Welcome to our series on who wore each number best for the Penguins.
The idea is being openly borrowed from our new hockey writer, Cody Tucker, and his project at the Lansing State Journal covering all the uniform numbers worn through Michigan State football history, one that's been well received by their readers and prompted heavy discussion and debate.
Under the organization of Taylor Haase, and following the voting of a big chunk of our staff, we'll publish one new one each day until completion, which should be right around the start of training camp.
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Name: Jay Caufield
Number: 16
Position: Right wing
Born: July 17, 1960, in Philadelphia
Seasons with Penguins: 1988-93
Statistics with Penguins: 194 games, 3 goals, 7 assists in regular season, 14 games, 0 goals, 0 assists in playoffs
WHY CAUFIELD?
Well, it sure wasn't those three goals, right?
OK, so let's talk about those 714 penalty minutes instead. And those two rings he still wears.
For a franchise that's long been founded on speed and skill, it also needed a spine. And in that glorious half-decade in which the Penguins rose to their first two Stanley Cups, as any member of those teams will attest, their strength, their courage was that much more fortified because of Caufield. He fought an incredible 19 times in his first season with the Penguins, 1988-89, taking on Chris Nilan, Dave Brown (twice), Mick Vukota (three times), and anyone else who'd challenge him or a teammate he'd pledged to protect, especially Mario Lemieux.
Here's Caufield vs. Joey Kocur, universally recognized as one of the league's premier fighters, in 1991:
Didn't give an inch, did he?
It was a different era, for sure, but context is everything. And in this context, Caufield was invaluable. Then as now, opponents sought any means possible to negate the Penguins' other advantages, and the Flyers, Rangers, Islanders and others often resorted to the rough stuff. Back then, it was answered Caufield's way. He stood 6 feet 4, 227 pounds, he was built like the Fort Pitt Blockhouse, and he was freakishly strong. That was instrumental in his going toe-to-toe with the NHL's other heavyweights, but also in influencing his teammates' workouts. Nobody lifted more or stayed longer in the weight room. And it's no coincidence that a good many of those players, including Lemieux himself, took their own conditioning that much more seriously in his presence.
That counted, way more than might be clear to newer hockey fans. Caufield earned his way up, worked his rear end off to become capable enough to take the occasional fourth-line shift and gave everything he had to let the scorers score.
Lemieux's gratitude, in particular, has never faded. They've been best friends forever, and it was Caufield, of course, who personally -- and singularly, I should add -- oversaw his intensive training upon famously emerging from retirement in 2000. I experienced this up-close, including being the only reporter invited to Neville Island the day before Lemieux's storybook comeback.
That resulted in this story I wrote for the Post-Gazette, one which still hangs on my wall.
Caufield's been justifiably proud of a lot in his life and career, but to this day, I've never seen him beam more than when appreciating what he was able to do toward making Lemieux II possible.
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
I've heard he works a telestrator or something.
IT WAS SPOKEN
-- "It's been great to have a good friend, somebody who knows the game, who understands what it takes to get there. Jay's meant a lot to me." -- Lemieux, to me that day on Neville Island
-- ”For the team to do that and have that happen, yeah, it does mean a lot.” -- Caufield, on his teammates successfully petitioning to have his name engraved on the Cup in 1991, even though he hadn't met the minimum games requirement
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 16
Gary McAdam
Eddie Olczyk
Kris Beech
Erik Christensen
Brandon Sutter
Eric Fehr
ANY DEBATE?
Almost none. Caufield's a lifer, even now through his prominence in the broadcast booth. Besides, for as wonderful a human being as Jay's always been, I'm pretty sure I'd never want to tick him off.
Tomorrow: Bradford has an easy one at No. 17.
Yesterday: Randy Cunneyworth
