Penguins Induct Four Legends Into Relaunched Hall of Fame

The Pittsburgh Penguins relaunched their Hall of Fame on Saturday by inducting the ‘Class of 2025’: Francis, Kevin Stevens, Scotty Bowman, and Eddie Johnston. These players and builders helped transform the club into one of the NHL’s elite franchises.

“Really excited to be going into the Hall of Fame. Brings back a lot great memories being back in Pittsburgh doing this,” Francis said.

A few weeks before Francis was acquired by the Penguins in March of 1991, he and his wife Mary Lou welcomed their first child, daughter Kaitlyn. Now, she is 34 years old, married, and living in Los Angeles. But Kaitlyn, along with her two siblings, made the trip to see their dad being honored.

“We were talking about it today, how we would get donuts at the Grand Concourse on brunch on Sundays, and donuts at a bakery out in McCandless, where we lived,” Francis said with a laugh. “So, I think we fed our kids too many donuts, if I remember correctly. The kids were having a great time being back.

“The fan support was tremendous. I said many times that I was here, I know Pittsburgh is no longer a steel town, but I grew up in a steel town. That mentality of hard work, honesty, and loyalty really gelled with me and the fans in the city. I loved playing here.”

Prior to puck drop, the group was honored on the ice and each given their own video tributes in front of the Penguins faithful. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang skated over and congratulated the four before taking a photo to cap off the ceremony.

“It was amazing. It's a franchise that has a lot of history, and you want to maintain that,” Letang said. “You want these guys to pass on the legacy of what it's like to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I thought it was pretty cool. They came into our room as part of our pregame speech. It was pretty fun.”

The group had arrived at the rink late that afternoon, where they received custom Penguins Hall of Fame jackets, tailored by J-F Bedard of Glorius, who works with many of the players on Pittsburgh’s roster.

“The logo on the chest and all of the pictures inside, it's nice,” Bedard said. “For me, it's important to have the big picture in the back with the Stanley Cup. It’s a piece of art making the memories inside. It’s a good project, and I’m so grateful to do that for the Penguins. It’s a huge honor to be the tailor of the jackets.”

After getting outfitted, the group got their first look of the new Hall of Fame space outside Sections 111-112 to see memorabilia from this year's induction class, a special Mike Lange display, and plaques honoring the Penguins Hall of Famers.The inductees, their families and close friends gathered to see the plaques, jerseys, photos, and memorabilia that reflected their careers with the Penguins.

“Coming up here and seeing this, it’s amazing,” Stevens said. “They did a great job with everything. Being here with Scotty, EJ and Ron, it’s been a great couple of nights. It’s always great to come back to Pittsburgh and be a part of this Hall of Fame class with these guys.”

They then sat down with Paul Steigerwald and shared plenty of stories, just like they did the night before during a celebratory dinner at Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, where the men received their Hall of Fame plaques. Attendees included Mario Lemieux and Craig Patrick, inducted into previous iterations of the Penguins Hall of Fame. Kyle Dubas and Jason Spezza, who helped spearhead the relaunch, were also there.

“It’s amazing when you just drive in and see the five Cups,” Bowman said. “Kyle Dubas mentioned it last night, when you think about the expansion in 1967, I was a part of it with St. Louis, and Pittsburgh has got five Stanley Cups. You look at teams in the league and take away two or three, like Montreal and Toronto and maybe Detroit, it’s amazing that this team has continued to go on. It’s wonderful for the city of Pittsburgh.”

Crosby has had the chance to meet, talk to, and learn from the likes of Francis, Bowman, Johnston, Stevens, and others. Over the past 20 years, it is clear to see the standard and the foundation that they have built for the next generation to live up to.

“There's a lot of history, a lot of tradition here,” Crosby said. “We're pretty fortunate, the players who have come through here, the championships and everything else. I think it's pretty cool to see who's represented the team, who's part of this organization, and obviously, celebrate that, too.”

When Penguins players get off the elevator from their parking garage, the walls feature photos from those five Stanley Cup celebrations, featuring Francis and Stevens. When they get to the locker room, Bowman and Johnson are part of the Ring of Honor.

While this newest installment of the Hall of Fame is meant to pay homage to some of the greatest players and builders of the Penguins’ past, it also serves as a way to inform the next generation of fans.

“You look at the level of players that have come through it, the way that I like to term it to our staff and players internally is that you have such a great history, and none of us would be here today if not for the contributions of all those players and coaches and builders that set the standard for the team,” Dubas said.

He mentioned how his son Leo was only a few days old when the Penguins won their most recent championship in 2017, and that most members of the current roster weren’t born when the first two Stanley Cups were celebrated.

“I think for us, having a physical space where the history of the team can be celebrated and fans can come in and continue to learn more,” Dubas said. “To be able to give the young people of Pittsburgh and anyone who visits the chance to learn about how did the team get to this place, and what is it built on? What is the team about? I think that's so important. I think it serves as an education, reminder, and a constant view of what the standard is in Pittsburgh: which is to deliver championships for the city of Pittsburgh.”