Worst Pens team?

[Stevens25]

I never had the "honor" of watching the 1983-84 Pens,and I know that some of the teams we've had the last few seasons have been pretty bad,but do you guys think this years Pens are the worst team in Franchise history? I must admit that for all the "talent" they had,it seems as if no one can match just how bad the 05-06 Penguins are.

[Abe Frohman]

Hard to compare...

I was a high school senior during the 1983-84 season, and though the Stanley Cup / Mario years have somewhat relegated THAT season to a distant, unfortunate memory...I recall they MIGHT have been worse THAT year.

However...when the Pens were able to all-but-BUY several hgih-priced 'fixes' prior to THIS season, I would say that the results THIS season are far more disappointing...and INEXCUSABLE...

[NIN]

This is the worst season EVER bar none. I only started watching hockey in 87 and I have seen a few bad Penguin teams but there is no way any Penguin team could have lived down their ptotential as disasterously as this team. NO WAY.

[Zscout]

I would not say the team is worse than 83.
But this has to be the most dissapointing team in Penguin's history.
It was put together to be a Cup contender.
It is not even a playoff pretender.
In fact it is just a lottery pick team.

[Abe Frohman]

This is the worst season EVER bar none. I only started watching hockey in 87 and I have seen a few bad Penguin teams but there is no way any Penguin team could have lived down their ptotential as disasterously as this team. NO WAY.

Worst team 'post-87?' Perhaps...but unless you followed the Pens in the early-to-mid 80s (PRE-Lemieux), with the likes of Gary Rissling, Pat Price, etc. on the ice...crowds in the 5,000-6,000 range (we used to buy D-section seats - and this was BEFORE the upper-deck was added - and walk down and sit in A or B), you cannot say the WORST season.

If you said 'most-disappointing?' Perhaps...

[FallenHero96]

Hell this team might be worse than the 92/93 sharks team......

and thats bad.

[NIN]

This is the worst season EVER bar none. I only started watching hockey in 87 and I have seen a few bad Penguin teams but there is no way any Penguin team could have lived down their ptotential as disasterously as this team. NO WAY.

Worst team 'post-87?' Perhaps...but unless you followed the Pens in the early-to-mid 80s (PRE-Lemieux), with the likes of Gary Rissling, Pat Price, etc. on the ice...crowds in the 5,000-6,000 range (we used to buy D-section seats - and this was BEFORE the upper-deck was added - and walk down and sit in A or B), you cannot say the WORST season.

If you said 'most-disappointing?' Perhaps...

With all due respect I have heard all about the "dark ages" and nobody showed and names I never heard of (thank God). But how can you look at all the big names. All the hype and potential. 2 coaching staffs so far. A cloud of uncertainty about the team even staying in town. Lemieux suffering another life/career threatening illness and then retireing because the team is so bad. Palffy retiring because the team is so bad.

The fact that they have nearly sold out every game and are the laughing stock of the league doesnt make it a BETTER season then any of those dismal 5000 seaters, it makes it WORSE. They have underacheived at every facet of the game at so low a level that was expected it is among the biggest season flops for any franchise in league history let alone their own history. And soon the team will be history and I wont have to hear about how bad it is now or how bad it was. The only thing left will be my Cup memories.

[Abe Frohman]

This is the worst season EVER bar none. I only started watching hockey in 87 and I have seen a few bad Penguin teams but there is no way any Penguin team could have lived down their ptotential as disasterously as this team. NO WAY.

Worst team 'post-87?' Perhaps...but unless you followed the Pens in the early-to-mid 80s (PRE-Lemieux), with the likes of Gary Rissling, Pat Price, etc. on the ice...crowds in the 5,000-6,000 range (we used to buy D-section seats - and this was BEFORE the upper-deck was added - and walk down and sit in A or B), you cannot say the WORST season.

If you said 'most-disappointing?' Perhaps...

With all due respect I have heard all about the "dark ages" and nobody showed and names I never heard of (thank God). But how can you look at all the big names. All the hype and potential. 2 coaching staffs so far. A cloud of uncertainty about the team even staying in town. Lemieux suffering another life/career threatening illness and then retireing because the team is so bad. Palffy retiring because the team is so bad.

The fact that they have nearly sold out every game and are the laughing stock of the league doesnt make it a BETTER season then any of those dismal 5000 seaters, it makes it WORSE. They have underacheived at every facet of the game at so low a level that was expected it is among the biggest season flops for any franchise in league history let alone their own history. And soon the team will be history and I wont have to hear about how bad it is now or how bad it was. The only thing left will be my Cup memories.

I was responding to a post asking if this team was the worst in franchise history...and having followed them since the mid-70s, I was giving my appraisal of the team (and its play) on the ICE. Nowhere in the original query did the off-ice issues come into play (the uncertainty surrounding the team staying here in Pgh) in my response...

Regarding huge FLOPS by this team...I would say I MIGHT have been MORE disappointed following the David Volek goal than I am now...

[relantel]

This is the worst season EVER bar none. I only started watching hockey in 87 and I have seen a few bad Penguin teams but there is no way any Penguin team could have lived down their ptotential as disasterously as this team. NO WAY.

In other words, it is the worst you have seen, but it is certainly not the team's worst ever. The Pens had some very lean years, bottoming out in 83-84. My first game at the Igloo was during the Winter/Spring of 83. (It would take me 14 years to make it back, though we had seen many games at the old Cap Centre -- believe it or not, but there were many years when the Caps would stomp all over us in the 80s) But recall that even 84-85 was not instant winning season -- it took time.

At least we're not the 1974 Washington Capitals or the expansion sharks. This year's team, while in jeapordy of being slightly worse than last year, has a lot of rays of hope for the future. Just so happens most of those are at Forward.

[Abe Frohman]

Lemieux suffering another life/career threatening illness and then retireing because the team is so bad.

Regarding Lemieux 'retiring because the team is so bad.'

Atrial fibrillation is nothing to scoff at...and IF Lemieux was stupid enough to return to playing with THIS arrhythmia remaining uncontrolled...I would question his good sense.

A Fib is a serious cardiac rhythm, and although it CAN be treated with certain medications, it sometimes ALSO requires surgical intervention (certain ablation procedures, for example). This is taken SERIOUSLY when affecting average, everyday people...ie. those NOT making a living through strenuous athletic activity. In athletes, it can be FURTHER exacerbated by their profession(s), and is thus MORE a problem...

Hence...the comment saying that he 'retired because the Pens are so bad' is ridiculous...

[NIN]

after reading my rant I think I got carried away. This is the worst season I have ever been through as a fan but I think 03-04 was far worse as talent goes. I know it cannot get any worse then this! That is all I can really say.

[Abe Frohman]

after reading my rant I think I got carried away. This is the worst season I have ever been through as a fan but I think 03-04 was far worse as talent goes. I know it cannot get any worse then this! That is all I can really say.

It IS hard to keep things in perspective, when discussing these issues with fans of differing ages and backgrounds...as well as expectations.

Trust me, I TOO am disappointed by this team...and the mess this organization has become (some of it thrust upon them, and some their own doing). I waited over an hour on the phone DIRECTLY FOLLOWING the draft lottery this past summer, calling for FOUR full-season tickets that set me back almost $5,000.00 to watch THIS trainwreck. I have been following the Pens since the 70s, went to the Pens Stanley Cup Games, partied on the South Side when the Pens completed their sweep of the Hawks in 92. I watched as they ran off 17 straight following Lemieux's return from Hodgkins...then felt the stinging disappointment as Lemieux was RAPED by Kasper throughout the Isles series, Stevens was decked by Pilan, and Volek ended their run. I was THERE when Fitzgerald skated around a swimming Leroux and beat Barrasso from (what seemed like) the blue line to end the Florida series (the Florida fans throwing rats on the ice pissed me off)...

Trust me...I've been there, and am just as unhappy today as anybody...

[abigFATAss]

I'm disappointed as well. But, it seems like expectations for this team were completely blown out of proportion.

I can cite many sources who said Mario would be in the scoring race all year, because the rules changes would benefit him. Add Crosby to Mario's line, and the playoffs seem like a guaruntee, if not extremely realistic.

Those same sources said Sergei Gonchar would be the scoring machine that he was last year.

Ryan Malone was supposed to explode in his sophmore season.

It just seems like expectations were pushed on this team. Now that they are not being met, people are getting angrier as the season goes on.

[Eisbahren]

Agreed.
One of the major disappointments was the amount of expectation fans had had at the start of this season. Crosby with Lemieux, proven offensive talent like Palffy and Gonchar and solid pros like Recchi and LeClair brought in, a chance for Malone to build on his excellent first season, some exciting talent up from the AHL, a level financial field, new rules and stricter enforcement of existing ones...all this pointed to the Pens being realistic play off contenders.

Or so we thought. The on ice melt down is thus all the harder to comprehend. The situation hasn't been helped by the false dawn of results and performance immediately following Therrien's appointment.

Two seasons ago there were no expectations when Olczyk took over the Pens. He was praised for the way a young and underpowered team stuck at it.