Chris Kunitz was a vital piece of the Penguins’ championship core, from 2009-17. Acquired in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks in 2009, Kunitz quickly became a key contributor, bringing speed, physicality and a relentless work ethic to the Penguins’ top line. Kunitz played a crucial role in Pittsburgh’s three Stanley Cup championships in 2009, ‘16 and ‘17, giving him a total of four Cups overall (2007 with Anaheim). At the time of the Pens’ ’17 championship, Kunitz paced all NHL players in Stanley Cup wins, and he was the first NHL player with four rings since five members of the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.

His most memorable moment came in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final when he scored the double-overtime game-winning goal in Game 7 against the Ottawa Senators, sending the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final where they eventually repeated as back-to-back champions. Kunitz is one of just four Penguins to score multiple playoff overtime goals.

While with Pittsburgh, Kunitz recorded 388 points (169G-219A) in 569 regular-season games, consistently delivering in big moments. His goal, assist and point totals all place third all-time among team left wings behind Kevin Stevens and Jake Guentzel. During his tenure, only Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had more goals, points and game-winning goals than Kunitz, and his plus-126 ranks third in Penguins history. Kunitz was Malkin’s primary left wing for his 2011-12 scoring title, then two years later, Kunitz rode shotgun for Crosby’s ’13-14 title. Kunitz enjoyed back-to-back top-10 goal scoring finishes in ’12-13 and ’13-14, making him one of just eight Penguins to rank among the NHL’s top-10 goal scorers on multiple occasions.

Additionally, his 76 points (23G-53A) in the postseason ranked 10th in the entire NHL while he was with the Penguins. Kunitz had at least 10 points in five of his nine playoff runs with Pittsburgh. Only Crosby, Malkin, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr have more double-digit playoff runs in team history. Kunitz earned assists on Max Talbot’s 2009 Cup-clinching goal against Detroit and Patric Hornqvist’s 2017 Cup-clincher versus Nashville. In addition to assisting on Hornqvist’s goal, the six assists Kunitz had in the Final against Nashville was second among Pens behind only Crosby.