Puck Junk

Take a stroll through downtown Pittsburgh and there’s a lot of American history to take in. The second-most populous city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia – known both as “Steel City” for its role in that industry and the “City of Bridges” for its 446 spans – has also plenty of sports history.

Aside from the Steelers and Pirates (sorry football and baseball fans), the Penguins could very well be the team that has left the deepest impression on the city. In fact, the Penguins have also played a vital role in the history of the NHL, especially since Mario Lemieux was drafted by the team in 1984.

Over the next 40 years, the team has made the playoffs 28 times and lifted the Stanley Cup in 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016 and 2017. In the process, fans got to delight in the scoring heroics of Lemieux, then Jaromir Jagr and later Sidney Crosby.

Those five championships – proudly displayed on the façade of PPG Paints Arena – are part of the city’s iconic downtown. But the streets around the arena – usually bustling with fans – are empty these days. The Penguins, for the second straight season, failed to make the postseason.

My travels took me to Pittsburgh last month just as the playoffs got underway. Instead of taking in a game, I went on a search for – what else? – Penguins memorabilia. Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: Hockey Collectors Should Make a ‘Pitt’ Stop to Learn Penguins History”