First off, let me apologize for this not getting out before the Stanley Cup Playoffs officially began. Life gets busy, you know how it is. 

In any case, I’ve spent some time digging through the rosters of the 16 teams who qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, and I’ve assembled an (almost) full roster of players for an all ex-Penguin playoff team. Some teams really helped us out (thank you, Vancouver) while a decent amount did us no good at all. 

I’ll give you a rundown of each player, and then I’ll try to assemble lines and D-pairings. 

Teddy Blueger, Vancouver Canucks

Being a fan favorite in some circles of the Penguins fanbase meant that, if you were Ron Hextall, you did anything you could to get rid of him. Blueger was sacrificed for cap space at the 2023 trade deadline so the team could bring in the expensive (but hopefully productive) center Mikael Granlund. 

Blueger was shipped to Vegas for a draft pick and minor league defenseman, and after Hextall was fired, it was reported that Blueger had been traded during a team dinner during the team’s dads trips. Blueger, however, refuted that story later. 

In any case, it all worked out for Teddy. He won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023, and now looks to achieve a rare feat by winning a second straight cup with his new team in Vancouver, where he signed as a free agent. 

Robert Bortuzzo, New York Islanders

Robert Bortuzzo has the unique trait on this list of being traded for another player who is also on this list. After spending several seasons with his draft team in Pittsburgh, Bortuzzo was traded to the St. Louis Blues at the 2015 trade deadline for Ian Cole. 

Bortuzzo spent a long time in St. Louis, before the team moved him to the Islanders in December for a seventh round pick. 

Cody Ceci, Edmonton Oilers

Many people, myself included, did not like the Cody Ceci signing in Pittsburgh when it first happened. Regarded as an awful defender from his time in Ottawa and Toronto, Ceci arrived with the Penguins as a cheap free agent. 

In Pittsburgh, he was able to turn his career around. Not only did he clean up a lot of his defensive miscues, he also chipped in some points from the blue line. 

Ceci actually played too well as a Penguin, and priced himself out of town. After his one and only season in 2020-21, he signed in Edmonton with the Oilers, where he has been ever since.

Ian Cole, Vancouver Canucks

Cody Ceci had to interrupt things for a little, but here’s the guy we were just talking about. A two-time Stanley Cup winner with the team, Ian Cole served as a pivotal piece of the Penguins’ blue line before being moved in that ill-fated three-team Derick Brassard trade. Yuck. 

Since then, Cole has bounced around a ton. Stops in Colorado, Minnesota, Colorado (again), Carolina, and Tampa Bay have brought him to Vancouver, which is quickly becoming Pittsburgh West from the roster to the front office. 

Casey DeSmith, Vancouver Canucks

See what I mean? 

Casey DeSmith got his start in Pittsburgh, working his way up from an undrafted free agent to a 1B-type goaltender for the Penguins. Last season, however, did not pan out so well, and so the Penguins moved on from DeSmith, sending him to Montreal as part of the three-team Erik Karlsson trade. 

Montreal, however, with no need for a third goaltender, traded him for fellow former Penguin Tanner Pearson before the season began, and DeSmith served as the backup to starter Thatcher Demko. 

Louis Domingue, New York Rangers

King Louis almost had one of the greatest stories in Penguins history. Almost. 

The third string goalie for the 2021-22 season found himself suddenly in net in overtime during Game 1 of the first round in 2022, coming in cold and preserving the game, an eventual triple overtime win for the Penguins. Pittsburgh had mounted a 3-1 series lead over the opposing New York Rangers, but the magic had run out. 

Domingue couldn’t hang any longer with the Rangers, and that, with several other factors, saw the team blow that series lead and lose. After the season, Domingue, as a free agent, signed with those very same Rangers to be their third string goaltender. 

That’s where he finds himself now, serving as the third stringer for New York. I know it may be a little iffy to add him to the list, but he is technically on the NHL roster…and I had no other goalie options.