Friday Poll: Who is the fourth member of the Penguins’ Mount Rushmore?

The Penguins have been blessed in the last 40 years with a run of star power unlike any other. Mario Lemieux started it, and was joined by Paul Coffey, Kevin Stevens, Jaromir Jagr, Bryan Trottier, Ron Francis and many others as the basis for a star-studded Hall of Fame backbone of two Stanley Cup teams. As Lemieux’s playing days faded, Pittsburgh got the “next one” in Sidney Crosby, who along with Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang, Jake Guentzel along with a long list of names have carried the torch ever since.

Lemieux, Crosby and Malkin, in usually that combination (for now anyways) typically go 1-2-3 in all major franchise records of goals, assists, points. In some ways, the new players are starting to chip away at Lemieux’s hold on records both big and small. Crosby with 954 career even strength points recently passed Lemieux (951) for first in that category (though Sid has played 275 more games). Crosby is also the current franchise leader in game winning goals, with a fitting 87 to his name as of now.

Due to that production, longevity and overall impact, it can’t be doubted that if there was a mythical Mount Rushmore of Penguin players that 66, 87 and 71 would be no-brainers for the first three spots.

There was also hockey in Pittsburgh B.L (Before Lemieux) with days of old like Syl Apps, Jean Pronovost and Rick Kehoe making big impacts on the franchise’s early years. Kehoe also has one of the longest stints in with the Pens from 1974-2002 as a player, scout or coach for the team over the years.

Staying off the ice, you could make a really good argument for the legendary, long-time voice of the Pens Mike Lange as a worthy entry to round the Mount Rushmore out. Or maybe a lifer like Eddie Johnston who served so many roles in the organization for such a long time.

However, we’ll stick to on the ice alone for the player’s version of today’s poll question. We chose candidates who are currently in the top-8 of the team’s scoring (Jagr, Letang, Kehoe, Francis and Pronovost), as well as Fleury who owns all the major goaltending records in Pittsburgh. As a sentimental pick, and in recognition of being the only non-66 jersey to be retired by the team, the late Michel Briere was also added for your consideration.