There's no denying the impact Ray Shero had on the Penguins. And it goes beyond winning a Stanley Cup in 2009.
His death on Wednesday at 62 years old is felt throughout the organization, including the core players that were central to winning that Cup.
"It's a tough loss," Evgeni Malkin said after today's practice. "I hope his family is fine. He was probably the first guy who texted me when I was in Russia. He's an amazing guy. We won together. He gave me a nice contract. It's very tough. He was still young. Again, I hope his family is okay. It's tough."
Malkin is very appreciative of what Shero did for him. Though he was signed before Shero took over, what stands out to Malkin is having Sergei Gonchar around when he was a young player. Malkin didn't know much English when he first came to the Penguins, and Gonchar was the person Malkin leaned on as he adjusted to life in Pittsburgh.
"It's a big deal," Malkin said. "Sergei helped me so much."
From the stories told today, Malkin wasn't the only young star Shero helped before they even achieved the success of reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2008. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang both had similar accounts:
"I remember being a young player, how instrumental he was," Crosby said. "We had finished last the year before. He came in and really established how he wanted to change the culture and wanted to get back to winning. As a young guy, he encouraged me to talk to him. He said his door is always open. For a young player, you're pretty intimidated to talk to the GM. But he made it a point to bring me in there sometimes to talk, tell me what he expected of us. He's just someone who empowered me personally and, I think, us as a group. You can see what developed from there. He had a huge impact on me, a huge impact on the organization. Just forever grateful for him."
"When I came into the league, Ray gave me all of the opportunity to become the player I am today. I'm really grateful for that," Letang said. "I had the chance to win a Stanley Cup with him, also. I only have great memories. I can only speak of the gentleman he is and how great he's been to me. ... We were all young when we came in. He did a pretty good job taking care of us, making sure we could grow more into men. We became adults and the (people) we are today. Obviously, that doesn't happen if you don't have a guy who cares about his players."
Having the core talk about Shero in this way shows that the way he handled the young stars he inherited meant just as much as the numerous impactful trades he made.
"We got the message right away that we're a group that should believe in ourselves," Crosby said. "He was going to give us an opportunity to win. With it being a young team, it's easy to be patient sometimes and look at a long outlook. We showed pretty early on that we were going to be pretty competitive. I think all the people he brought in and the group that he assembled was a big reason for that."
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THE ASYLUM
Chris Halicke
5:57 pm - 04.10.2025Cranberry, Pa.Crosby, Malkin, Letang reflect on Shero
There's no denying the impact Ray Shero had on the Penguins. And it goes beyond winning a Stanley Cup in 2009.
His death on Wednesday at 62 years old is felt throughout the organization, including the core players that were central to winning that Cup.
"It's a tough loss," Evgeni Malkin said after today's practice. "I hope his family is fine. He was probably the first guy who texted me when I was in Russia. He's an amazing guy. We won together. He gave me a nice contract. It's very tough. He was still young. Again, I hope his family is okay. It's tough."
Malkin is very appreciative of what Shero did for him. Though he was signed before Shero took over, what stands out to Malkin is having Sergei Gonchar around when he was a young player. Malkin didn't know much English when he first came to the Penguins, and Gonchar was the person Malkin leaned on as he adjusted to life in Pittsburgh.
"It's a big deal," Malkin said. "Sergei helped me so much."
From the stories told today, Malkin wasn't the only young star Shero helped before they even achieved the success of reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2008. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang both had similar accounts:
"I remember being a young player, how instrumental he was," Crosby said. "We had finished last the year before. He came in and really established how he wanted to change the culture and wanted to get back to winning. As a young guy, he encouraged me to talk to him. He said his door is always open. For a young player, you're pretty intimidated to talk to the GM. But he made it a point to bring me in there sometimes to talk, tell me what he expected of us. He's just someone who empowered me personally and, I think, us as a group. You can see what developed from there. He had a huge impact on me, a huge impact on the organization. Just forever grateful for him."
"When I came into the league, Ray gave me all of the opportunity to become the player I am today. I'm really grateful for that," Letang said. "I had the chance to win a Stanley Cup with him, also. I only have great memories. I can only speak of the gentleman he is and how great he's been to me. ... We were all young when we came in. He did a pretty good job taking care of us, making sure we could grow more into men. We became adults and the (people) we are today. Obviously, that doesn't happen if you don't have a guy who cares about his players."
Having the core talk about Shero in this way shows that the way he handled the young stars he inherited meant just as much as the numerous impactful trades he made.
"We got the message right away that we're a group that should believe in ourselves," Crosby said. "He was going to give us an opportunity to win. With it being a young team, it's easy to be patient sometimes and look at a long outlook. We showed pretty early on that we were going to be pretty competitive. I think all the people he brought in and the group that he assembled was a big reason for that."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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