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 #31 in Penguins’ history.
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There have been 12 players to wear #31 for the Penguins, and, just like #30, all of them have been goaltenders but one, which was LW Carl Mokosak in 1987. Nick Ricci, Ron Tugnutt, and Sebastien Caron all wore #31.
And so did the clear-cut winner for this one, Ken Wregget.
© Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wregget, one of just a few long-term Penguins’ goaltenders in franchise history, donned a Penguins sweater from 1992-98. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He spent parts of six seasons with the Leafs before being traded to the Philadelpia Flyers in 1989, then, eventually, to the Penguins during the 1991-92 season.
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #30
A large part of his tenure in Pittsburgh was serving as Tom Barrasso’s backup, but due to some injuries and some subpar play from Barrasso, he did play in a good share of games over those years.
Oddly enough, Wregget got better as he got older and the longer he was with the team. His best seasons were from 1994-98, when he put up a combined .904 save percentage (SV%), a 3.11 goals-against average (GAA), and a 65-45-12 record.
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #29
Perhaps his most famous save was on a penalty shot in double-overtime in Game 4 of the 1996 playoffs against the Capitals, which prevented the Capitals from going up 3-1 in the series, made way for the Penguins to win in quadruple overtime, and catapulted them to three straight wins to take the series in six games:
After the Penguins, Wregget went on to play one season in Calgary and one season in Detroit, with his season in Calgary being the best of his career at age 34 (2.53 GAA, .906 SV%).
He retired after the 1999-2000 season with a career 3.63 GAA and .885 SV%.
Honorable Mentions: Carl Mokosak, Sebastien Caron
Related: Best Penguins by Jersey Number: #28
