Penguins notebook: Stanley Cup still shines for Chris Kunitz
When it comes to having his name etched into the Stanley Cup, there isn't a player in the NHL who can touch Penguins winger Chris Kunitz.
Having won a championship with Anaheim in 2007 before coming to the Penguins in a 2009 trade, Kunitz has claimed the most famous trophy in sports four times, tops among active players.
The list of retired players who have won the Cup exactly four times includes some of the game's all-time greats — from Wayne Gretzky to Gordie Howe to Patrick Roy.
“It definitely doesn't (get old),” Kunitz said. “Being able to share this moment, standing on an opponent's ice and being able to celebrate with your teammates, is the best thing you can do at the end of a season.”
Playing the odds
With two championships in their pocket and almost all of their key players returning, there's no reason to believe the Penguins can't contend for a third straight championship next season.
That's what Las Vegas thinks, anyway.
The Penguins are the 9-1 favorites to win the 2018 Stanley Cup, according to Bovada.lv. They're followed by a group of four teams including Chicago, Edmonton, Tampa Bay and Washington at 12-1. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights are the last choice at 150-1.
Happy owners
Two years and eight days after announcing he and co-owner Ron Burkle were exploring the idea of selling majority ownership of the Penguins, Mario Lemieux raised the Stanley Cup on Sunday night for the second straight year.
Safe to say Lemieux is pleased with how the process worked out.
“We're happy tonight,” Lemieux said with a smile on the ice in Nashville. “We were exploring all options. We're happy the way we've been doing business over the past few years. For us, it's about winning and giving a chance to these guys to win a Stanley Cup every year, and with that, we're happy.”
Goalie hand-off
When the Penguins took turns hoisting and carrying the Stanley Cup on the Bridgestone Arena ice late Sunday night, the most poignant moment came when Marc-Andre Fleury handed the trophy to Matt Murray.
It was a symbolic passing of the torch from the 32-year-old who is one of the most beloved players in franchise history to the 23-year-old who is its future.
“I think together, we did a good job for these playoffs,” Fleury said. “He's a good guy to share it with.”
Bad break
When it came his turn to hold aloft the Cup, center Nick Bonino lifted the 35-pound trophy with ease.
That was an impressive accomplishment, considering that Bonino did so with a broken leg.
Bonino fractured his tibia when he blocked a P.K. Subban shot with his left leg in the first period of Game 2 of the final series. He returned to play the last two periods of the game and practiced in hopes of returning to the lineup for Game 4 before shutting it down.
“A little bit crazy, yeah,” Bonino admitted. “The tibia was cracked all the way through. I think people assumed when I tried it, it was getting better, but it was getting worse. I just wanted to see if there was one chance to do it, we would try. Put a lot of medicine into it and wasn't able to push off like I wanted to.”
Cullen's decision
Center Matt Cullen, who won the Stanley Cup for the third time in his career Sunday night, didn't say afterward whether he had played his last game or not.
The 40-year-old gave a pretty clear indication, however, of which way he was leaning.
“It's a pretty good way to go out,” Cullen said. “I'm just going to take a little bit of time when we get home and let things sink in because it hasn't really sunk in. You know, it happens so fast.
“It's been awesome. At a time like this, you think back over your career, and you think back to all the people that helped you get where you are. It's just kind of overwhelming, the emotions. It's just an amazing experience, no matter how many times you go through it. It's unbelievable.”
Bill West contributed. Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.
