This year’s Stanley Cup finalists, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, are located between eight and nine hours apart by car. By plane, that time shrinks to about an hour an a half.
In terms of hockey, the distance between the teams seems even smaller, thanks to a number of Penguins-Predators common players.
There are three active players in the matchup who have spent time on both teams, two of whom were traded for one another. And since Nashville joined the league in 1998, numerous Stanley Cup champions, leaders and more have represented both franchises.
This list ranks the top 10 players to play for both Pittsburgh and Nashville, based solely on their overall contributions to the Penguins and Predators.
10. Randy Robitaille
Robitaille spent just parts of two seasons with each team, and was a relatively productive player throughout. First he was in Nashville, where he scored 51 points in 131 games. In Pittsburgh, he played a total of 81 games, scoring 47 points along the way.
9. Nick Spaling
Spaling was a second-round draft pick of the Predators and spent a majority of his NHL career there. In total, he played 297 games, scoring 84 points. This included his career-best of 32 in the 2013-14 season.
Spaling was part of the trade between Nashville and Pittsburgh that included two big-name players that appear later on in this list. After arriving in Pittsburgh, he scored 27 points in 82 games in one season. He was then part of the trade that brought Phil Kessel to the Penguins from Toronto.
8. Hal Gill
The Penguins acquired Gill from the Maple Leafs late in the 2007-08 season in an effort to load up for a playoff run. (This was also the season they acquired Marian Hossa from the Thrashers.) Pittsburgh came up short that year, losing the final to Detroit, but went on to win the rematch the following year.
Gill played in all playoff games for the Pens in each of those years, a solid presence on the blue line.
Gill went to Nashville as part of another late-season trade prior to a playoff run. This one, in the 2011-12 season, did not work out as well for the Preds, as they were eliminated in the second round. He returned to Nashville the following season, during which he appeared in 30 games.
After a 37-game stint in Pittsburgh and stops in two other cities, Greg Johnson went to Nashville through the 1998 expansion draft and would become the franchise’s second captain. (Photo by Don Smith/Getty Images)
7. Greg Johnson
Johnson spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins, scoring 17 points in 37 games. He made more of a name for himself in Nashville, where he spent seven seasons, his most with any NHL squad.
Johnson was a leader for Nashville, as an alternate captain for two seasons and the captain for four. He scored 238 points in 502 games along the way. That included his career-high 50 points in 68 games in 1998-99. His career point total remains the ninth-best in team history.
6. Steve Sullivan
Sullivan played parts of six seasons in Nashville, during which he scored 263 points in 317 games, ranking sixth all-time in team history. He was an alternate captain, and won the Bill Masterson Trophy in 2008-09. In addition, the Predators made the playoffs in four of his six seasons.
The Penguins signed Sullivan as a free agent prior to the 2011-12 season. He appeared in 79 games that season, scoring 48 points. In the playoffs he averaged a point per game in the team’s first-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
5. Mark Eaton
After debuting with the Flyers, Eaton really emerged as an NHL talent with the Predators. The defenseman ended up with 45 points in 286 games across five seasons in Nashville.
He also spent five seasons in Pittsburgh, scoring 31 points in 241 games. He was a consistent member of the lineup during the 2009 Stanley Cup championship run, appearing in all 24 games scoring seven points.
4. Matt Cullen
Cullen has spent the past two of each of the past four seasons with these teams. First he was in Nashville, where he scored 64 points in 139 games.
The Penguins signed him as a free agent prior to last season, and he returned to the squad this season. He has 64 points in 154 regular-season games for them, and has made an impact in the playoffs.
Last year Cullen scored two game-winning goals in the first round before the Pens eventually won the Stanley Cup. He has also excelled in his role as a defensive specialist, winning over 50 percent of his face-offs in both playoff runs, and started over 80 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone.
Tomas Vokoun crafted the bulk of his legacy with the Predators, then valiantly spelled Marc-Andre Fleury as his last moment of glory on the Penguins’ 2013 playoff run. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
3. Tomas Vokoun
Vokoun emerged as a starting NHL goaltender with the Predators, playing 383 games across eight seasons. His 161 wins and 21 shutouts both rank second among the franchise’s all-time leaders. His career statistics in Nashville also include a 2.54 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.
Vokoun spent the last year of his NHL career in Pittsburgh, where he proved a solid veteran backup for Marc-Andre Fleury. He appeared in 20 games during the regular season, winning 13 of them. In the playoffs, he took over for an inconsistent Fleury, and won six games, leading the team to the conference final with a 2.01 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
2. James Neal
Neal has been a key player for both Pittsburgh and Nashville. He spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins, tallying 184 points in 199 games. His 81 points in the 2011-12 season remain a career high.
Neal was traded to Nashville for the top player on this list and the previously mentioned Nick Spaling. He has since logged 136 points in 219 games over three seasons with the Preds, all while serving as an alternate captain.
Neal’s team has made the playoffs in all seven seasons he has spent with these franchise, a noteworthy achievement.
1. Patric Hornqvist
Hornqvist was originally drafted by the Predators, and has turned out to be quite a steal as the 230th overall pick in 2005. He played in parts of six seasons with Nashville, scoring 216 points in 363 games.
Hornqvist was on the other side of the aforementioned trade with Pittsburgh that brought Neal to Nashville. As a Penguin, he has 146 points in 216 regular-season games.
On top of this, Pittsburgh has had significant playoff success with Hornqvist on the roster. He scored 13 points in 24 games en route to the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup title last season, and has played a role in this year’s run despite dealing with an injury.
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