A man and his team

Friday, 15 February 2013 14:31

Written by Dave Molinari

As noted on Penguins Plus earlier today, Brooks Orpik is about to become the seventh player to appear in 600 games with the Penguins.

That obviously is an epic feat, especially when one realizes that of the six who preceded Orpik, only Mario Lemieux spent his entire career with the franchise.

There's no guarantee Orpik will do likewise, of course, but it's at least a possibility at this point.

"It's one of those things you don't try to think about too much," Orpik said after the Penguins' game-day skate in Winnipeg. "I probably didn't think this way when I was younger, but now you just approach it day-by-day, as cliched as that sounds.

"When you start thinking about stuff like that or about when your contract ends, I think you lose focus on the game tonight or the current situation you're in."

The more he considered the subject, though, the more Orpik seemed to warm to it.

"It's pretty cool when you look around and see guys like Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk (who played exclusively with one franchise)," he said. "I think it says something about those guys' character.

"I think if you're a bad guy or a bad teammate, you're not going to play on the same team for your whole career."

He also cited the appeal to expessing appreciation to the franchise that was willing to gamble on a young player's potential.

"There's something to be said about that," he said. "The team that drafts you and gives you a chance to play in the league, there should be some type of loyalty."