Sidney Crosby Draft: Penguins’ Fate & NHL History

The Penguins of the mid-2000s weren’t exactly ahead of their time. Off the ice, it was a struggle.

In 2003, Ed Olczyk wanted to gain ground in the field of coachingthree years after his retirement from playing. His plan: start with the American League. So he applied to the Penguins. From Wilkes-Barres/Scranton, of course.

“They were looking at a five-year plan. They told me: we won’t win much, but you will grow with the team,” says Olczyk, now a game analyst for the Seattle Kraken.

Except the “team” was the Penguins…from Pittsburgh. It was without even having applied for this job that Olczyk landed behind the Penguins bench in 2003, with the only relevant experience being that of an NHL player. As Martin St-Louis will do 20 years later, but with less convincing results.

The then-Penguins were also looking for a new arena, and their future in Pittsburgh was uncertain. In 2003-2004, attendance at the old Mellon Arena dropped below 12,000 spectators for the first time in 20 years.

It was in this chaotic environment that a certain Sidney Crosby arrived in 2005. In the words of Maxime Talbot, another recruit that year, “it’s a bit old school in Pittsburgh”.

“We were in the taxi coming back from the restaurant, we had a glass of wine and Sid was wondering how serious it was, because the whole team was going to have a beer. He found it too loose. He wondered about culture. Sid said, “It seems to me that it shouldn’t be like that.”

“Me, I was just happy to be in the National League. He, at 18, was already thinking about improving the team! »

Twenty years and three Stanley Cups later, Crosby has clearly achieved his goals. This will be proven once again in the coming days, when he will dethrone the great Mario Lemieux and his 1723 points from 1^is rank in Penguins history.

On July 22, 2005, the Penguins won the draft lottery. It’s the start of a long chain reaction, which begins with the return to the game of Mario Lemieux, whose future was unclear after hip problems slowed him down before the 2004-2005 lockout.

“Following Sidney’s draft, Mario returned to the game and lots of players wanted to come play with us,” remembers goalie Jocelyn Thibault. Zigmund Palffy, John LeClair, Lyle Odelein, Mark Recchi… There was a good vibe after Sidney’s selection. It takes one or two signatures and it snowballs. »

Lemieux invests himself as a player, but not only that. 2004 Stanley Cup winner André Roy is set to sign a deal with the Minnesota Wild. Lemieux knows about the upcoming contract, because he and Roy are represented by Pat Brisson.

Lemieux therefore calls Roy who, a good storyteller, reproduces the call, an imitation of Lemieux as a bonus.

“Listen, André, we want to have, ha, guys like you who will bring a robust element and who have, ha, experience”, unpacks the strong man, before returning to his own character.

“At first, I thought it was one of my boyfriends who was fooling me! I felt bad for Jacques Lemaire [entraîneur-chef du Wild à l’époque]. But there, Mario Lemieux, I was like: wow. He spoke to me like a guy who was out to get me! »

Lemieux invests in this way because he is visibly aware of what is at stake for his team. “He wanted to leave him properly, protect him and prepare him for the pressure of a first overall pick, who is seen as the savior of a franchise,” said Thibault. Mario saved the Penguins when he was drafted, and if the Penguins don’t draft Sid, I don’t know if they’re still here. »