The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #24 in Penguins’ history.
Twenty-six players in Penguins’ history have worn #24, and there have been some pretty reliable, dependent third- and fourth-line players in that mix. But there was one long-tenured player whose physical and defensive work in the 1991 and 1992 back-to-back Cup runs proved crucial.
The best #24 in Penguins’ history? Troy Loney.
Loney, a 6-foot-3, bottom-six role player, wasn’t really known in Pittsburgh for his scoring touch. He could put the puck in the net on occasion – he registered more than 10 goals four different times over his Penguins’ career – but Loney was best-known for his defensive work and his physicality.
And he also dropped the gloves with regularity, compiling more than 150 penalty minutes for three seasons in a row from 1987-90. Loney was typically one of the first players to get retribution for cheap shots on Mario Lemieux and other star players as well:
But he scored some pretty big goals, too. One of them was an insurance goal – and a garbage, drive-the-net goal, at that – in Game 5 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final against the Minnesota North Stars to put the Penguins up 6-4.
Loney was a perfect example of a player who used his size as an advantage over opposing players, pretty much in all situations:
And he was always found around the net, often scoring deflection goals:
Loney went to the Anaheim Ducks following the 1992-93 season in the 1993 Expansion Draft, and he was named the team’s captain. He scored a career-high 13 goals that season, and he was traded to the New York Islanders during the 1994 NHL Draft.
He split time with the Islanders and New York Rangers that season, which would be his last. Loney finished his career with 87 goals, 197 points, and 1,093 penalty minutes in 624 games.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Cooke, Mario Faubert, Kevin McCarthy
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #23