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 #77 in Penguins’ history.
Only two players in franchise history have worn #77, one was Jeff Carter, likely a future hall-of-famer in his own right with 442 goals and 851 points in 1,321 games across his NHL career. Against most other players, Carter probably wins out here.
But, unfortunately for Carter, one of the greatest defensemen of all time also happened to wear #77 for the Penguins.
And that would be Paul Coffey.
Coffey was drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He broke into the league that season, registering nine goals and 32 points in 74 games as a rookie. He spent seven seasons in Edmonton, winning Stanley Cups in 1984, 1985, and 1987, and he had his three best NHL seasons from 1983-86, putting up point totals of 126, 121, and 138 consecutively.
He was traded to Pittsburgh on Nov. 24, 1987, and his vision, skating ability, and impact on the power play was noticed right away. He recorded 15 goals in 67 points in 46 games that season, with 42 of those points being power play points.
He also helped Pittsburgh earn their first Stanley Cup Championship in 1991. In 12 playoff games that postseason, he registered two goals and 11 points.
Over the course of his Penguins career, Coffey had 108 goals and 440 points in 331 games. He was traded from Pittsburgh to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 19, 1992, and he was there for the remainder of the 1991-92 season before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent the next four seasons. The final two seasons of his NHL career were spent with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes consecutively.
Coffey registered 396 goals and 1,531 points in 1,409 career NHL games. He was a first-ballot selection for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, and he was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players of all time.
