Penguins co-Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle two years ago "flirted with the idea of a possible sale," but after a pair of Stanley Cups it is "doubtful Lemieux and Burkle are second-guessing their decision to yank the team off the market," according to Jason Mackey of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Lemieux said, "We’re happy with the way we’ve been doing business over the last few years. For us it’s about winning and giving these guys a chance to win a Stanley Cup every year." The Penguins "remain among the league’s sexiest draws." The Penguins over the past 10 years are "either first or tied for first league-wide" in Stanley Cups (3), Cup Final appearances (4), and regular season wins (467). Couple that with the Penguins' sellout streak -- currently at 484 -- and it is "easy to see what Lemieux means when he says business has been good" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 6/13).
HALL PASS? In Pittsburgh, Josh Yohe noted Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is 68, and he "still has two seasons remaining on the contract extension he signed in July." Rutherford made it "very clear that he's not interested in stepping down anytime soon." Rutherford: "As long as I'm healthy and still feeling 25, I'll keep doing this" (DKPITTSBURGHSPORTS.com, 6/12). Also in Pittsburgh, Jonathan Bombulie noted only eight GMs "have won more titles" than Rutherford's three, including one with the Hurricanes in '06. They are "all in the Hall of Fame." It is "not hard to imagine Rutherford joining them in enshrinement in Toronto some day" (TRIBLIVE.com, 6/12).
DEFINING GREATNESS: THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell noted the Penguins have "truly established themselves as one of the all-time great teams in NHL history, winning the Cup not once, but twice, in an era when repeating is more difficult than ever" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 6/12). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Andrew Beaton noted the Penguins have the "makings of one of hockey’s greatest dynasties in the sport’s modern history." Many teams have "produced spurts of titles over multiple years, but no team had ever won in consecutive years during the sport’s salary cap era" (WSJ.com, 6/11).
TIME TO CELEBRATE: The POST-GAZETTE's Mackey noted the Penguins victory parade will be 11:00am ET tomorrow, and the route will "remain the same as last year and end at Point State Park." Pittsburgh Chief Operations Officer Guy Costa said that the city "expects as many as 500,000 people will gather in the Golden Triangle for the parade and related celebration." Costa said that would "rank the crowd among the largest in Pittsburgh history" (POST-GAZETTE.com, 6/12).
