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: Rick Kehoe
Number: 17
Position: Right wing
Born: July 15, 1951 in Windsor, Ontario
Seasons with Penguins: 1974-1985
Statistics with Penguins: 722 games, 312 goals, 324 assists in regular season; 37 games, 4 goals, 21 assists in playoffs
WHY KEHOE?
Quick, who was the best player in franchise history pre-Mario Lemieux?
A pretty good argument could be made that it was Rick Kehoe.
Thirty-three years after his last game, Kehoe still ranks fifth on the Penguins' all-time list in points (636) and is sixth in games (722), goals (312), power play goals (95) and hat tricks (9). Had his career not been cut short at age 33 by a neck injury, Chico assuredly would have ranked even higher.
Still, it's not bad for a guy who was acquired from Toronto on Sept. 13, 1974, in exchange for Blaine Stoughton and Pittsburgh's first-round choice in the 1977 draft.
With the Penguins, the speedy Kehoe went on to establish himself as one of the more accomplished and consistent snipers of his day. From his first season in Pittsburgh until his last in 1984-85, Kehoe ranks 15th in goals and 10 of the top 11 are Hall-of-Famers.
Kehoe was a two-time All-Star and the 1980-81 recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy. That year, he scored a career-high 55 goals to finish tied for fourth with Wayne Gretzky. Kehoe's goal total that season established a new club record and has been exceeded by just two players -- Lemieux (four times) and Jaromir Jagr (once) -- in team history. Under the tutelage of coach Eddie Johnston and his liberal use of picks on the power play, Kehoe scored 20 goals with the man advantage in '80-81, also a career high.
Had he played on better teams (the Penguins won just one playoff series during his career, a best-of-three vs. St. Louis in 1975) and had he stayed healthy, Kehoe likely would have scored 500 goals and would be a Hall of Fame possibility.
Down two games to none after being outscored, 15-3, by the dynastic Islanders in the first round of the 1982 playoffs, Kehoe scored at 4:14 of overtime to keep the Penguins' season alive:
The Penguins would go on to win Game 4 to force a deciding fifth game on Long Island. The Islanders went on to win the game and the series in overtime by a 4-3 score.
His remarkable run of nine straight seasons with at least 27 goals came to an end in 1983-84 after playing in just 57 games as the team began a youth movement that ultimately landed Lemieux in the '84 draft. He was forced to retire at age 33, just six games into the 1984-85 season, after experiencing numbness in his right arm, the result of a vertebrae injury.
However, Kehoe's legacy with the Penguins went far beyond his on-ice exploits. Three years after retiring, he returned as an assistant coach and won two more Stanley Cups and is credited with helping Jagr develop his lethal wrist shot. In the fall of 2001, he took over head coaching duties from Ivan Hlinka and served in that role until June of 2003 when he was replaced by Eddie Olczyk. Kehoe went 55-81-14-10 as coach of a Penguins team that had fallen on times as hard as any he'd experienced in his playing days.
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
Though no longer with the Penguins, Kehoe is still a regular in the press box at PPG Paints Arena in his role as a pro scout for the Rangers, a position he's held the past 12 years.
IT WAS SPOKEN
"I was pretty consistent around the 30-goal mark until '80-81, when I was fortunate to have a big year. It just seems that some years the puck goes in more than other years.” -- Kehoe, on his goal-scoring ability
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 17
Bryan Rust
Ron Schock
Tomas Sandstrom
Petr Sykora
ANY DEBATE?
None. Rust has been a valuable role player on two Stanley Cup championship teams, but Kehoe is one of the all-time best in franchise history.
Tomorrow: Bradford has No. 18.
Yesterday: Jay Caufield
