Penguins Notebook: Quinn-Sullivan Reunion? Where’s Florida’s Fatigue?

Leo Boivin wore sweater No. 2 during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first game in the NHL, a 2-1 loss to Montreal at the Civic Arena on Oct. 11, 1967.

Since then, no fewer than 22 others have worn that number for the Penguins, and every last one of them was, like Boivin, a defenseman. (Phil Bourque, who won a couple of Stanley Cups as a left winger, was listed as a defenseman for his first four seasons in the NHL, beginning in 1983-84. He later switched to No. 29.)

Well, they all were defensemen until Rutger McGroarty joined the organization, anyway.

He is, of course, one of the Penguins’ most promising young forwards, breaking the long line of Nos. 2 who worked on the team’s blue line. That group included, among many others, the likes of Greg Fox, Pat Price, Gilles Lupien and Matt Niskanen.

McGroarty apparently selected that number, which he also wore at the University of Michigan, because, as a very young boy, he admired a player who was No. 2 on the Lincoln Stars, a USHL team his father coached.

Unlike the NFL, hockey does not restrict uniform numbers to players at a particular position. The only rule is that only numbers between 1 and 98, inclusive, are permitted.

While there isn’t much of an upside to sporting a particular number, in McGroarty’s case, it’s not entirely inconceivable that being No. 2 might work to his benefit in specific situations, at least early in his NHL career.

If, for example, McGroarty finds himself defending an odd-man break, or even a 1-on-1, the opposing player(s) might not recognize his face, but could see McGroarty’s number on his helmet or sweater sleeve, and assume he/they are challenging a defenseman, since those almost always are the players wearing No. 2.

Those attacking players might be a bit more cautious in their approach than they would be if they realized they were bearing down on a forward.

Such a scenario, of course, is no reason for a forward to defy convention when selecting a uniform number. Not as good of a reason as being in awe of a teenager coached by your dad, at least.

A tired explanation

The Penguins have reached the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years twice since Sidney Crosby joined the team in 2005.

Both times, they were knocked out of the playoffs in Round 2 the spring after their second trip to the Final.

In 2010, Montreal upset them, in part because of some stellar work by Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak. Eight years later, Washington eliminated them en route to the Capitals’ only Cup championship.

Montreal and Washington both appeared to benefit from the physical, and perhaps psychological, fatigue of the Penguins, who were coming off consecutive summers when they had limited time to rest and recover from the rigors of their long playoff runs.

That was completely understandable, because going through four rounds of playoff hockey is grueling, and doing it twice in little more than a calendar year is even more so.

Which is part of the reason that what Florida has accomplished this spring is so impressive.

The Panthers lost to Vegas in the 2023 Cup final, then beat Edmonton for the championship a year later.

Now, they have gotten to the Final for the third year in a row, something the Penguins never managed.

And by disposing of Carolina, which entered the Eastern Conference Final with home-ice advantage, in just five games, Florida bought itself a few extra days to rejuvenate before competing for another title.

A Quinn-Sullivan reunion?

David Quinn, the only assistant coach from Mike Sullivan’s staff still under contract to the Penguins, got consideration to succeed Dan Bylsma as coach in Seattle, a job that went to Lane Lambert Thursday night, and has been mentioned as a long shot candidate to fill the Penguins’ coaching vacancy.

Assuming that position goes to another contender, it’s easy to see Quinn being added to Mike Sullivan’s staff in New York, since those two were college teammates and remain good friends.

Were that to happen, it wouldn’t be Quinn’s first time behind the home team’s bench at Madison Square Garden.

He was head coach of the Rangers for three seasons, from 2018-19 through 2020-21, and compiled a 96-87-25 record. New York failed to qualify for the playoffs during his tenure.