On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins marked the 10th anniversary of their 2016 Stanley Cup victory with a reunion event. The celebration took place before the team’s game against the New York Rangers and included a pregame ceremony where current and former players were introduced to fans.
A video tribute was shown during the ceremony, which moved team captain Sidney Crosby to tears. “It’s just a lot of love for these guys,” Crosby said. “I think seeing some of those clips play years after, they bring back a lot of good memories. I love that group, and I loved all of the memories with them, so that’s how it comes out.”
Bryan Rust reflected on his own emotions leading up to the event. “We were hockey players, and that’s our goal: to win Stanley Cups,” Rust said. “To be able to do this, and do that with the group that we had and all the amazing memories, it brings back so many smiles. It brings back happy tears.”
Tom Kuhnhackl described returning to Pittsburgh as an emotional experience. “Instant goosebumps,” he said. “When I stepped on the ice there, and you saw the crowd cheer, it brought back so many memories to when you skated out there in front of the fans. This town is such a hard-working city, and that’s what we tried to do back in 2016, where we grew together as a group.”
Former general manager Jim Rutherford and then-head coach Mike Sullivan also attended the ceremony. Sullivan shared his appreciation for his time in Pittsburgh: “Well, they mean the world to me, you know? This place was home for my family for 10 years, and we loved every second of it when we were here. I always knew how privileged I was to coach that team. And to do it for as long as I did was a huge bonus. So, this city will always hold a special place in my family’s heart.”
Patric Hornqvist recounted revisiting familiar places in Pittsburgh before meeting up with teammates: “We rented a car yesterday to drive around, see our old houses, where my kids went to school, and the grocery stores,” Hornqvist said. “We almost lived our old life for one day, not playing hockey, and then the same night, you meet these guys who are like family. When you win, that’s how close you get to each other.”
Hornqvist also spoke about how time seemed not to have passed since their championship win: “It doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen a guy in five or 10 years, it still feels like we saw them yesterday,” he said. “And winning that Cup, it’s getting that glue together with these awesome people. They’re great hockey players, but they’re even better people, and that’s what I love.”
Before taking part in the pregame ceremony on Saturday night, former players participated in “2016 Cup Chronicles,” an event hosted by Paul Steigerwald featuring stories from their championship season.
Phil Kessel could not attend but was remembered fondly by teammates through shared anecdotes during “Cup Chronicles.” Hornqvist commented on reliving those moments: “I just see myself there, and you get a little embarrassed at first – but at the same time, it’s fun,” he said.
Kuhnhackl noted seeing memorabilia from their title run brought back strong memories: “We have that picture framed in our house too,” he said about their team photo from 2016.
Marc-Andre Fleury remarked on how quickly time has passed since their victory: “Like those ten years—it felt like it went by so quick,” Fleury said.
After watching Saturday’s game together from a suite with families present—and congratulating current players postgame—the group concluded their reunion weekend with a private dinner.
“At the end of the day,” Hornqvist summarized,”we competed for the same thing; we always wanted to win the Stanley Cup… That’s what brings this group together.”
