Expansion draft has history of stinging Stanley Cup-winning Penguins teams
If, as expected, Marc-Andre Fleury is chosen by the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night, the Penguins will lose a key player from their roster to an expansion draft a few days after winning a Stanley Cup championship.
That would not the first time that's happened in Penguins history. In fact, it would be the third.
In 1991, the Penguins lost Randy Gilhen to the Minnesota North Stars a few days after winning the franchise's first title. A year later, the Penguins lost defenseman Peter Taglianetti and goalie Wendell Young to the Tampa Bay Lightning after the team won its second championship.
The Gilhen selection was particularly interesting.
Before Gilhen was picked, he was left unprotected in favor of little-used center Ken Pristlay. After Gilhen was selected, general manager Craig Patrick said he intended to get him back via trade, but that didn't happen.
At the time, Gilhen wasn't happy.
"I think the hardest part is going from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in a short period of time," Gilhen said. "I loved it in Pittsburgh. I loved the organization. I loved the town. That was the hardest part."
Gilhen was flipped to the Kings a month after the expansion draft, then moved to the Rangers a few months into the following season.
Eventually, his anger faded.
"Hockey is a tough business. It happens and you move on," Gilhen said. "I have no ill feelings about what happened. It was a business decision. I was fortunate enough to go to LA and play on a good team and then go to the Rangers and play on a real good team in New York. It was time to make the best of it."
Here's a look at the other times the Penguins lost players to an expansion draft.
2000
Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild
Each team lost two players, and the Blue Jackets pinched defenseman Jonas Junkka and center Tyler Wright from the Penguins. Junkka never played in the NHL. Wright became a key player for the Blue Jackets during the early days of the franchise's existence, scoring at least 13 goals in each of their first three seasons. After he retired, he worked in the team's front office. He's now director of amateur scouting for the Red Wings.
Tyler Wright. Getty Images
1999
Atlanta Thrashers
The Penguins lost forgettable defenseman Maxim Galanov, who went on to play 65 more NHL games after being picked. He played the last 10 years of his career in Europe.
Maxim Galanov. Getty Images
1998
Nashville Predators
The Penguins lost a player who never once suited up for the team. Tony Hrkac was brought in from Edmonton in the Josef Beranek deal on June 16 and was lost to the Predators 10 days later. He never played for Nashville, either. The Predators quickly flipped him to Dallas. Nashville's selection from Boston, incidentally, was now-Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who was flipped to Phoenix, where he played the last four years of his NHL career.
Mike Sullivan. Getty Images
1993
Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
The Penguins lost rugged defenseman Paul Laus with the 10th pick of the expansion draft to Florida and Troy Loney with the 26th pick to Anaheim. Loney had a good year with the Ducks, scoring 13 goals in the next-to-last season of his career.
Mike Sullivan. AP photo
1992
Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators
The Penguins lost goalie Wendell Young and defenseman Peter Taglianetti to the Lightning. Both players eventually returned to the team. Taglianetti returned in exchange for a third-round pick in March and played two more seasons with the Penguins. Young returned to play 10 games in the 1994-95 season.
Peter Taglianetti. Getty Images
1991
San Jose Sharks, Minnesota North Stars
In a complicated ownership change, the Sharks took 16 players from the North Stars, then both teams held an expansion draft. The North Stars took center Randy Gilhen, an important penalty killer and bottom-six forward on the 1991 Penguins championship team.
Randy Gilhen. File photo
1979
Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets
In this draft held in the wake of the NHL-WHA merger, all of the players the Penguins lost — defensemen Colin Campbell and Tom Edur and winger Wayne Bianchin — went to the Oilers.
1974
Kansas City Scouts, Washington Capitals
The Penguins lost defenseman Yvon Labre to the Capitals and wingers Ted Snell and Robin Burns to Kansas City. Labre was a minus-54 for a Caps team that won eight games all year in 1974-75.
Yvon Labre (left) during a Capitals ceremony. Getty Images
1972
New York Islanders, Atlanta Flames
The three players the Penguins lost — forwards Keith McCreary, John Stewart and Bob Leiter — were key pieces for the Flames in their first year. Leiter led the team in scoring. McCreary and Stewart combined for 37 goals. One of the players the Penguins protected was goalie Jim Rutherford.
1970
Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks
The Sabres raided the Penguins to fill out their blue line, selecting four defensemen from the team. Tracy Pratt and Doug Barrie were regulars in the inaugural season. Mike McMahon and Jean-Guy Lagace were not.
1967
Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, California Seals, Minnesota North Stars
The draft that provided the Penguins their first batch of players did not start well. The first two rounds were reserved for goaltenders, and while the Flyers were taking franchise cornerstone Bernie Parent from Boston, the Penguins got two players, Joe Daley and Roy Edwards, who combined to win 13 games for the team.
Things picked up significantly from there. The Penguins got inaugural season standouts Earl Ingarfield from the Rangers with their first pick, Ab McDonald from the Red Wings with their sixth pick and Ken Schinkel from the Rangers with their 10th pick.
In the 19th round, they took a chance on 35-year-old Andy Bathgate, who rewarded them by scoring the franchise's first goal and leading the team in scoring the first season.
The 1967-68 Penguins. File photo
Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.
