Pittsburgh Penguins to Honor 2009 Stanley Cup Championship Team

The Pittsburgh Penguins will honor their 2009 Stanley Cup championship team, Sunday before their game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Approximately 15 players from the team will be there to celebrate the 10th anniversary. Perhaps not so coincidentally, a stalwart of the 2009 team, Chris Kunitz will be there but as a Blackhawk. The puck drop is set for 8 p.m.

There are also three Penguins still on the roster: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. Assistant General Manager Bill Guerin was a winger on the team and assistant coach Sergei Gonchar was an active player, as well.  Presumably, both will participate.

There are several more players and coaches who are still active in the NHL. Per the Penguins’ press release many of them sent video tributes, which will be played during the pregame ceremony and throughout the game.

The active players still in the NHL include Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas), Brooks Oprik (Washington), Ben Lovejoy (Anaheim), Jordan Staal (Carolina), and Alex Goligoski (Arizona). One may safely assume a video from Fleury may bring quite a reaction from fans and former teammates.

The Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games. It was a rematch of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final. Max Talbot scored two goals in Game 7 and Fleury famously made a diving save on Detroit Hall of Fame defenseman Niklas Lidstrom as time expired to preserve a one-goal victory and the group’s first Stanley Cup.

Head coach Dan Bylsma is now an assistant coach in Detroit. GM Ray Shero is now the GM for the New Jersey Devils.

Talbot, 34, is currently active in the KHL for Omsk Avangard. He has nine points (4g, 5a) in 37 games.

All fans in attendance will receive a pack of trading cards from Upper Deck, which includes nine players from the team: Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Kunitz, Fleury, Guerin, Talbot, Gonchar and Staal.

Also Read: Solution to Malkin’s and Brassard’s Struggles Could Be Each Other

And get the Penguins lines and preview for the game tonight against Winnipeg.