Joseph Romeo Steve Penney (born February 7, 1961)
is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
. Penney played with the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
and original
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
.
Early life
Penney was born in
Sainte-Foy,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. As a youth, he played in the 1974
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament
The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...
with a
minor ice hockey
Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...
team from Sainte-Foy.
Career
Penney made his NHL debut with a handful of games left in the 1983-84 NHL season when Canadiens coach
Jacques Lemaire
Jacques Gerard Lemaire (born September 7, 1945) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and head coach who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. He spent his entire twelve-year National Hockey League (NHL) playing career with the Mon ...
, dissatisfied with the play of regular goaltending tandem
Rick Wamsley
Richard James Wamsley (born May 25, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was the goaltending ...
and
Richard Sevigny, called up the 23-year-old Penney from the AHL and made him the starting goaltender for the
1984 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 4, after the conclusion of the 1983–84 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 19 with the Edmonton Oilers defeating the four time defe ...
. Penney was an immediate sensation, posting three shutouts as Montreal upset both the Boston Bruins and Quebec Nordiques to reach the Wales Conference final against the 4-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders. Montreal won the first two games but the Islanders swept the next four to advance to their fifth straight Stanley Cup final.
Penney won a
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
with the
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
Canadiens. Due to a season-ending injury in January of that season, Penney only played 18 games, and his name was left off the Stanley Cup, even though he qualified due to an injury exemption. In a deep bit of irony, his replacement was another young native of Sainte-Foy who caught fire during the playoffs, as 20-year-old
Patrick Roy
Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...
took over in the nets and led Montreal to the
Stanley Cup championship
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North Americ ...
. Penney was traded that offseason to Winnipeg for
Brian Hayward
Brian George Hayward (born June 25, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who currently serves as a color analyst for Anaheim Ducks broadcasts on Prime Ticket/Fox Sports West and KDOC.
Playing career
Hayward played coll ...
.
Montreal did include Penney on the team picture, and gave him a Stanley Cup ring. He was also named to the
NHL All-Rookie Team
The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...
in
1984–85.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
1961 births
Living people
Anglophone Quebec people
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Flint Generals players
Ice hockey people from Quebec City
Moncton Hawks players
Montreal Canadiens draft picks
Montreal Canadiens players
Nova Scotia Voyageurs players
People from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City
Shawinigan Cataractes players
Sherbrooke Canadiens players
Stanley Cup champions
Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players
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