On the list of activities Pittsburgh Penguins fans have lamented going without while adhering to coronavirus restrictions, it admittedly ranks below getting a haircut or visiting a movie theater.

Still, arguing about which wingers should flank captain Sidney Crosby is a pastime that has been missed sorely over the last three months.

As the NHL’s 24-team playoff tournament draws nearer and the Penguins’ qualifying matchup with the Montreal Canadiens comes into focus, the debate undoubtedly will be ignited yet again.

While Jake Guentzel was out with a shoulder injury, the Penguins traded for Jason Zucker and he almost immediately displayed chemistry with Crosby, Guentzel’s long-time center.

The team also reacquired forward Conor Sheary prior to the trade deadline. Flanking Crosby during the team’s 2017 Stanley Cup run, Guentzel, then a rookie, help form a potent line dubbed “Sid and the Kids.”

“My first year, we had a lot of fun playing with each other,” said Guentzel, now 25. “It’s cool that ‘Sid and the Kids’ kind of got a little name going around. I’ve thought about it. It would be an awesome experience again. We really feed off each other, know each other’s games. If we have that opportunity, hopefully, we have some time to get that chemistry back. Hopefully, in this Phase 2, Phase 3 and the playoffs, we can do that. Hopefully, we can make another run for it.”

The “Sid and the Kids” combo was productive. It combined for 10 goals in the first six games after being put together in March of 2017 and produced a goal and five points in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against Nashville.

It was also diminutive.

Crosby and Guentzel are listed at 5-foot-11, and Sheary is 5-8.

With that in mind, beat writer Seth Rorabaugh and former beat writer Jonathan Bombulie came up with a top-five list of the best undersized players in franchise history. To make the list, players had to be under both 6-foot and 200 pounds. That excludes Crosby, who tips the scales at an even two bills.

BOMBULIE’S TOP FIVE

1. Mark Recchi (5-foot-10, 185 pounds)

When Recchi was playing his junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers, legend has it he would pad the inside of his skates with an inch of tape and put pucks in his pockets in order to appear taller and heavier whenever NHL scouts came around. By the time he raised the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 1991 or was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017, no one cared how tall he was.

2. Jean Pronovost (5-foot-10, 165 pounds)

Before the game was taken over by giants in the 1990s, Pronovost might not have seemed all that undersized. By modern standards, he was downright tiny. Regardless, as a member of the famed Century Line, Pronovost was the first Penguins player to top 100 points and 50 goals in a season.

3. Joe Mullen (5-foot-10, 182 pounds)

In addition to being a smallish winger, Mullen grew up in Hell’s Kitchen and learned to skate on roller skates. In an era where American players weren’t given much respect, it was a longshot he would make the NHL, let alone score 502 career goals. He spent parts of six seasons with the Penguins, winning the Stanley Cup twice and topping 30 goals three times.

4. Martin Straka (5-foot-9, 171 pounds)

While teams were busy drafting wingers the size of linebackers in 1992, the Penguins used a first-round pick on Straka. He proved to be ahead of his time. Using his high-end speed and offensive creativity, he put up numbers playing the same kind of game that undersized scorers do today. He had 442 points in 560 games with the Penguins.

5. Jake Guentzel (5-foot-11, 185 pounds)

Guentzel plays in an era where NHL general managers don’t discriminate against smaller players, but NHL defensemen don’t always share that sentiment. Guentzel’s game includes frequent trips to the hard areas of the ice, but he manages to survive and produce. A smart player with a 40-goal season on his resume, there’s no reason the 25-year-old couldn’t climb all the way to the top of this list before he’s done.

RORABAUGH’S TOP FIVE

1. Rick Kehoe (5-foot-11, 180 pounds)

For the sake of variety, this list rewards longevity with the organization. And Kehoe was arguably the most loyal person to ever don a Penguins jersey when you consider he spent 11 years in Pittsburgh as a player as well as two decades as a coach or scout. One of two members of the team to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (1981) for sportsmanship, Kehoe held most of the franchise’s career scoring records before the arrival of Mario Lemieux in 1984.

2. Jean Pronovost (5-foot-11, 165 pounds)

Before Lemieux or even before Pierre Larouche, and with apologies to the late Michel Briere, Pronovost was the Penguins’ first true French Canadian star in the early 1970s. A fairly complete player who played in even-strength, power-play and short-handed situations, Pronovost’s 14 short-handed goals trail only Lemieux’s gaudy total of 49 in franchise history. If nothing else, he’s one of the few players who had a personalized song created for him by legendary organist Vince Lascheid who would spur on fans to bellow, “LET’S GO … PRO-NO-VOST!”

3. Martin Straka (5-foot-9, 180 pounds)

As a first-round pick, Straka appeared to be a bust as an NHL-er when the Penguins traded him to the Ottawa Senators in 1995 for journeymen defenseman Norm Maciver and forward Troy Murray. After bouncing between the Senators, New York Islanders and Florida Panthers, Straka rejoined the Penguins as an unrestricted free agent in 1997 and became an all-star by 1999. His 165 goals are still the 10th-most in franchise history.

4. Bob Errey (5-foot-11, 175 pounds)

Drafted in the first round of 1983, Errey was arguably the best defensive stalwart during a time when defense was regarded as highly as a radioactive diaper for the franchise. While Lemieux and company racked up outrageous offensive numbers, Errey used his speed to be an effective forechecker and backchecker. A member of the 1991 and ’92 Stanley Cup-winning teams, Errey’s 572 career games are 12th-most in franchise history.

5. Ron Schock (5-foot-11, 180 pounds)

Schock wasn’t as talented as Recchi, Mullen or Guentzel, but what he had over them was longevity. In all reality, he had that over any other Penguins player for a few decades as he was the franchise’s record holder for most consecutive games played (313) until forward Craig Adams surpassed him in 2014. A responsible two-way player who centered the alliteratively pleasing Schink-Schock-Shack line (with Ken Schinkel and Eddie Shack), Schock also served as captain for four seasons. Only Lemieux and Crosby (13 seasons each) have worn the Penguins’ C longer.

Jonathan Bombulie is assistant sports editor for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@triblive.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib. Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter @sethrorabaugh.

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