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: Ken Wregget
Number: 31
Position: Goaltender
Born: March 25, 1964, in Brandon, Manitoba
Seasons with Penguins: 1992-97
Statistics with Penguins: 212 games, 104-67-21, 3.29 GAA, .898 save percentage in regular season, 26 games, 13-12, 2.87 GAA, .914 save percentage in playoffs
WHY WREGGET?
In an era when more and more goaltenders started dropping to their knees in the butterfly position and wearing enough padding in their equipment to resemble the Michelin Man, Wregget stood out.
He was a throwback to a different era.
He wasn't a stand-up goaltender in the traditional sense, but he certainly wasn't butterfly, either. Stylistically, he was far more Dominik Hasek than Patrick Roy. Wregget would simply do whatever it took to stop the puck in his own unorthodox way.
He wore smaller pads that he never completely tightened around his legs. For the first half of his career, he wore a helmet and cage combo -- with the cage seemingly always dangling in front of his face -- and no neck guard either.
And you know what? He was quite effective with it.
But the Penguins already knew that when they acquired him from Philadelphia on Feb. 19, 1992, part of a blockbuster trade that put Pittsburgh back on course for a second straight Stanley Cup. Wregget was considered a throw-in in a deal that saw the Penguins also acquire Rick Tocchet and Kjell Samuelsson in exchange for Mark Recchi, Brian Benning and Los Angeles' first-round draft choice in the '92 draft. (Paul Coffey went to LA for Benning, the draft choice and Jeff Chychrun.)
Back in the spring of 1989, it was Wregget who stymied the Penguins in Game 7 of their second-round series, Pittsburgh's first playoff appearance in the Mario Lemieux era. With Ron Hextall out with a knee injury, Philadelphia turned to Wregget, who was coming off mononucleosis. As the Civic Arena buzzed that the Penguins would win easily, Wregget turned aside 39 of 40 shots as the Flyers advanced to the conference final.
For the Penguins, Wregget was seen as an upgrade over Frank Pietrangelo and Wendell Young, saving his best for the biggest games. But he would have to wait until the spring of 1995 to prove it.
Wregget appeared in 76 games between 1992 and '94, but with starter Tom Barrasso on the shelf with an injury, Wregget appeared in 11 games during the 1995 playoffs, including a 49-save performance in a 2-1 loss to New Jersey in Game 4 of the second round.
The following year, Wregget authored his signature performance with the Penguins in one of the most memorable games in franchise history on April 24, 1996. With Pittsburgh trailing Washington, 2-1, in the series, the Penguins were in a bind.
First, Barrasso went down with back spasms at the end of the first period. Then, late in the second period, Lemieux was ejected for fighting.
Most everyone knows that Petr Nedved's wrister at 19:15 of the fourth overtime gave the Penguins a 3-2 win in what was the third-longest NHL game at the time. But none of it was possible without Wregget, who out-dueled Olaf Kolzig.
Wregget, in his first appearance in two weeks, stopped 53 of 54 shots, 37 of them in overtime.
At 13:17 of the first overtime, the Capitals' Stefan Ustorf had the game on his stick but Wregget made a spectacular glove save at point-blank range.
In the second overtime, Washington was awarded a penalty shot -- the first in OT in postseason history -- but Wregget thwarted Joe Juneau as he fumbled the puck on the bad ice at the Capital Centre:
The Penguins went on to win the contentious series in six games and advanced to the conference final for the first time since 1992. After his heroics in Landover, Wregget won six of his next eight starts before giving way to Barrasso.
Wregget started 46 games the following season, his biggest workload since 1989-90. When Barrasso returned to full health in 1997-98, Wregget was limited to just 15 starts.
On June 17, 1998, he was traded, along with Dave Roche, to Calgary for German Titov and Todd Hlushko. Wregget played three more years, one with the Flames, one with Detroit and one in his native Manitoba in the AHL before retiring in 2001 at age 36.
Eighteen years after last playing for the Penguins, Wregget still ranks third all-time with 104 wins and fifth in shutouts with six. His 13 playoff wins are fourth-most.
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
Fleury or Murray? Everyone has an opinion. Former #Penguins goalie Ken Wregget does too. His take tonight on #WTAE at 5 @31sportsbar_ pic.twitter.com/TMHaoPCrYu
— Andrew Stockey (@astockeyWTAE) June 7, 2017
Though he played for five different NHL teams, Wregget has made Pittsburgh his home. The 54-year-old and his wife are the owners of an establishment in suburban Bridgeville, fittingly called "31 Sports Bar and Grille."
IT WAS SPOKEN
"It was anybody's game. Anything could have happened there at any time." -- Wregget, on quadruple-overtime Game 4 vs. Washington in 1996.
"If you're looking for an MVP in this series, Kenny would be an awful tough guy to pass by." -- Eddie Johnston, coach, on Wregget's performance in the '96 playoff series vs. Washington.
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 31
Sebastian Caron
Michel Plasse
ANY DEBATE?
No, and not much competition. In the 51-year history of the organization, only 10 players have worn No. 31, making it the second-least used number from Nos. 1-34. Only two players wore No. 21 and that was retired following the death of Michel Briere in 1971.
Tomorrow: DK has No. 32.
Yesterday: Matt Murray
