Bill Guerin: The Pens Will Be Contenders for Years

With elimination staring them in the face, the Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have too look far in realizing that this ultimate opportunity of winning the Stanley Cup isn’t something that they should take for granted.

Even though the young and talented Penguins have made it to consecutive finals against the reigning champion Detroit Red Wings, Bill Guerin serves as the perfect example that this opportunity won’t come every single season.

Guerin, who was picked up by the Penguins at the March trade deadline, is a grizzled 38 year-old veteran who won the Stanley Cup as a 25 year-old youngster back in 1995 with an emerging New Jersey Devils team.

At that time, this 17-year veteran believed he would win a few more, but has never made it back to the big show until this season. While the Devils won a few more Stanley Cups over the years, Guerin moved around to the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and presently, the Penguins.

“You never know what the future holds for opportunities and chances to win the Cup,” Guerin, whose team is trailing 3-2 in the finals, said. “But, yeah, I know where I’m at in my career. I know they’re going to have to kick me out of this league because I want to keep playing as long as I can. But the opportunity is now.”

Reflecting on the nucleus of the Penguins, Guerin believes that with players such as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pens will be knocking on the door for years to come.

“They’re lucky that they’re good,” Guerin, who has 15 playoff points this spring, said. “I think this team’s going to be sniffing around for championships for a long time because of the way they’ve drafted the last some-odd years. But you can’t take opportunities for granted.”