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 #27 in Penguins’ history.
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Twenty players have worn #27. There’s Mike Corrigan, Gilles Meloche, and Glen Murray.
And then there’s Alexei Kovalev, one of the best Russian players of all time, one of the best Penguins of all time, and the best Penguin to wear #27.
© James Guillory – Imagn Images
Kovalev, drafted 15th overall by the New York Rangers in 1991, wore #27 for the Penguins during the peak of his career from 1998-2003. He also played a brief stint for Pittsburgh in 2011-12, but he donned #72, and it was only for a 20-game run at the tail end of his career.
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #26
But that initial stint was great for Kovalev. Over those five seasons, he recorded 149 goals and 347 points in 345 games, and his playmaking ability was on full display, including during this Martin Straka goal in Game 6 against the New Jersey Devils in the 1999 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals:
Kovalev was an elite playmaker – and he could skate, too – but he also had a ton of finesse in his goal-scoring game, as well as a deceptive shot that routinely fooled NHL goaltenders. Over the years, he scored some beautiful goals for the Penguins:
He even scored a goal against the Rangers in 1999 during Wayne Gretzky’s final game:
Kovalev, along with Mario Lemieux, was a bright spot on otherwise miserable Penguins’ “X-Generation” teams in 2001-03. However, with the team struggling and looking to sell at the deadline in 2003, he was traded back to the team that drafted him – the Rangers – and he was traded again at the nexxt deadline to the Montreal Canadiens.
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #25
He enjoyed four more successful seasons with the Habs before capping off his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators, Penguins, and Florida Panthers in that order. He retired with 430 goals and 1,029 points in 1,316 career games.
Honorable Mentions: Mike Corrigan, Gilles Meloche, Glen Murray
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #24
