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 #20 in Penguins’ history.
Thirty-two total players in Penguins’ history have worn #20, including Moe Mantha, Robert Lang, and Colby Armstrong. A case can definitely be made for Lang here, as he was a good two-way center who put up good numbers for the Penguins from 1997-2002. This one was very close.
But another player who just barely predated Mario Lemieux got the nod here, and his name is Paul Gardner.
Known for his skating and strong offensive instincts, Gardner played for the Penguins from 1980-84, just before Mario Lemieux was drafted in the summer of 1984. Although he was only with the Penguins for four short seasons – and his fourth season was cut short with only 16 games played – those seasons were pretty good ones.
During those first three seasons, Gardner registered a combined 98 goals and 198 points in 191 games. And it he wasn’t even the most flashy player, either, as he made his living around the net front and often scored deflection goals and “garbage goals.”
In addition, he was just about as much of a “power play merchant” – as the kids call it these days – as one could possibly be (and someone current Penguins’ teams could use).
During those same three seasons, 59 of his 98 goals and 111 of his 198 points came on the power play. In fact, in 1982-83, 37 of his 55 total points were with the man advantage, as were 20 of his 27 goals.
But, to his credit, this was because he was an absolute menace in front of the opposing net. He used his physicality to position himself for the dirty goals, including this deflection goal from the 1981 playoffs against the St. Louis Blues:
Over the course of his 11-year NHL career, Gardner scored 201 goals and 402 points in 447 games. He also played for the Colorado Rockies, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, and Buffalo Sabres.
He has since stayed in hockey as a coach, having coached in the AHL, NHL (assistant for the Nashville Predators), CHL, KHL, and, most recently, and Lowen Frankfurt in Germany.
Honorable Mentions: Moe Mantha, Robert Lang, Colby Armstrong
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #19
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