craig Patrick and told him, ‘This team is in trouble.’ Not bankruptcy, but we didn’t have much money. I was making $10 million that year. There was the second line: [Robert] Lang, [Martin] Straka, [Alex] Kovalev. They were all free agents. We couldn’t sign them. Pittsburgh couldn’t sign them. I came to Craig Patrick. I told him, ‘You know what? I know it’s gonna make it easy for you and the Penguins organization if you trade me for that money"
So, while Jagr and Pittsburgh Penguins fans remain at odds in some cases, he has made his rounds throughout the NHL and most notably the Metropolitan Division. But, no matter where his career takes him, Pittsburgh always has 1990-2001 as a reminder of exactly what kind of hockey player Jaromir Jagr was for this team.
And, if it weren’t for a few NHL GM’s passing on the 18-year old Czech kid that didn’t speak a lick of english, the Penguins franchise would have a much different and less exciting history.
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