Winning a title in professional sports is a daunting task to accomplish. This task is even more intimidating in the NHL, where the Stanley Cup is known to be “the most difficult trophy to earn.”

To take home Lord Stanley, teams need to win 16 games across four different series.It takes skill, perseverance, and determination. The Pittsburgh Penguins demonstrated all of these qualities and more over the last two seasons by winning the cup back-to-back in the 2016 and 2017 seasons — making them the most current team to do so since the Detroit Red Wings in ‘97 and ‘98.

The Penguins have been blessed with some of the best players in the league over the last few seasons. After winning the cup in 2016, the team brought up rookie Jake Guentzel mid-season from their minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, to bolster their offensive fire power. This turned out to be a brilliant decision, as Guentzel eventually led the playoffs in goals.

The Penguins dominated the charts. All top four point leaders were players on the Penguins roster throughout the playoffs.

After this years cup, Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe MVP trophy for the second year in a row. Sidney is among only two other players to do so — Bernie Parent and Penguins superstar, Mario Lemieux.

The Pens were able to accomplish all of this in the 2017 season without their star defenseman Kris Letang, who was off the ice due to a neck injury. Among all of the recent success the Penguins had been demonstrating, a player they had chosen a few years prior, was blossoming into a star.

Back in 2012, the Penguins selected Matt Murray as the 83rd pick of the NHL draft. Murray played for the AHL Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins up until December 15, 2015, when he was called up to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a backup goalie. His first game with Pittsburgh was December 19th, when the Pens lost to the Hurricanes 2-1. Murray was eventually sent back down to the AHL until his resurgence on February 21, 2016, where he played in the final nine games of the regular season with a record of 7-2.

During the playoffs, Murray entered at game 3 of the first round during the 2016 season replacing goalie, Jeff Zatkoff.

According to NHL.com, a rookie is defined as “a player [who has not] played in more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons, nor in six or more NHL games in each of any two preceding seasons.”

Murray only played 13 games in the 2015-2016 season, labeling him as a rookie. Since this does not exceed the 25 game minimum, he remained a rookie for the entire 2016-2017 season. Allowing him to secure two Stanley Cups while still being labeled a rookie is a very odd, yet intriguing circumstance for the young athlete.

While it all seems to be celebrations and excitement in the city of Pittsburgh, not everything that glistens is gold, even in a city that bleeds it. As Murray has risen to the elite among NHL goalies, there is simply not enough space to keep every amazing player on the Penguins roster. Goalkeeper Marc-André Fleury, known to many as “Flower,” has recently waived his no-movement clause. This essentially allows teams within the NHL expansion to draft Fleury.

Due to salary caps, it is economically nonsensical to keep Fleury, even though he is an extremely talented player.

Fleury will always be a beloved Pittsburgh player, and it is sad to see his career in the city of bridges end solely based on there not being enough room. However, as they always say, all good things must come to an end.

As Murray fills the skates of Fleury’s, only time will tell how this addition will pay off for the Penguins. So far, two rings have been added to the team's hardware, bringing their total cup count to five. Hopefully, these new changes are only the beginning of a Penguins dynasty.