Penguins Cup Chronicles: Bob Errey

Bob Errey's goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but it was one typical for his career.

Errey crashed the net — literally — to knock the puck past Minnesota goaltender Brian Hayward while falling down and give the Penguins a 4-0 lead en route to an 8-0 win.

"The one in the crease, that was just normal for me. I didn't score many goals from outside of about four feet, so when (Jaromir) Jagr was going to the net, I was going to the net, too," Errey recalled earlier this week. "If I didn't get it in with my stick, I was going to take it in with my body. But I did get my stick on it."

Announcers Mike Lange and Paul Steigerwald seemed to think Jagr scored the goal, a fact which hasn't escaped Errey, who now calls Penguins games for FSN with Steigerwald.

"I keep telling Steigy about that," he said. "But now I know that he can't see anything from up top anyway."

So, Errey doesn't blame his broadcast partner for depriving him of credit, right?

"I didn't say that," Errey said, with a laugh. "I just said he can't see anything from up top."

A first-round pick in 1983, Errey had seen his share of lean times with the Penguins. So, the overwhelming feelings he experienced when he raised the Stanley Cup over his head are hard to describe.

"You know there was a lot of trial and tribulation for a lot of us guys," he said, "especially for guys like myself and (Phil Bourque) and (Troy) Loney that had been around the organization since '82, '83, so it meant a lot to us."

Q&A with Bob Errey

On the big changes that year:

Well, obviously, we made the trade, and we got (Ulf) Samuelsson and (Ron) Francis and (Grant) Jennings. That was a big trade that really got us over the hump, gave us that No. 2 centerman that we could fill in behind Mario (Lemieux). Mario had had success before that, having that big year, 199 points, but I think at the end of the day, we realized we had to be a better team, depth-wise. We traded Johnny Cullen, who had a tremendous start to that season — he was a great offensive player — for more of a two-way center in Ronnie Francis, and you know, our blue line was stronger. We had offensive guys and defensive guys on the backside, and really, we had three goaltenders that we used that season who all contributed.

On the team's struggles to start the season:

It's not just on the blue line, but defensively. That's what that trade brought us, two defensive defenseman and a defensive forward, one of the best defensive forwards and best faceoff men in the game. That really was the difference. You know, they always said defense wins championships, and I think they were right that year.

On his role with the team:

(Twenty goals) was about normal for me. I played a little bit when I had to as a shutdown guy, turned into more of a defensive forward, but I could still score when counted on. I wanted to make sure I could chip in. In my mind, I thought if I got a goal every four games, then that would help, and 20 goals was a number that I really shot for at the start of the year.

On picking up the slack for the injured Mario Lemieux:

I think, at the point, we had become a little bit accustomed to him missing some games and knew he wasn't always going to be there. As long as he was healthy at the end of the day, we were going to be happy, and that wasn't always the key, either. I know in that Minnesota series, he was even hurting there. I mean, it's an easy cliche to say that everybody's got to pick up their game, but I think, really, the guys that really did the job, was a guy like Johnny Cullen and some of the other guys, (Kevin) Stevens and (Mark) Recchi, they picked up the slack offensively.

On the trade of John Cullen and Zarley Zalapski:

It was a shock, but we knew, I guess, at the end of the day, that if you were going to get a player like some of the players we got, you're going to have to trade someone. But (Cullen) was a good friend to all those guys. ... He was a good friend to all of us — still is, as a matter of fact. Great personality, but you gotta give up somebody good to get somebody good, and that's what happened.

On all the trades made during the 1990-91 season:

I think that's kind of the nature of the game. You know, we were always trying to get to the next level and the franchise had never been successful. You're going to have to make moves and especially if you think you got a chance to win, and Mario had already been in the league since '84, and you hadn't got to that point, your window is going to start to close. That was the time to make the moves — and rightfully so. And they worked out.

On surrounding Mario Lemieux with talented players:

When you got the best guy in hockey, you better surround him with some good players. One guy wasn't going to win it; that was obvious. That's why it's always a team award, and you know, I'm sure everybody would concur with that. I thought we had a great team, had a lot of personalities, a lot of different personalities, and it was a lot of fun.

On the additions of Bryan Trottier, Joe Mullen and Bob Johnson:

You had to bring in winners. That winning element's important. ... You can listen to these guys, and you know, they had some credence to what they were saying. Bryan Trottier's been a winner wherever he's gone. Joey Mullen was fantastic, obviously, his whole career, another good personality. Bob Johnson, he was the one that really brought everyone together. He was able to get the best out of everybody, and that's what you have to get. He could, on your worst day, he could make you feel good, and I can't say enough about that man.

On the team buying into Bob Johnson's style:

Guys knew him from previous experiences; I think Joey Mullen played for him. We knew how he was going to be. It beat the ranter and raver. We had enough veteran players who didn't need a guy ranting and raving. We just needed a guy just kind of putting the pieces in place and getting everybody on the same page, and that's what he did.

On Kevin Stevens' guarantee vs. Boston:

We all felt the same thing. He wasn't telling us anything that we didn't believe. We kind of got gypped out of that. We knew we were the better team. Then, I think we went and proved that. We knew that we deserved better than being down by two (games).

On his day with the Stanley Cup:

I brought it to my cottage in Canada. We had about 100 people, family, friends come over and enjoy it by the waterside, and I picked it up myself at the Hall of Fame. It was different back then. They didn't have anybody protecting it, so I picked it up by myself and brought it home in its coffin case and brought it back. We could do whatever we wanted to. We had a lot of fun with it.

Additional Information:

Bob Errey

ACQUIRED: June 8, 1983 • First-round draft pick (15th overall).

PENGUINS DEBUT: Oct. 4, 1983, at St. Louis

PENGUINS 1990-91 STATS: 79 games, 20 goals, 22 assists, 42 points, 115 PIM

PENGUINS CAREER STATS: 572 games, 132 goals, 140 assists, 272 points, 651 PIM

WHAT HE'S UP TO NOW: Errey provides color commentary alongside Paul Steigerwald on Penguins TV broadcasts.