The Penguins Shouldn't Take This for Granted - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Just over two years ago, Pittsburgh sports fans will surely recall that one of the city's other franchises was playing for a championship. The Steelers team that brought the city its first championship since Mario Lemieux lifted the cup way back in 1992 doesn't have a lot in common with these Penguins, but there is one striking aspect: that Steeler team was quarterbacked by Ben Roethlisberger, who became the youngest quarterback in history to win the Super Bowl.

During the hype leading up to Super Bowl XL that year, the previous youngest quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, Pittsburgh native Dan Marino, offered some advise to the young QB: don't take this chance for granted because you might not ever be back. Marino knew all about it because he never got another shot at a ring after losing in Super Bowl XIX at the age of 24.

As the Penguins have torn through the Eastern Conference, a sentiment that started as a whisper has grown to a dull roar and will explode if these young Pens lift the Cup. That sentiment is that we're witnessing the birth of a dynasty. That Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the next Gretzky and Messier or Bossy and Trottier, destined to rule the NHL for the forseeable future. Maybe that will happen, but maybe it won't.

I'm certainly not accusing the young stars that drive this Pittsburgh team of not knowing what a special chance they have right now. Gary Roberts has gone twenty years between Finals appearances. Sergei Gonchar's been in the league for fourteen years now and this is his first only his second chance at a Cup. Marian Hossa has spent his entire career trying to prove he deserves to play in the finals. Ty Conklin is relieved to get another chance in the league after his last trip to the finals. Having these veterans around will provide invaluable leadership for guys like Crosby, Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury, but it has to be impossible to be their age and even fathom this being their only shot at glory.

I don't agree that the salary cap will necessarily pry this team apart, but no recent champ or finalist has gone without their share of adversity after reaching hockey's biggest stage and the Penguins won't be exempt from that. This Penguin team wasn't supposed to be ready to win a Stanley Cup this year, but now that they've earned the chance to do so, they'd be best served to treat it like this is the only chance they'll get. In all likelihood, that probably won't be the case, but then, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr probably thought they'd see the Finals again after 1992, too.