Sanderson nets 200th goal in Pens loss

Derek Sanderson enjoyed his finest moment in a Penguins uniform during his second game with the team in Vancouver. He was granted a significant amount of ice time by coach Johnny Wilson and responded with a goal and an assist. "I had no idea I'd be playing this much," Sanderson told the Pittsburgh Press in this article. "It makes me feel welcome."

The tally was the 200th of his career. "I really wanted that goal," he wrote years later in his autobiography Crossing the Line. "I didn't want to end my career with 199. I kept the puck as a souvenir."

Unfortunately, Sanderson's spark wasn't enough to help the fading Pens lose to the Canucks 7-4 and fall further behind in the race for the NHL's final playoff spot.

Ted Lindsay rips Pens for aleged tampering

Detroit Red Wings legend "Terrible" Ted Lindsay was a tough customer on the ice during his Hall of Fame career, and he was no different while serving as the team's General Manager in the late 1970s. His temper was on full display in March 1978 when the Penguins signed Derek Sanderson, who had been playing with the Wings' Kansas City team in the Central Hockey League after the Wings had decided to give the broken down former star player a look. Without any signed contract, however, Sanderson was officially a free agent, free to sign with any team he wished.

When Sanderson's agent contacted Pens GM Baz Bastien about his client's availability, Bastien jumped at the opportunity. That did not sit well with Terrible Ted, as this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shows. Lindsay took his grievance to the NHL's head office, but there was no evidence of any kind of contract that could have been used as evidence to void the Penguins move.

"It was a verbal thing," admitted Lindsay.

This brief piece includes Bastien speaking in his own defense.

Sanderson dons a Penguins jersey

One of Derek Sanderson's few appearances
in a Penguins uniform.

Derek Sanderson joined the Penguins in Los Angeles on March 15, 1978 for the team's game that night against the Kings. It was the first leg of a five-game road trip that would go a long way to deciding the Pens' fate for the 77-78 campaign. They went into the game tied with the New York Rangers for the final playoff spot, with only 14 games to go.

Sanderson, no doubt grateful for another shot at the big time, nevertheless must have wondered just what kind of team he'd joined. Losers of two straight going in, the Pens showed little life and bowed to the Kings 4-2. The mood in the post-game locker room was not pretty, as noted in this game report from the Pittsburgh Press. "Just a terrible, terrible effort," observed coach Johnny Wilson. Roared centre Peter Mahovlich to his teammates: "Time is running out! Enough of this ----!" Dave Schultz attributed the team's falling fortunes to a lack of teamwork: "Everybody is trying to do his own thing and the system is breaking down completely."

For his part, Sanderson was still playing himself back into shape after a number of years of hard drinking and hard living. Check out the game report to hear Sanderson's story of what made him finally try to kick his drinking habit and get his life back on track.

Derek Sanderson, Pittsburgh Penguin: Part 1

I was surprised to learn a little while ago that Derek Sanderson at one point in his colourful career played for the Penguins. I'll be looking at his brief stop in the Steel City over the next few posts.

In a desperate attempt to push his team into a playoff spot in the waning weeks of the 1977-78 season, Penguins General Manager Baz Bastien decided to sign aging centre Derek Sanderson as a free agent. Sanderson had been on a wild ride throughout the 70s, reaching the summit of the hockey world when he hoisted the Stanley Cup as a Boston Bruin, only to end up battling the bottle and landing on skid row a few years later. His tale is chronicled nicely in his autobiography Crossing the Line.

After winning his second Cup with Boston in 1972, Sanderson became the highest paid athlete in the world by signing with the World Hockey Association's Philadelphia Blazers for a contract worth $2.65 million. He played only eight games for the Blazers before coming back to Boston and then bouncing around the NHL with stops in New York with the Rangers in 1974, and later St. Louis and Vancouver. Having hit rock bottom in his personal life by 1978, "The Turk" was attempting a comeback in the Detroit organization, playing with the Wings' Central Hockey League affiliate in Kansas City. That's when the Pens entered the picture.

"All I can tell you about Derek is that he's cleaned up his act," said Bastien.

Coach Johnny Wilson welcomed the idea of having another veteran centreman. "I need to be able to spell Peter Mahovlich. "I hate using Pete as much as I do, but when you don't have anybody else you don't have much choice."

The Red Wings weren't happy about the move, appealing to NHL President John Ziegler, who refused to interfere.

Read the full report of Sanderson's signing in this March 15, 1978 report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

1991 Boxing Day Blowout: Pens crumple Leafs 12-1

On the day he became engaged, Mario Lemieux decided to celebrate by going on one of his finest offensive rampages ever. It was Boxing Day 1991 when the Pens welcomed the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Igloo. 

It was not a warm welcome. 

Having slipped a ring on the finger of his longtime girlfriend Nathalie Asselin earlier in the day, Lemieux slipped two goals by Toronto goalie Grant Fuhr and also tallied a whopping five assists en route to a 12-1 demolition of the shell-shocked Leafs. Overshadowed by Mario's feat were two other incredible offensive displays: Joey Mullen's four goals - his second four-goal game in a row - and a six-point night for left wing Kevin Stevens. 

"It was crazy out there," said Stevens in this game report from the Pittsburgh Press (article on previous page). "One of those nights where everything went into the net."

"It was embarrassing to say the least," commented Toronto GM Cliff Fletcher.

Oct. 19/67: Flyers 1, Pens 0

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Flyers open new Spectrum arena with shutout win vs. Pens. Only 7,812 come out to see the game. Read the game report.

Oct. 18/67: Pens 3, North Stars 3

Only 3,885 show up at the Igloo to see Andy Bathgate score a hat trick to get the tie. Coach Red Sullivan: "Some of these guys feel all they got to do is throw their stick on the ice. And I'm talking about the guys who I figure should be leading the club." Read the game report.