Steve Penney

Joseph Romeo Steve Penney (born February 7, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played as a goaltender with the Montreal Canadiens and original Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life Penney was born in Sainte-Foy, Quebec City. As a youth, he played in the 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Sainte-Foy.

Career Penney made his NHL debut with a handful of games left in the 1983–84 NHL season when Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Lemaire, dissatisfied with the play of regular goaltending tandem Rick Wamsley and Richard Sévigny, called up the 23-year-old Penney from the American Hockey League (AHL) and made him the starting goaltender for the 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs. 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 four-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 with the 1985–86 Montreal 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 took over in the net and led Montreal to the Stanley Cup championship. Penney was traded that off-season to the Winnipeg Jets for Brian Hayward. 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 in 1984–85.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1978–79 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 36 5 19 0 1632 181 0 6.65 .826 1 0 0 4 0 0 0.00 — 1979–80 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 31 9 13 5 1681 142 1 5.07 .850 — — — — — — — — 1980–81 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 62 30 24 4 3471 244 0 4.22 .874 5 1 4 279 21 0 4.52 .886 1981–82 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 6 2 1 1 308 22 0 4.29 — — — — — — — — — 1981–82 Flint Generals IHL 36 — — — 2040 147 1 4.33 — 4 0 4 222 17 0 4.59 — 1982–83 Flint Generals IHL 48 — — — 2552 179 0 4.21 — 3 0 2 111 10 0 5.40 — 1983–84 Montreal Canadiens NHL 4 0 4 0 240 19 0 4.76 .835 15 9 6 871 32 3 2.21 .910 1983–84 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 27 11 12 4 1571 92 0 3.51 .879 — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Montreal Canadiens NHL 54 26 18 8 3244 167 1 3.09 .876 12 6 6 732 40 1 3.28 .867 1985–86 Montreal Canadiens NHL 18 6 8 2 987 72 0 4.38 .839 — — — — — — — — 1986–87 Winnipeg Jets NHL 7 1 4 1 326 25 0 4.60 .812 — — — — — — — — 1986–87 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 4 1 2 0 199 12 0 3.62 .872 — — — — — — — — 1987–88 Winnipeg Jets NHL 8 2 4 1 384 30 0 4.68 .839 — — — — — — — — 1987–88 Moncton Hawks AHL 28 9 14 4 1541 107 0 4.17 .868 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 91 35 38 12 5180 313 1 3.63 .859 27 15 12 1603 72 4 2.70 .890