The Pittsburgh Penguins’ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #47 in Penguins’ history.
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Eight players have worn #47 for the Penguins, and all have been since 1999. One of them was the late Adam Johnson, who was tragically killed last year in an on-ice skate blade incident while playing for the Nottingham Panthers.
The best #47 in Penguins’ history was defenseman Simon Despres.
Despres was drafted 30th overall by the Penguins in 2009, and he played with the NHL club from 2011-15. He had high expectations from the get-go because of his first-round pedigree, and he showed a lot of promise early on.
But he never quite found his stride offensively at the NHL level. He scored only five goals and 33 points in 144 games during his Penguins’ tenure.
He did show up defensively for the Penguins, which helped offset his general lack of offensive production. But during his last season with the team, he did start to produce. He had two goals and 17 points in 59 games, but he was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks at the 2015 trade deadline in a swap for defenseman Ben Lovejoy.
He spent the next three seasons in Anaheim, and he hasn’t played in the NHL since he played one game in 2016-17. He registed six goals and 43 points in 193 NHL games.
Honorable Mention: Adam Johnson
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