• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins’ 2010s All-Decade Team: Goaltenders and Head Coach

By Josh Karadeema December 16th, 2019

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

A good goaltender and head coach will get you into the playoffs, but a great goaltender and head coach will win you a Stanley Cup. The Pittsburgh Penguins are fortunate to have two great goaltenders and a head coach who inspires his team every night.

To qualify for the all-decade team, goaltenders must have played 50 games. This excludes someone like Thomas Greiss, who only played 20 games for the Penguins. The head coach must have coached a minimum of 100 games. Success prior to 2010 does not factor into this team. That said, let’s look at the two goaltenders and the head coach who made the Penguins’ 2010s All-Decade Team.

Goaltender No. 1: Marc-Andre Fleury

A Pittsburgh legend, Marc-Andre Fleury is the first goalie on the All-Decade Team. Redefining ‘fan favorite’, it was not uncommon to see Fleury make a miraculous save and be smiling ear to ear shortly after. He loved nothing more than making an acrobatic save to get the crowd on their feet. With a save percentage of .909 or better every season, he owned the net for much of the decade.

Fleury led the Penguins to the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs before an injury forced him to watch from the bench. He came the backup in the 2016-17 season, but continued to play at a high level without causing a distraction. In the 2017 Playoffs, an injury allowed him to be the starter and lead the Penguins through the first two rounds.

A "Fleury" of saves. pic.twitter.com/osBF9TfrUa

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 28, 2017

After raising the Stanley Cup again in 2017, Fleury waived his no-trade clause in order to be drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. His first game back in Pittsburgh was an emotional night. Fans would not stop chanting his name which moved Fleury to tears. Pittsburgh will always be his home and his time as a Penguin will never be forgotten.

Games played: 442, record: 252-137-36, goals against average (GAA): 2.37, save percentage (SV%): .915, shutouts: 35

Goaltender No. 2: Matt Murray

Following in Fleury’s footsteps, Matt Murray took over as the #1 goaltender at the start of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With Fleury injured, the Penguins turned to the rookie goaltender who had a 15-6 record to lead the team to a championship. His success pushed the team to name him their starting goaltender the following season. He backed up his success with a second consecutive Cup, including shutouts in the final two games against the Nashville Predators.

Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Murray
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

With Fleury in Vegas, Murray is now the Penguins’ No. 1 goaltender. Staying healthy has been an issue, as he has only started 50 regular season games once in his career. Even with his injury history, Murray is still the franchise goalie. His success will be the key to how long their Stanley Cup window remains open.

Games played: 209, record: 125-61-14, GAA: 2.40, SV%: .918, shutouts: 16

Head Coach: Mike Sullivan

Taking over for the fired Mike Johnston on Dec. 12, 2015, Mike Sullivan hit the ground running. Signed early in the offseason as the head coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League, his promotion was seamless. His familiarity with the young players and knowledge of the ins and outs of the organization were just two reasons the Penguins decided to promote him. He quickly earned the attention of the locker room and found ways to motivate his players like the previous coaches could not.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, Mike Sullivan
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Sullivan masterfully guided the Penguins to two Stanley Cups in his first two seasons as head coach. He is known to tinker with his lines on a nightly basis in order to see what works best. Now in his fifth season, he still has command of the locker room, earning a contract extension before the start of the 2019-20 season. As the only Penguins coach to win a Stanley Cup in this decade, naming him the head coach of the All-Decade Team was a no-brainer and deserved.

Head Coach Record: 212-119-34

All-Decade Team

Jake Guentzel- Sidney Crosby- Pascal Dupuis

Chris Kunitz- Evgeni Malkin- James Neal

Carl Hagelin- Nick Bonino- Phil Kessel

Bryan Rust- Jordan Staal- Patric Hornqvist

Brian Dumoulin- Kris Letang

Brooks Orpik- Justin Schultz

Matt Niskanen- Olli Maatta

Marc-Andre Fleury

Matt Murray

Head Coach: Mike Sullivan

  • Tags
  • Marc-Andre Fleury
  • Matt Murray
  • Mike Sullivan
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 17th 11:25 AM
Calgary Flames

How It Felt for Flames’ Markstrom to Shut Out Canucks [Video]

Jan 17th 11:05 AM
Chicago Blackhawks

4 Takeaways From Blackhawks’ Rough Series With the Lightning

Jan 17th 10:55 AM
San Jose Sharks

Sharks See Improvements Early in 2020-21 Season

Jan 17th 10:45 AM
Anaheim Ducks

3 Takeaways From the Ducks’ Series Against the Golden Knights

Jan 17th 10:35 AM
Los Angeles Kings

Kings’ Dustin Brown Scores 300th Career Goal With More to Come

Jan 17th 10:25 AM
Calgary Flames

Flames’ Markstrom Dominant in Shutout Win Against Canucks

Jan 17th 10:15 AM
Buffalo Sabres

New Look Sabres Get Same Results to Start 2020-21 Season

Jan 17th 10:05 AM
Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights Are Mark Stone’s Team Now

Jan 17th 9:55 AM
Boston Bruins

5 Takeaways From Bruins’ First 2 Games With Devils

Jan 17th 9:45 AM
Advanced Stats

Devils News & Notes: Observations From Opening Games

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information