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 player records that no one ever wants to own, but someone does. Unfortunately, some of these marks may never be broken.
Most Games Without a Shot on Goal – Steve MacIntyre (12)
Officially, the Penguins team record for most games without a registered shot on goal belongs to Marc-Andre Fleury, who set it at 38 contests in 2016-17. However, goalies are exempt from this list, allowing Steve MacIntyre to claim the top spot with 12 games.
MacIntyre played 91 games in the NHL, spending time with the Edmonton Oilers (60), Florida Panthers (18), and Penguins (13). During his first season in Pittsburgh in 2011-12, he played 12 games, averaging 3:11 in ice time and six penalty minutes.
Unfortunately, you did not register a single shot in those contests, leaving him with the team record for most games without a shot on goal.
Worst Plus/Minus Total – Pat Boutette (Minus-56)
Pittsburgh produced a 16-58-6 record in 1983-84, the team’s lowest win total in a single season. The Oilers had the best record and the best goal differential at plus-132. Meanwhile, the Penguins were dead last in the NHL with a goal differential of minus-136.
Because the team struggled so much, Pat Boutette not only finished the campaign with the league’s worst plus/minus total, minus-56, but he also set the team record in the process.
That season, five of the top 10 worst totals wore a Penguins jersey at some point, including Kevin McCarthy (minus-40), Greg Fox (minus-38), Marty McSorley (minus-37), and Doug Shedden (minus-37).
Lowest Ice Time Average Over Over a Full Season – Eric Godard (4:04)
The lowest ice time average is a tricky record since the NHL only began to calculate these totals in 1997-98, leaving decades of statistics unkept.
Realistically, the shortest ice time in Penguins history belongs to Eric Cairns, who played just 42 seconds in his only game in 2006-07. Meanwhile, Tyler Wright was the first player to play over 50 games (61), averaging less than four minutes a night at 3:45.
However, forward Eric Godard holds the team record at 4:11 a game in 71 appearances in 2008-09. No one else in Pittsburgh history averaged less than five minutes a game and played almost the entirety of the season.
Most Games Without a Point – Tyler Wright (61)
Wright was just mentioned for playing an average of 3:45 a night throughout 61 games during the 1998-99 season. As of 2024, he remains the only skater in Penguins history to play over 50 games and not register a single point.
That year, Wright collected 90 penalty minutes with 16 shots on goal. He won 46.72% of his faceoffs and was minus-2. Yet, he did not find his name on the scoresheet that season. The only name who played more games in a year without a point is Fleury, who had no points in 64 games in 2013-14.
Fewest Hits in 50 Games – Dominik Kahun (Five)
Hockey is a physical sport, meaning players skating around at top speed will almost certainly bump into one another. As another statistic without significant historical data, since the NHL only began to track hits in 2007-08, there is no way to tell the actual record holder.
A handful of Penguins players played more than 10 games with the team and recorded less than five hits, including Ziggy Palffy (four) in 42 games back in 2005-06.
However, the team record for fewest hits in the most games belongs to Dominik Kahun, who registered only five in 50 games in 2019-20. During the season in which he came to Pittsburgh in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres, he collected just five hits after having zero in six games with his former team.
Kahun finished the season with 31 points, with 27 coming in Pittsburgh. He averaged 13:27 a game and won 52.8 of his faceoffs, netting 10 goals and 17 assists for a plus-six rating.
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