Constructing the Stanley Cup Champs

The Pittsburgh Penguins ended a 17-year Stanley Cup drought on Friday night with a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings, giving the franchise its third championship. While current general manager Ray Shero will get his name on the cup for overseeing the hockey operations the past three seasons, former general manager Craig Patrick also had a hand in putting this team together.

After the jump, a player-by-player look at how the 2008-09 Penguins were built over the years.

The Lottery

Marc-Andre Fleury: Following their second straight non-playoff season, the Penguins were set to pick third in the 2003 NHL draft, a class that featured a plethora of future all-stars and franchise-type players. Then general manager Craig Patrick swung a draft-day deal with the Florida Panthers to move up to the No. 1 spot so the team could select goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury out of Cape Breton of the QMJHL. The Penguins gave up forward Mikael Samuelsson (after he was acquired in the previous season's Alexei Kovalev trade giveaway), the No. 3 overall pick (Nathan Horton), and the No. 55 overall pick (Stefan Meyer) for the No. 1 pick (Fleury) and the No. 70 overall pick (Jonathan Filewich).

The Penguins instantly tossed Fleury to the wolves, naming him the team's starting goaltender as a 19-year-old right out of training camp. In his first NHL game he stopped 46 shots (including a penalty shot) in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He would play 20 games in Pittsburgh that season before returning to his junior team.

Evgeni Malkin: A case where losing is better than winning. The Penguins were the worst team in the NHL during the 2003-04 season, finishing with 58 points. That year's draft was set to feature two incredible Russian prospects in Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, while Ovechkin was considered to be the ultimate prize. I still remember throwing a water bottle across the room upon hearing that Washington, the third-worst team in the league that season, had won the lottery and moved up to the No. 1 spot. As it turns out, that might have been the best thing to ever happen to the Penguins (well, outside of drafting that Lemieux guy) because had they won that lottery, they not only wouldn't have had this year's Art Ross and Conn Smythe winner, but they also might not have ...

Sidney Crosby: The Penguins won the top pick in the 2005 draft in a league-wide lottery following the lockout, and used it to select Sidney Crosby who would become the youngest captain in NHL history in just his second season.

Jordan Staal: As long as Malkin and Crosby are in Pittsburgh, Jordan Staal will never be considered anything more than "the No. 3 center." Is it wise to use the No. 2 overall pick in the draft on a third-line center/penalty killer (and then sign him for a $4 million per year cap hit)? I suppose that's up for debate (and I've had that debate many times), but regardless of whether or not Staal is or isn't a better player than Jonathan Toews, Niklas Backstrom or Phil Kessel (the players taken immediately after him in the 2006 draft) there's no denying what he means to the Penguins. He averages more ice-time per game than any forward not named Malkin or Crosby, while he's already the best defensive forward on the team. His shorthanded goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final is considered to be the turning point of the series.

The Other Draft Picks

Max Talbot: It's not all about picking at the top of the draft. Back in 2002, in a class that also produced Ryan Whitney and Erik Christensen (players that were eventually used in trades), the Penguins used the 234th overall pick on Max Talbot. A superstar among Penguins fans, the 5-foot-11 Talbot tallied eight goals this postseason, including both goals in Pittsburgh's Game 7 win in the Stanley Cup final. Throughout his career he's been used as a fourth-line center, a first-and-second line winger, a third-liner checker, and a penalty killer. His regular season numbers regressed somewhat this season, but he more than made up for it in the playoffs by not only scoring huge goals, but also taking one for the team against the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round.

Rob Scuderi: A fifth-round pick in 1998, Rob Scuderi is headed for unrestricted free agency this offseason and stands to make a solid chunk of change on the open market. One of the Penguins' best penalty killers, he led the team in the regular season and postseason in blocked shots, and also helped force Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final by making a skate save on Johan Franzen in the closing minutes of Game 6.

Brooks Orpik: By far the Penguins' most physical player, Brooks Orpik finished second in the NHL during the regular season with 309 hits. The 18th overall pick in the 2000 draft, Orpik has spent his entire career with the Penguins and signed a six-year contract extension this past offseason.

Tyler Kennedy: Part of the 2004 class that featured Malkin (and Alex Goligoski), Tyler Kennedy is a vital part of the Penguins' third line (along with Matt Cooke and Staal), while the 22-year-old set career highs with 15 goals and 20 assists during the regular season. He also chipped in two goals during the Stanley Cup final, including the eventual game-winner in Game 6. Great at working in the corners and winning battles for loose pucks, he's also very close to his hockey sticks.

Kris Letang: A gifted defenseman with seemingly unlimited potential, Kris Letang was selected in the third round of the 2005 draft. One of the Penguins' top prospects the past two years, he scored 10 goals during the regular season (I think he can score 20 at some point) and lit the lamp four times during the playoffs, including an overtime winner against the Capitals in the second round, and a game-tying goal in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final. So dangerous with the puck that he's probably the Penguins' best option in the shootout during regular season games (7-for-16 in his career).

Trades

Hal Gill and Pascal Dupuis: Part of Shero's bold shopping spree at the 2008 trade deadline, the Penguins put themselves over the top in the Eastern Conference with a pair of deals at the 11th hour when they acquired Hal Gill from the Toronto Maple Leafs for two draft picks, while Dupuis was part of the blockbuster that brought Marian Hossa to Pittsburgh from the Atlanta Thrashers. To get Hossa and Dupuis, the Penguins parted with Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, first-round pick Angelo Esposito and the team's 2008 first-round pick. Gill is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, while Dupuis signed a three-year extension this past offseason.

Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin: Midway through the 2008-09 season, the Penguins were clearly missing some of the grit and sandpaper that players like Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts provided in previous seasons. In early March, Shero pulled off a deal with Anaheim to bring Chris Kunitz (and prospect Eric Tangradi) to Pittsburgh in exchange for former No. 5 overall pick Ryan Whitney. It was the classic deal from strength to fill a weakness move, as the presence of Sergei Gonchar, Letang and Goligoski made Whitney prime trade bait. Kunitz played alongside Crosby for the remainder of the season, while the two were eventually joined by 38-year-old veteran Bill Guerin who was acquired from the Islanders on March 4.

After hitting an obvious home run at last year's deadline, the addition of Guerin seemed like kind of a letdown this time around, but his arrival in Pittsburgh seemed to rejuvenate the veteran as he tallied 27 points in 41 games (playoffs included) with the Penguins. He was also the answer to the question: which player get the first cup hand-off?

Phillipe Boucher and Mathieu Garon: Depth moves during the season, Phillipe Boucher came to Pittsburgh in a move that sent Daryl Sydor to Dallas, while Mathieu Garon came to the Penguins in a swap of backup goalies, Ryan Stone and a fourth-round pick two years from now. Boucher scored a playoff goal, while Garon's only postseason action came in relief of Fleury in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final.

Free Agents/Waivers

Sergei Gonchar: Coming out of the NHL lockout, the Penguins went on a free agent feeding frenzy and brought in Sergei Gonchar, John Leclair, Mark Recchi, Zigmund Palffy and Jocelyn Thiabault prior to the 2005-06 season. The result? Awful. The Penguins finished the season tied for their worst point total since the 1984-85 season, while the only big-money addition that actually worked out was Gonchar. His first season with the team was up-and-down (mostly down), but he's rebounded nicely and is still with the team today and is clearly its No. 1 defenseman and one of the leaders in the locker room.

Petr Sykora: Signed as a free agent prior to the 2007-08 season, Petr Sykora spent much of the past two seasons playing on Malkin's wing (much like he did during the lockout in Russia). A streaky player, Sykora had his ups (Game 5 of the '08 Finals) and his downs (being a healthy scratch for much of the '09 playoffs) with the Penguins. He's an unrestricted free agent and probably won't be re-signed.

Ruslan Fedotenko and Miroslav Satan: After the Penguins missed out on re-signing Hossa, Shero brought in Ruslan Fedotenko and Miroslav Satan on one-year deals. Both players struggled to perform early in the season, while Satan eventually found himself in the American Hockey League playing for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before fighting his way (literally!) back into the Pittsburgh lineup in the playoffs. Fedotenko took his game to another level in the playoffs, scoring seven goals to go with seven assists.

Matt Cooke: The Penguins needed somebody to replace Jarkko Ruutu as the resident agitator/pest, and while he may not have been as irritating to opponents as Ruutu was/is, Matt Cooke proved to be a better overall hockey player and helped form one of the better third lines in the NHL.

Mark Eaton: One of Shero's first free agent signings as the general manager in Pittsburgh, Mark Eaton has proven to be a quality defenseman ... when he's healthy. He's missed more than his fair share of games the past three seasons, but the Penguins felt confident enough in his abilities to give him a two-year contract extension prior to this season despite the significant number of games he's missed throughout his career. Scored four goals this postseason, which would have matched his career-high for goals in the regular season.

Craig Adams: While the deadline additions of Kunitz and Guerin made all of the headlines, the addition of Craig Adams on the waiver wire turned out to be a tremendous addition by Shero on deadline day when he pucked the veteran winger off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. He was a valuable addition to the penalty killing unit in the postseason, and even chipped in three goals (the first three of his postseason career) during the Penguins' playoff run.