Penney made his NHL debut with a handful of games left in the 1983-84 NHL season when Canadiens coach
Jacques Lemaire, dissatisfied with the play of regular goaltending tandem
Rick Wamsley and
Richard Sévigny, called up the 23-year-old Penney from the AHL and made him the starting goaltender for the
1984 Stanley Cup playoffs. Penney was an immediate sensation, posting three shutouts as Montreal upset both the Boston Bruins and Quebec Nordiques to reach the Wales Conference final against the 4-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders. Montreal won the first two games, but the Islanders swept the next four to advance to their fifth straight Stanley Cup Finals. Penney won a
Stanley Cup with the
1986 Canadiens. Due to a season-ending injury in January of that season, Penney only played 18 games, and his name was left off the Stanley Cup, even though he qualified due to an injury exemption. In a deep bit of irony, his replacement was another young native of Sainte-Foy who caught fire during the playoffs, as 20-year-old
Patrick Roy took over in the nets and led Montreal to the
Stanley Cup championship. Penney was traded that offseason to Winnipeg for
Brian Hayward. Montreal did include Penney on the team picture and gave him a Stanley Cup ring. He was also named to the
NHL All-Rookie Team in
1984–85. ==Career statistics==