Anyone who ever laces up a pair of skates dreams of playing in the NHL someday. Many people are fortunate enough to have that dream come true, while others are less fortunate.
Whether someone has a lengthy career in the league or has a cup of coffee, the goal is to leave their mark in the hockey annuals. However, sometimes, these names are next to some dubious records.
Today, we want to look at five Pittsburgh Penguins single-season goalie records that no one ever wants to own but someone does. Unfortunately, some of these marks may never be broken.
Penalty Minutes – Andy Brown (60)
Andy Brown played 62 games in the NHL, skating in 17 with the Detroit Red Wings from 1971 to 1973 before being traded to the Penguins in February 1973. He played nine games, going 3-4-2 with just two penalty minutes.
During the 1973-74 campaign, the only NHL season he played starter minutes (1,951), he compiled a 13-16-4 record in 36 games. However, he left his name in the record book by racking up 60 penalty minutes.
Brown reached double digits in penalties on three occasions, including a season-high 22 minutes against the St. Louis Blues on Mar. 30, 1974. Overall, he was called for an infraction in 12 contests, finishing fourth on the team in penalty minutes behind Steve Durbano (138), Bryan Watson (137), and Bob Kelly (78).
Goals-Against Average – Greg Redquest (14.08)
On Mar. 19, 1978, the Penguins visited the Chicago Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium and were defeated 9-1. Denis Herron started between the pipes, with Greg Redquest coming in relief after it was 6-1.
In only 12:47 minutes, Redquest gave up three goals on 10 shots to finish the evening with a .700 save percentage (SV%) and a team-record 14.08 goals-against average (GAA). Considering that he never played in the NHL again, his statistics from that contest remain the highest in the Penguins’ history.
Save Percentage – John Curry (.634)
John Curry played eight games in the NHL, splitting his starts evenly between the Penguins and Minnesota Wild. He played three games in 2008-09 and got into one contest in 2009-10.
In that contest against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 16, 2010, at General Motors Place, Curry started, playing the first 24:29 while surrendering five goals on 14 shots. His night ended in the second when he registered a .643 SV%.
Curry didn’t skate with the Penguins again and maintains the single-season team record for the lowest SV%.
Goals Against – Greg Millen (258)
Greg Millen played 14 years in the NHL, dressing for 604 contests with six clubs, including the Penguins from 1978 to 1981. Even though he would go on to give up 282 goals in 1982-83 while playing with the Hartford Whalers, he surrendered 258 with Pittsburgh in 1980-81, the club record.
In 63 games, he registered a 4.17 GAA and a .864 SV%, earning a 25-27-10 record. His worst performance came against the Whalers on Dec. 26, 1980, when he gave up nine goals. Overall, Millen gave up five or more lamplighters in 22 games.
Interestingly, he didn’t record a single shutout during the campaign, giving up only a single goal four times.
Losses – Johan Hedberg (34)
Johan “The Moose” Hedberg made his NHL debut in 2000-01 and was 7-1-1 in nine starts. At the time, it appeared that the Swedish netminder would be the future of the crease, especially after Tom Barrasso had recently departed.
However, in his first entire season in 2001-02, Hedberg played a career-high 66 games, earning a 25-34-7 record with a 2.76 GAA and .904 SV%.
The Penguins finished last in the Atlantic Division, second to last in the Eastern Conference, and third from the league’s basement.
Hedberg’s season started with a three-game losing streak, which he repeated three more times throughout the campaign. The longest streak reached five straight in late March and early April.
As of 2024, he remains one of three netminders to lose more than 30 games in a season behind Les Binkley (31) and Michel Dion (30).
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