It was an electric night in Pittsburgh 14 years ago as the Penguins played host to the 2012 NHL Draft, which was held at PPG Paints Arena.
Then known as the Consol Energy Center, the arena was only a couple of years old and Pittsburgh had landed the NHL Draft for the first time since 1997, when it was held at the Civic Arena.
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Heading into the 2012 NHL Draft, the Penguins had just flamed out of the playoffs in dramatic fashion, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in a series that no one needs to be reminded of.
Pittsburgh was slated to pick 22nd in the draft, but a lot of drama was swirling ahead of the event and during the offseason in general surrounding the contract of pending free agent Jordan Staal.
When the opening night of the draft arrived, Ray Shero made his splash move, dealing Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes for the No. 8 overall pick that evening, Brandon Sutter, and Brian Dumoulin.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman certainly enjoyed the moment with his ability to hype up the crowd with his “and” thrown in there a couple times after the “for those of you in the building, you’ll be particularly interested.”
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With the 8th pick, the Penguins selected defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who ultimately turned out to be a disappointment for Pittsburgh fans.
Brandon Sutter played three seasons for the Penguins and then was dealt by Jim Rutherford to Vancouver as a package that helped bring Nick Bonino to Pittsburgh.
Bonino and Dumoulin each won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in Pittsburgh.
In Carolina, Jordan Staal singed a 10-year deal worth $60 million, later adding another four years with the Hurricanes, now having played the second most games in franchise history.
Staal recently made history by becoming the oldest Conn Smythe Trophy winner while leading Carolina to the 2026 Stanley Cup.
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