The NHL announced that Brooks Orpik was named to the Pittsburgh Penguins Quarter-Century Second Team. Here's a look back at his career in black and gold.
The NHL announced the Pittsburgh Penguins Quarter-Century team on Jan. 9, featuring several memorable names in franchise history.
Today, we want to examine Brooks Orpik's tenure with the club and his credentials for being honored on the Penguins' second team.
Pittsburgh drafted Orpik with the 18th overall pick in the 2000 Draft. Two years later, at 22, he debuted with the Penguins and skated six games, collecting no points.
By 2003-04, Orpik became an NHL regular, skating in 79 games, scoring his first goal, and collecting a team-leading 127 penalty minutes.
Moreover, as part of the team's growing pains, he finished that year with a minus-36 rating, the worst total of his career.
Once Sidney Crosby joined the team in 2005-06, the Penguins' fortunes changed, and by 2007-08, the franchise was back in the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite losing to the Detroit Red Wings in six games, the two teams met in the 2009 Final, with Orpik helping Pittsburgh win their third championship.
That year, he set a career-high with 19 points, but within a season, Orpik would score 25 points in 2009-10, which remained the best season of his career.
Eventually, he would become an alternate captain with the Penguins, serving from 2008 until his departure as a free agent in 2014.
During Orpik's 11 seasons with Pittsburgh, these were his totals and ranks among players over the past 25 years:
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After signing with the Washington Capitals on July 1, 2014, he would help the franchise win its first Stanley Cup in June 2018, giving him two championships.
One year after his Stanley Cup win, Orpik retired from the NHL. He skated in 1,035 games and scored 18 goals, 194 points, and 972 penalty minutes.
In 11 seasons with the Penguins, he became one of eight players to skate in at least 700 games, finishing his tenure with 703.
