1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division 1st Northeast
1997–98 record 40–24–18
Goals for 228
Goals against 188
Team information
General Manager Craig Patrick
Coach Kevin Constantine
Captain Ron Francis
Alternate captains Kevin Hatcher
Jaromir Jagr
Arena Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals Jaromir Jagr (35)
Assists Jaromir Jagr (67)
Points Jaromir Jagr (102)
Penalties in minutes Chris Tamer (181)
Wins Tom Barrasso (31)
Goals against average Peter Skudra (1.83)
<1996–97 1998–99>

The 1997–98 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 31st in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was their first season under Head Coach Kevin Constantine and first after the initial retirement of Mario Lemieux.

Offseason

Following the 1996–97 season which saw their Hall of Fame star Mario Lemieux retire, the Penguins attempted to continue keeping their recent success. Over the previous nine seasons, no NHL team had been more successful than Pittsburgh in terms of regular season points, although the team had not won a Stanley Cup since 1992 (part of the reason why Head Coach Eddie Johnston was asked to resign down following the 1996–97 season). Former San Jose Sharks Head Coach Kevin Constantine was hired as Johnston's successor, promising to replace his predecessor's free-form style of play with a more disciplined approach. Additionally, Ron Francis was named captain in Lemieux's absence, and the team acquired center Martin Straka via free agency to add offense. The team also acquired the rights to defensive-defenseman Jiri Slegr, who had spent the 1996–97 season playing for Sodertalje SK in Sweden.

Regular season

The Penguins tied the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders for most short-handed goals allowed, with 16.[1]

Final standings

Northeast Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 40 24 18 228 188 98
2 Boston Bruins 82 39 30 13 221 194 91
3 Buffalo Sabres 82 36 29 17 211 187 89
4 Montreal Canadiens 82 37 32 13 235 208 87
5 Ottawa Senators 82 34 33 15 193 200 83
6 Carolina Hurricanes 82 33 41 8 200 219 74
Eastern Conference[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 48 23 11 225 166 107
2 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 40 24 18 228 188 98
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 42 29 11 242 193 95
4 Washington Capitals ATL 82 40 30 12 219 202 92
5 Boston Bruins NE 82 39 30 13 221 194 91
6 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 36 29 17 211 187 89
7 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 37 32 13 235 208 87
8 Ottawa Senators NE 82 34 33 15 193 200 83
9 Carolina Hurricanes NE 82 33 41 8 200 219 74
10 New York Islanders ATL 82 30 41 11 212 225 71
11 New York Rangers ATL 82 25 39 18 197 231 68
12 Florida Panthers ATL 82 24 43 15 203 256 63
13 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 17 55 10 151 269 44

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

1997–98 Schedule
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Tie

Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Legend:           = Win           = Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season[3]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr 77 35 67 102 17 64
Francis, RonRon Francis 81 25 62 87 12 20
Barnes, StuStu Barnes 78 30 35 65 15 30
Hatcher, KevinKevin Hatcher 74 19 29 48 –3 66
Straka, MartinMartin Straka 75 19 23 42 –1 28
Brown, RobertRobert Brown 82 15 25 40 –1 59
Olausson, FredrikFredrik Olausson 76 6 27 33 13 42
Morozov, AlekseyAleksey Morozov 76 13 13 26 –4 8
Lang, RobertRobert Lang 51 9 13 22 6 14
Olczyk, EddieEddie Olczyk 56 11 11 22 –9 35
Hicks, AlexAlex Hicks 58 7 13 20 4 54
Werenka, BradBrad Werenka 71 3 15 18 15 46
Slegr, JiriJiri Slegr 73 5 12 17 10 109
Johansson, AndreasAndreas Johansson 50 5 10 15 4 20
Kasparaitis, DariusDarius Kasparaitis 81 4 8 12 3 127
Dome, RobertRobert Dome 30 5 2 7 –1 12
Ferraro, ChrisChris Ferraro 46 3 4 7 –2 43
Tamer, ChrisChris Tamer 79 0 7 7 4 181
Moran, IanIan Moran 37 1 6 7 0 19
Ferraro, PeterPeter Ferraro 29 3 4 7 –2 12
Wright, TylerTyler Wright 82 3 4 7 –3 112
Wilkinson, NeilNeil Wilkinson 34 2 4 6 0 24
Gronman, TuomasTuomas Gronman 22 1 2 3 3 25
Valk, GarryGarry Valk 39 2 1 3 –3 33
Johnson, GregGreg Johnson 5 1 0 1 0 2
Pronger, SeanSean Pronger 5 1 0 1 –1 2
Butenschon, SvenSven Butenschon 8 0 0 0 –1 6
Total 228 397 625 1,193

Playoffs[4]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr 6 4 5 9 5 2
Francis, RonRon Francis 6 1 5 6 5 2
Barnes, StuStu Barnes 6 3 3 6 2 2
Slegr, JiriJiri Slegr 6 0 4 4 3 2
Lang, RobertRobert Lang 6 0 3 3 –4 2
Olausson, FredrikFredrik Olausson 6 0 3 3 0 2
Straka, MartinMartin Straka 6 2 0 2 –3 2
Olczyk, EddieEddie Olczyk 6 2 0 2 –3 4
Morozov, AlekseyAleksey Morozov 6 0 1 1 –3 2
Wright, TylerTyler Wright 6 0 1 1 0 4
Brown, RobertRobert Brown 6 1 0 1 –4 4
Tamer, ChrisChris Tamer 6 0 1 1 –1 4
Werenka, BradBrad Werenka 6 1 0 1 –3 8
Hatcher, KevinKevin Hatcher 6 1 0 1 1 12
Hicks, AlexAlex Hicks 6 0 0 0 –5 2
Moran, IanIan Moran 6 0 0 0 –1 2
Kasparaitis, DariusDarius Kasparaitis 5 0 0 0 –2 8
Gronman, TuomasTuomas Gronman 1 0 0 0 0 0
Johansson, AndreasAndreas Johansson 1 0 0 0 0 0
Pronger, SeanSean Pronger 5 0 0 0 –1 4
Total 15 26 41 68

Goaltenders
Regular Season[5]
Player GP GS TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso 63 60 3542:07 31 14 13 122 2.07 1556 0.922 7 0 2 14
Skudra, PeterPeter Skudra 17 12 851:23 6 4 3 26 1.83 341 0.924 0 0 1 2
Wregget, KenKen Wregget 15 9 611:26 3 6 2 28 2.75 293 0.904 0 0 0 6
Total 81 5004:56 40 24 18 176 2.11 2190 0.920 7 0 3 22
Playoffs[6]
Player GP GS TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso 6 6 376:19 2 4 0 17 2.71 171 0.901 0 0 0 2
Total 6 376:19 2 4 0 17 2.71 171 0.901 0 0 0 2

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season:[7]

Trades

August 12, 1997 To Edmonton Oilers

1998 3rd round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Jiri Slegr

September 24, 1997 To Buffalo Sabres

Jason Woolley

To Pittsburgh Penguins

1998 5th round pick

September 28, 1997 To Colorado Avalanche

Francois Leroux

To Pittsburgh Penguins

1998 3rd round pick

October 27, 1997 To Chicago Blackhawks

Greg Johnson

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Tuomas Gronman

March 24, 1998 To Anaheim Ducks

rights to Patrick Lalime

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Sean Pronger

June 16, 1998 To Edmonton Oilers

rights to Josef Beranek

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Bobby Dollas
Tony Hrkac

June 17, 1998 To Calgary Flames

David Roche
Ken Wregget

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Todd Hlushko
German Titov

Free agents lost

Player New team Date
Jeff Christian Phoenix Coyotes August 4, 1997
Robert Lang[8] Boston Bruins September 28, 1997
Drake Berehowsky Edmonton Oilers September 30, 1997

Claimed via waivers

Date Player Previous team
October 1, 1997[9] Peter Ferraro New York Rangers
October 1, 1997[9] Chris Ferraro New York Rangers
October 25, 1997[10] Robert Lang Boston Bruins

Lost via waivers

Date Player New team
January 14, 1998[11] Peter Ferraro New York Rangers
June 26, 1998 Tony Hrkac Nashville Predators

Player signings

Player Date
Brad Werenka July 31, 1997
Ian Moran August 1, 1997
Martin Straka August 6, 1997
Robert Lang[12] September 2, 1997
Joe Dziedzic[13] September 10, 1997
Alexei Morozov[14] September 24, 1997
Peter Skudra[15] September 25, 1997
Rob Brown[16] October 1, 1997
Jaromir Jagr January 27, 1998
Peter Skudra June 17, 1998

Roster

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age NHL Draft Birthplace
14 Canada Barnes, StuStu Barnes C R 27 1989 Spruce Grove, Alberta
35 United States Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso G R 33 1983 Boston, Massachusetts
44 Canada Brown, RobertRobert Brown RW L 30 1986 Kingston, Ontario
22 Germany Butenschon, SvenSven Butenschon D L 22 1994 Itzehoe, Germany
15 Slovakia Dome, RobertRobert Dome LW L 19 1997 Senica, Slovakia
57 United States Ferraro, ChrisChris Ferraro C R 25 1992 Port Jefferson, New York
10 Canada Francis, RonRon Francis C L 35 1981 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
42 Finland Gronman, TuomasTuomas Gronman D L 24 1992 Viitasaari, Finland
4 United States Hatcher, KevinKevin Hatcher D R 31 1984 Detroit, Michigan
33 Canada Hicks, AlexAlex Hicks LW L 28 Undrafted Calgary, Alberta
68 Czech Republic Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr RW L 26 1990 Kladno, Czech Republic
38 Sweden Johansson, AndreasAndreas Johansson LW L 25 1991 Hofors, Sweden
11 Russia Kasparaitis, DariusDarius Kasparaitis D L 25 1992 Elektrenai, Lithuania
20 Czech Republic Lang, RobertRobert Lang C R 27 1990 Teplice, Czech Republic
24 United States Moran, IanIan Moran D R 25 1990 Cleveland, Ohio
95 Russia Morozov, AlekseyAleksey Morozov RW L 21 1995 Moscow, Russia
23 Sweden Olausson, FredrikFredrik Olausson D R 31 1985 Dadesjo, Sweden
16 United States Olczyk, EddieEddie Olczyk RW L 31 1984 Chicago, Illinois
12 Canada Pronger, SeanSean Pronger C L 25 1991 Thunder Bay, Ontario
1 Latvia Skudra, PeterPeter Skudra G L 25 Undrafted Riga, Latvia
71 Czech Republic Slegr, JiriJiri Slegr D L 27 1990 Jihlava, Czech Republic
82 Czech Republic Straka, MartinMartin Straka C L 25 1992 Plzen, Czech Republic
2 United States Tamer, ChrisChris Tamer D L 27 1990 Dearborn, Michigan
18 Canada Valk, GarryGarry Valk LW L 30 1987 Edmonton, Alberta
5 Canada Werenka, BradBrad Werenka D L 29 1987 Two Hills, Alberta
6 Canada Wilkinson, NeilNeil Wilkinson D R 30 1986 Selkirk, Manitoba
31 Canada Wregget, KenKen Wregget G L 34 1982 Brandon, Manitoba
29 Canada Wright, TylerTyler Wright C R 25 1991 Kamsac, Saskatchewan

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NHL Entry Draft

The Penguins drafted the following players at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh:[17]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 17 Robert Dome Left Wing  Slovakia Las Vegas Thunder (IHL)
2 44 Brian Gaffaney Defense  United States North Iowa Huskies (USHL)
3 71 Josef Melichar Defense  Czech Republic HC Ceske Budejovice (Czech)
4 97 Alexandre Mathieu Center  Canada Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
5 124 Harlan Pratt Defense  Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
6 152 Petr Havelka Left Wing  Czech Republic Sparta Prague (Czech)
7 179 Mark Moore Defense  Canada Harvard University (ECACHL)
8 208 Andrew Ference Defense  Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
9 234 Eric Lind Defense  United States Avon Old Farms (USHS–CT)

Farm teams

The Johnstown Chiefs of the East Coast Hockey League finished last overall in the Northern Conference with a record of 23–41–6.

The American Hockey League (AHL)'s Syracuse Crunch finished in third place in the Empire State Division with a record of 35–32–11–2 record. They were eliminated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in the first round of the playoffs.

See also

References

  1. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1998.html
  2. "1997–1998 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  3. "1997–1998 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  4. "1997–1998 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  5. "1997–1998 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  6. "1997–1998 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  7. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". ProSportsTransactions. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  8. "PENGUINS TRADE FRANCOIS LEROUX TO COLORADO; LOSE ROBERT LANG IN WAIVER DRAFT". Pittsburgh Penguins. September 28, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  9. 1 2 "PENGUINS CLAIM PETER AND CHRIS FERRARO". Pittsburgh Penguins. October 1, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  10. "PENGUINS CLAIM ROBERT LANG OFF WAIVERS". Pittsburgh Penguins. October 25, 1997. Archived from the original on January 12, 1998. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  11. "PETER FERRARO CLAIMED ON WAIVERS BY NY RANGERS". Pittsburgh Penguins. January 14, 1998. Archived from the original on January 15, 1998. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  12. "PENGUINS SIGN ROBERT LANG". Pittsburgh Penguins. September 2, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  13. "PENGUINS SIGN JOE DZIEDZIC". Pittsburgh Penguins. September 10, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  14. "PENGUINS SIGN ALEXEI MOROZOV". Pittsburgh Penguins. September 24, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  15. "PENGUINS SIGN GOALTENDER PETER SKUDRA". Pittsburgh Penguins. September 25, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  16. "PENGUINS SIGN ROB BROWN". Pittsburgh Penguins. October 1, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  17. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL.com. Retrieved July 14, 2012.

External links

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