According to records at NHL.com, 709 skaters, excluding goalies, have dressed for a game with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If a hockey fan grew up in Boston in the late 1960s and early 1970s, they probably knew who Derek “Turk” Sanderson was. In 1968, he won the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year.
Within two seasons, he fed the puck from behind the net to Bobby Orr, who would score the Stanley Cup-winning goal and then fly through the air in arguably the greatest hockey photo ever taken.
By 25, Sanderson was a two-time champion with the “Big Bad” Bruins, who destroyed opponents on the scoreboard and the ice. He averaged 120 penalty minutes a season and scored 259 points in his first five full seasons.
Unfortunately, he never avoided controversies on and off the ice, opting to leave the Bruins to play in the World Hockey Association. Eventually, Boston traded him to the New York Rangers in June 1974.
Sanderson’s time on Broadway was short (83 games), but once he found himself with the St. Louis Blues in 1975-76, he had a career with 67 points thanks to a personal best 43 assists.
At the end of his time in the Midwest, the Blues sent him to Canada and Vancouver in a player-for-cash swap, and Sanderson skated in 16 games with the Canucks before becoming a free agent in 1977.
Unable to recapture the magic he had with the Blues, Sanderson only skated 13 games with the Penguins, scoring three goals and finishing with four points.
Surprisingly, he did not get whistled for a penalty in those 13 games. This is the only time in his career that he didn’t have penalty minutes outside of the four-game audition with the Bruins from 1965 to 1967.
Interestingly, Sanderson joined the Penguins late in the 1977-78 campaign, dressing for his first contest on Mar. 14, 1978. Considering the team finished with a 25-37-18 record and fourth place in the Norris Division, they didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
Sanderson played his last NHL game on Apr. 9, 1978. In 598 games, he scored 202 goals and 250 assists for 452 points. The former Calder Trophy winner racked up 911 penalty minutes and finished his career plus-141.
Unfortunately, Sanderson’s personal life spiraled out of control in retirement. Still, after getting professional help, he became a broadcaster with WSBK-TV and NESN, working in Bruins games for over a decade.
For a generation of Bruins fans, Turk was a hard-nosed player who set up the most iconic goal in franchise history. Along with Fred Cusack, he was the team’s voice for another generation.
For Penguins fans, Sanderson was a former Rookie of the Year and Memorial Cup champion on his last legs in professional hockey in 1978. Despite all the ups and downs, he is a name fans of an era gone by that can’t be forgotten, yet not many may remember he once wore the skating penguin logo.
