Pittsburgh’s Loss of Guerin Should Be Another’s Gain

Bill Guerin’s Wikipedia page cites him as the first Latino to ever play in the National Hockey League. Go figure. Just one more thing he has done over the course of a long and celebrated career that he should carry on as long as possible.

Indeed, Guerin’s mother is apparently Nicaraguan and he is also part Irish, which could also explain the luck he’s experienced over the course of his 18 seasons spent in the NHL. He’s made the playoffs in 15 of those seasons and has two Stanley Cups to show for his hard work, with the latest coming in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The recency of that victory serves as evidence that he can still play and contribute at the highest level of the game.

In truth, it’s somewhat surprising that the now-39-year-old Guerin didn’t retire following that latest championship, because in playing one more season he gave up the chance to go out as a winner. Now, after Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero has reportedly informed him that the team won’t be bringing him back, he must feel no better than a two-bit loser.

Statistics never tell the whole story, but they do tell a big part of it, and Guerin’s are clearly those of an aged veteran who is still playing at as high a level that he was a decade ago. It’s not a particularly interesting story, lacking the seemingly pre-requisite drugs, rock n’ roll, and dead hooker in a motel room, but it is a story nonetheless.

Guerin’s peak season, in terms of performance, came in 2001-2002 when he scored 85 points in 85 games (playing in 85 due to a discrepancy resulting in him being traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Boston Bruins). That was his only season as a point-per-game player, which makes his 45-point season last year much more indicative of the type of depth forward Guerin was over the most part of his career and still is.

Granted, Guerin did spend this past season playing with superstar Sidney Crosby, which no doubt helped to pad his totals, but he’s about as guilty as a bureaucrat on a weekend in Vegas. Some weird, freaky things are going to go down, but you can’t blame him when the booze is free and the sex is cheap and readily available at every corner. But that would be too many plot twists to run parallel to a career defined by consistency.

The most debauched metaphor possible for Guerin’s career would be that of a slow and steady march in the winding-down stages of the Boston Marathon, with its completion addled in booze… hardly TMZ-worthy. One can only hope, though, there’s at least one more mile left before Guerin’s body collapses over the finish line into a well-deserved vat of his choice of beer.

Guerin will never be confused for a superstar. He never was. Contrary to popular belief, he was always a second-liner at best. What is a true testament to his longevity is that he spent time this past year on Pittsburgh’s first line. Considering he will be 40 in just a few months, that is downright incredible. Clearly, he still has a lot to give any team willing to pay for his services and that hypothetical team should come knocking any day now. For them not to would mean a lack of willingness to compete, something that Guerin in sharp contrast epitomizes.

There’s no longer a realistic chance that Guerin will go out on top of the hockey world – a 30-team league will do that – but he still can make a living doing what he loves. He has earned that right along with the ability to leave the game on his terms. Playing at least one more seasonwould give him that chance and fans a last one to witness a bona-fide champion in action.