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: Randy Hillier
Number: 23
Position: Defense
Born: March 30, 1960, in Toronto
Seasons with Penguins: 1984-91
Statistics with Penguins: 343 games, 13 goals, 79 assists in regular season; 17 games, 0 goals, 1 assist in playoffs
WHY HILLIER?
Thirty-four players have donned the No. 23 in franchise history, making it easily the most worn number. And yet no one wore it longer or with more distinction than Hillier.
The defenseman was 6-foot-1 and a wiry 192 pounds but, apparently, somebody forgot to tell him that. In blue-collar Pittsburgh, Hillier was a no-frills, stay-at-home defenseman who was more than willing to drop his gloves to stand up for his team:
He took on all comers, too. His fight card reveals bouts against heavyweights like Chris Nilan and Rudy Poeschek. There's fights against non-pugilists like Kirk Muller and Aaron Broten. Hell, in back-to-back games in '86 he took on a large chunk of the klan from Viking, Alberta, fighting St. Louis' Brian Sutter on Nov. 1 and then Vancouver's Rich Sutter on Nov. 4.
This, of course, made Hillier popular with both teammates and fans at a time when the Penguins were starting to come into their own in the late 1980s. He was acquired from the Bruins on Oct. 11, 1984 --- in exchange for a fourth round pick -- just four nights after Mario Lemieux made his NHL debut against Hillier's Bruins at the Boston Garden.
Hillier played seven seasons in a Penguins uniform, the last six of them in No. 23 (he wore No. 34 in 1984-85). Though he never played more than 68 games in a season due to injury, he did record 23 assists in 1988-89 as the Penguins returned to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
On Dec. 31, 1988, the night Lemieux scored five goals five different ways against the Devils, Hillier earned the only assist on Le Magnifique's short-handed goal at 7:50 of the first period:
The following season he led the team with a plus-11. Yeah, sometimes it helped to be Lemieux's teammate:
During his time in Pittsburgh, Hillier suffered knee, shoulder, neck and thigh injuries which kept him out of the lineup for extended stretches.
By 1990-91, Hillier had been reduced to a seventh defenseman as he appeared in just 31 games in the regular season and eight of the Penguins' 24 playoff games that spring, none past Game 1 of the Wales Conference final against Boston. Still, when you look at the Stanley Cup, you will find the name "R. Hillier" etched perfectly between "P. Coffey" and "B. Errey."
On June 30, 1991, less than a month after the party at the Point, Hillier signed as a free agent with the Islanders, for whom he would play just eight games. On Oct. 25, 1991, he was dealt to Buffalo as an extra in the blockbuster trade which sent Pat Lafontaine to the Sabres in exchange for Pierre Turgeon. He finished out the season with the Sabres but his playing days were done by age 31.
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
Hillier, 58, is still living in Pittsburgh and is working as an investment advisor. Following his playing career, he was an assistant coach with the Penguins during the 1997-98 season and then again in 2001-02, though he began taking an interest in investments even at the time, often sharing wisdom with his head coach, the late, great Herb Brooks.
IT WAS SPOKEN
"It was something that bothered me but not enough to keep me from playing. You come out of the locker room. Those are the things guys play with. That's the kind of guys who are involved in this game." -- Hillier, in 1989, on playing through injuries
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 23
Eddie Shack
Bob Woytowich
Rod Schutt
Kjell Samuelsson
Fredrik Olausson
Steve McKenna
ANY DEBATE?
Not much. It might be the most worn number but no star ever wore No. 23. All things considered, Hillier was a fairly easy pick.
Tomorrow: Bradford has No. 24.
Yesterday: Mike Bullard
