The history of the Pittsburgh Penguins is full of great players and we decided to go through the best Penguins players with their respective jersey numbers. Today we continue the list and name the best number 17 in Penguins history.
Twenty players in franchise history have worn number 17, and there have been some good ones. Players like Ron Schock, Tomas Sandstrom and Bryan Rust have made significant contributions to the Penguins, but there is one who stands out from the crowd.
That would be Rick Kehoe.
© Screen capture: Hockey 365
Kehoe played for the Penguins from 1974 to 1984 and was the leading scorer in franchise history until the arrival of Mario Lemieux. Over the course of his career with the Penguins, Kehoe scored 312 goals and 636 points and was the star of some pretty tough Penguins teams that played before Lemieux.
But there were some good moments too. One of them was Kehoe’s overtime goal against the New York Islanders in Game 3 of their 1982 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series:
Although the Penguins lost that series, it was one of many moments that showcased Kehoe’s ability to come up big in big moments. Unfortunately, due to the quality of the Penguins teams he played for, Kehoe didn’t get too many opportunities to shine in the playoffs. During his tenure, he scored four goals and 21 points in just 39 playoff games over the course of the Penguins’ seven playoff appearances.
But nonetheless, he earned his money in goal and had a good shot that matched his hard-nosed style of play. He was also a great playmaker.
Kehoe played only three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs before spending the rest of his career with the Penguins. Over the course of his entire NHL career, Kehoe scored 371 goals and 767 points in 906 games.
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