THE Pittsburgh Penguins“The history of the organization has a plethora of great players, and we decided to go through top Penguins players will wear every jersey number. Today we continue the list by naming the best #82 in Penguins history.
Only one player in franchise history has worn number 82, and he scored important goals for the Penguins in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The best and only number 82 in Penguins history is Martin Straka.
Straka, a center, was drafted 19th overall by Pittsburgh in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first three seasons in the NHL with the Penguins – including a second season with 30 goals and 64 points in 1993-94 – before being traded to the Ottawa Senators after a disappointing 1994-95 season with Pittsburgh.
He played for the Senators, New York IslandersAnd Florida Panthers before returning to the Penguins in 1997-98 on a free agent contract. And, from there, his NHL career found new life.
Over the next seven seasons with Pittsburgh, Straka scored 128 goals and 346 points in 403 games, including 19 game-winning goals in the regular season. He was widely considered a clutch player and knew how to stand out in big moments.
But he also scored some huge playoff goals, including two overtime goals in the 2001 playoffs. And one of them was, arguably, one of the most memorable in franchise history – and it was the decisive goal of the sixth match against the capitals of Washington to send the Penguins to the second round:
Straka was traded to the Los Angeles Kings during the 2003-04 season, and he went on to play three seasons in the NHL with the New York Rangers after the 2004-2005 lockout. During his NHL career, Straka scored 257 goals and 717 points in 954 games.
