Playing to Lose: Did the Pittsburgh Penguins tank for Mario Lemieux?

The 1983-1984 Pittsburgh Penguins won just 3 of their final 21 games and awarded the 1st overall pick in the NHL Draft. With that pick they took Mario Lemieux. However, did GM Eddie Johnston and Head Coach Lou Angotti purposefully tank for Mario?

8 comments

  1. I mean wasnt tanking the reason the NHL put in the lottery system? IE in the 2000s and 2010s once a team was out of the playoffs they would try to lose on purpose so that they can get number 1 draft pick.

  4. The Penguins had the 1st round 1st overall pick in 1983 the year before the Mario draft (1984). The Penguins could have drafted Steve Yzerman or Pat Lafontaine in 1983. They didn't because it was all part of tanking to get Mario, YEAH RIGHT. The Penguins traded the 1st overall pick and George Ferguson to Minnesota for Anders Hakansson, Ron Meighan, and Minnesota's 1st round pick. The Pens would draft Bob Errey in the 1st round 15th overall with "Minnesota's" 1st round selection in 1983. Hakansson and Meighan would each play 1 year with the Pens scoring 9 and 2 goals total. NOBODY EVER TALKS ABOUT THIS BOGUS TRADE THAT MAKES NO SENSE. Why would you trade the 1st overall selection for nothing? It gets literally no attention and nobody links the mismanagement of 1983 to the "tanking" conspiracy.

  5. Yep and it was a smart business decision to focus their ineptitude: look at the decades of Leafs general ineptitude and what did that get them? The Penguins understood the value of a true superstar and made moves to maximize the probability of that outcome. How many weeks until the follow up on Penguins strategic tanking?

  6. The Randy Carlyle trade was the point where everyone knew they were watching full on tanking. He was the backbone of that Pens team.

Leave a Reply