Grant Jennings

Grant Jennings was acquired in probably one of the top five most impact-worthy trades of all time for the Penguins.  On March 4, 1991, he was signed along with his teammates Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson as part of a six player deal that sent John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski to Hartford.  To this day, I still hear former Hartford fans complain about that trade.

Jennings earned the privileged of playing on the back-to-back Stanley Cup teams in 1991 and 1992.  He was a big defenceman and knew how to utilize his size well on the ice.  With an already solid blue-line, the Pens used Grant to bolster the power play and penalty kill.  But....

I don't really remember Grant on the team.  I know that sounds horrible for a Pens fan but it's true.  This was a team with big name stars like Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Paul Coffey, Jaromir Jagr, Tom Barrasso, and Bryan Trottier.  Grant Jennings was not a name that was uttered very often, especially since he wasn't a huge offensive minded player.  But that doesn't discount any of his abilities as a player.

He ended up playing two and a half more seasons after the second cup with the team before moving to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline in 1994-95.  He later went on to play six games for Buffalo and then spent three more seasons in the AHL.

This card is from the 1994-95 Upper Deck non-NHL licensed Be A Player set.  This was, of course, during the first lock-out that I can remember in my lifetime.