Penguins Perspectives: Using the past to inform your present and future
Welcome to Penguins Perspectives, a weekly column by KDKA-TV Digital Producer Patrick Damp. Each Friday, Patrick will talk about the week that was, the week to come, what to watch for, and more.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Tonight, the Penguins and Panthers will honor the career of an old friend.
Mr. Irrelevant, picked 230th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, and two-time Stanley Cup champion Patric Hornqvist.
The sad, sick irony of honoring a man who embodied energy, toughness, and a tireless work ethic in his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, is exactly what they are missing at this moment.
This isn't to say they need to abandon the principles that have guided this franchise since the 1980s which are high-end skill and a willingness to go against the NHL's ever-present desire to play it safe and put two-way hockey above being able to score.
But the Penguins, right now, lack a soul.
Patric Hornqvist was a soul, an engine, and someone who could shake a team out of its slumber.
When the Penguins traded James Neal to Nashville in exchange for Hornqvist and Nick Spaling in 2014, it signaled a change.
The Penguins, in the 2013-14 season found themselves in an extremely similar situation that they are in right now. They got production from their top six forwards and their top defensemen, but something was missing.
Sure, they went on to win the division, the first time the Metropolitan Divison existed coincidentally, but were utterly lifeless in a second-round exit against the Rangers.
Former General Manager Jim Rutherford recognized that while James Neal was a perennial 30-goal scorer at the time, the team lacked bite. They lacked a heart. And frankly, the label that the Penguins were whiners, seemed mostly true.
Enter Patric Hornqvist.
From the time he joined the team their entire identity changed. They were going to play fast, they were going to own the front of the opposition's net, and they were going to force you to play the game they wanted you to play.
It resulted in two Stanley Cups, a revitalized core, and a fan favorite.
After six seasons with the team, Hornqvist would be dealt to Florida where concussions and other maladies would derail his career.
Tonight, the last two franchises Hornqvist called home will honor his career.
While the Penguins, again, do not need to suddenly become a group of bruisers that will beat you literally and figuratively, they should remember what Sullivan (and really any NHL coach says these days) said about the 2016-2017 championship squads - they were hard to play against.
That's the Panthers right now. It's the same thing with the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's what most of the best teams in the league right now are.
They aren't sacrificing speed or skill in the face of size and physicality, but lord knows Matthew Tkachuk will take a piece of you and then score. So will Nikita Kucherov. And so on.
It's what Patric Hornqvist did for all those six years. He'd make your goalie's life hell, tire out your defenseman, score a big goal, and smile all the while.
Tonight, we get to remember that.
Right now, as the Penguins find themselves hovering around .500 and mired in an 0-for-34 power play slump, Kyle Dubas and company would be wise to remember what Hornqvist meant to this franchise and how a player of his caliber could once again pry this window open.