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Wikipedia

Pittsburgh Penguins

March 15, 2023

The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have played their home games at PPG Paints Arena, originally known as Consol Energy Center, since 2010. The team previously played at the Civic Arena, also known as "the Igloo". The Penguins are currently affiliated with two minor league teams – the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.

Pittsburgh Penguins
2022–23 Pittsburgh Penguins season
ConferenceEastern
DivisionMetropolitan
Founded1967
HistoryPittsburgh Penguins
1967–present
Home arenaPPG Paints Arena
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ColorsBlack, Pittsburgh gold, white[1][2][3]
     
MediaAT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
The X (105.9 FM)
ESPN Pittsburgh (970 AM)
Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network
Owner(s)Fenway Sports Group (majority)
Ronald Burkle
Mario Lemieux
General managerRon Hextall
Head coachMike Sullivan
CaptainSidney Crosby
Minor league affiliatesWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Stanley Cups5 (1990–91, 1991–92, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17)
Conference championships6 (1990–91, 1991–92, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17)
Presidents' Trophy1 (1992–93)
Division championships9 (1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2020–21)
Official websitenhl.com/penguins

Founded during the 1967 expansion, the Penguins have qualified for six Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup five times—in 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, and 2017. Along with the Edmonton Oilers, the Penguins are tied for the most Stanley Cup championships among the non-Original Six teams and sixth overall. With their Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins became the first back-to-back champions in the salary cap era. Several of the team's former members have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, including co-owner Mario Lemieux, who purchased the Penguins in 1999 and brought the club out of bankruptcy. Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin have won the Hart Memorial Trophy while playing for the franchise.

The Penguins have made the playoffs every year since the 2006-07 season, currently holding the NHL record for most consecutive playoff seasons with 16. This record is also the longest in North American Sports as of 2023.

Team history

Early years (1967–1984)

Prior to the arrival of the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates from 1925 to 1930 and of the American Hockey League's Pittsburgh Hornets franchise from 1936 to 1967 (with a short break from 1956 to 1961). In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, Pennsylvania, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of local investors that included H. J. Heinz Company heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers' owner Art Rooney and the Mellon family's Richard Mellon Scaife. The projected league expansion depended on securing votes from the then-current NHL owners; to ensure Pittsburgh would be selected as one of the expansion cities, McGregor enlisted Rooney to petition votes from James D. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks and his brother Bruce Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The effort was successful, and on February 8, 1966, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million ($21.1 million today) for their entry and $750,000 ($6.1 million today) more for start-up costs. The Civic Arena's capacity was boosted from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion. The Pens also paid an indemnification bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings, which owned the Pittsburgh Hornets franchise. The investor group named McGregor president and chief executive officer, and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL's Board of Governors.[4][5]

 
The Civic Arena's capacity was increased to meet NHL requirements for a franchise. The arena served as the Penguins' home arena from 1967 to 2010.

A contest was held where 700 of 26,000 entries picked "Penguins" as the team's nickname, sharing its nickname with the athletic department of the newly named Youngstown State University in nearby Youngstown, Ohio. (Youngstown is part of the Penguins' territorial rights to this day, though they did briefly share them with the Cleveland Barons in the mid-1970s.) Mark Peters had the winning entry (which was inspired because the team was to play in the "Igloo", the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena),[6][7] a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the "Golden Triangle" of downtown Pittsburgh.[6][8] The Penguins' first general manager, Jack Riley, opened the first pre-season camp for the franchise in Brantford, Ontario,[9] on September 13, 1967, playing the franchise's first exhibition match in Brantford against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 23, 1967. Restrictive rules which kept most major talent with the existing "Original Six" teams hampered the Pens, along with the rest of the expansion teams. Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate, all-star defenseman Leo Boivin (who had begun his professional career with the Hornets) and New York Rangers' veteran Earl Ingarfield, a cast of former minor leaguers largely manned the first Penguins' team. Several players played for the Hornets the previous season: Bathgate, wingers Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald, and goaltenders Hank Bassen and Joe Daley. George Sullivan was named the head coach for the club's first two seasons, and McDonald was named the team's first captain.[10]

On October 11, 1967, league president Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins' opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens.[4] On October 21, 1967, they became the first team from the expansion class to defeat an Original Six team, as they defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2. However, the Penguins went 27–34–13 and finished in fifth place in the West Division, missing the playoffs and ending with the third-worst record in the league. The team's best player proved to be longtime Cleveland Barons AHL goaltender Les Binkley, who recorded a 2.88 goals-against average and was second in the league with six shutouts. Defensive winger Ken Schinkel won the team's sole league honor, being named to represent the Penguins in the NHL All-Star Game. Bathgate led the team in scoring with 59 points but retired at season's end. McDonald, who led the team in goals and was second in team scoring, was also gone at season's end, traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for center Lou Angotti.[5]

The next season, 1968–69 saw the team slip in the standings amid a sharp drop in form by Binkley, into sixth place and with the league's worst record. Several changes were made to improve the team, resulting in Boivin and several others being traded, and new players—including longtime future Pens star Jean Pronovost—making their debuts. No captain was named to replace McDonald; the team went with four alternate captains.

Triumph of playoff berths and tragedy of Briere (1969–1974)

 
Michel Briere's number was taken out of circulation after his career-ending accident in 1970. It was later formally retired in 2001.

In the 1969 draft the Penguins selected Michel Briere who, although being chosen 26th, was soon drawing comparisons to Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke. Joining the team in November, he finished as the second-place rookie scorer in the NHL (behind Bobby Clarke) with 44 points (57th overall), and third on the Penguins. Briere placed second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting for Rookie of the Year honors behind Chicago goaltender Tony Esposito. Briere led Pittsburgh to its first NHL playoff berth since the 1928 Pirates. The Penguins defeated the Oakland Seals in a four-game sweep in the quarterfinals, with Briere scoring the series-clinching goal in overtime. In the semi-final round, defending conference champions St. Louis Blues got the best of the Penguins during six games. Briere led the team in playoff scoring, recording five goals (including three game-winners) and eight points. Tragedy struck the Penguins just days after their playoff heroics. On May 15, 1970, Briere was in a car crash in his native Quebec, suffering brain trauma and slipping into a coma from which he would never recover; he died a year later. His number 21 jersey was never reissued, remaining out of circulation until it was formally retired in 2001.[5]

In the 1970–71 season, the Penguins finished five games out of the playoffs with a 21–37–20 record, the fourth-worst record in the league. Pittsburgh achieved a playoff berth in 1972, only to be swept by the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round. Except for a handful of players like Ken Schinkel, Pronovost, Syl Apps Jr., Keith McCreary, agitator Bryan Watson and goaltender Les Binkley, talent was thin, but enough for the Penguins to reach the playoffs in both 1970 and 1972. The Penguins battled the California Golden Seals for the division cellar in 1974, when Riley was fired as general manager and replaced by Jack Button. Button obtained Steve Durbano, Ab DeMarco, Bob "Battleship" Kelly and Bob Paradise through trades. The personnel moves proved successful, and the team improved to a 28–41–9 record, although they remained nine points away from a playoff berth.

However, in early 1975, the Penguins' creditors demanded payment of back debts, forcing the team into bankruptcy. The doors to the team's offices were padlocked, and it looked like the Penguins would fold or relocate.[11] Around the same time, rumors began circulating that the Penguins and the California Golden Seals were to be relocated to Seattle and Denver respectively, the two cities that were to have been the sites of an expansion for the 1976–77 season.[12] Through the intervention of a group that included former Minnesota North Stars head coach Wren Blair, the team was prevented from folding and remained in Pittsburgh, eventually being bought by shopping mall magnate Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr.

Playoff runs and a uniform change (1974–1982)

 
During the mid-1970s, Lowell MacDonald was paired with Syl Apps Jr. and Jean Pronovost, forming the "Century Line". MacDonald played with the Penguins from 1970 to 1978.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Pittsburgh iced some powerful offensive clubs, led by the likes of the "Century Line" of Syl Apps, Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost. They nearly reached the Stanley Cup semi-finals in 1975, but were ousted from the playoffs by the New York Islanders in one of the only four best-of-seven-game series in NHL history where a team came back from being down three games to none. As the 1970s wore on, a mediocre team defense neutralized the Penguins' success beyond the regular season. Baz Bastien, a former coach and general manager of the AHL's Hornets, later became general manager. The Penguins missed the playoffs in 1977–78. Bastien traded prime draft picks for several players whose best years were already behind them, and the team would suffer in the early 1980s as a result. The decade closed with a playoff appearance in 1979 and a rousing opening series win over the Buffalo Sabres before a second-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins.[5]

The Penguins began the 1980s by changing their team colors; in January 1980, the team switched from wearing blue and white to their present-day scheme of black and gold to honor Pittsburgh's other sports teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as the Flag of Pittsburgh. Both the Pirates and Steelers had worn black and gold for decades, and both had enjoyed world championship seasons. The Bruins protested this color change, claiming a monopoly on black and gold, but the Penguins defended their choice stating that the NHL Pirates also used black and gold as their team colors and that black and gold were Pittsburgh's traditional sporting colors. The NHL agreed, and Pittsburgh could use black and gold. The Penguins officially debuted the black and gold uniform in a game against the St. Louis Blues at the Civic Arena on January 30, 1980.[13] On the ice, the Penguins began the 1980s with defenseman Randy Carlyle, and prolific scorers Paul Gardner and Mike Bullard but little else.

During the early part of the decade, the Penguins made a habit of being a tough draw for higher-seeded opponents in the playoffs. In 1980, the 13th-seeded Penguins took the Bruins to the limit in their first-round playoff series. The following season, as the 15th seed, they lost the decisive game of their first-round series in overtime to the heavily favored St. Louis Blues. Then, in the 1982 playoffs, the Penguins held a 3–1 lead late in the fifth and final game of their playoff series against the reigning champions, the New York Islanders. However, the Islanders rallied to force overtime and won the series on a goal by John Tonelli, who had tied the game before.[14] It would be the Pens' final playoff appearance until 1989.

Lemieux–Jagr era (1984–2005)

 
Mario Lemieux played for the Penguins in three stints (1984–1994, 1995–1997, 2000–2006).

The team had the league's worst record in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons. With the team suffering financial problems, it seemed the Penguins would either fold or relocate. Mario Lemieux, one of the most highly touted NHL draft picks in history, was due to be drafted in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Heading towards the end of the season ahead of the New Jersey Devils, who were placed last, the Penguins made several questionable moves that appeared to weaken the team in the short term. They posted three six-game winless streaks in the last 21 games of the season and earned the right to draft Lemieux amidst protests from Devils' management.[15] Pittsburgh head coach Lou Angotti later admitted that a conscious decision was made to finish the season as the team with the worst record, saying in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that a mid-season lunch prompted the plan, because there was a high chance of the franchise folding if Lemieux was not drafted.[16] Other teams offered substantial trade packages for the draft choice, but the Penguins kept the pick and drafted Lemieux first overall. Lemieux paid dividends right away, scoring on his first-ever shot of his first-ever NHL shift in his first NHL game. However, the team spent four more years out of the playoffs after his arrival. In the late 1980s, the Penguins finally gave Lemieux a strong supporting cast, trading for superstar defenseman Paul Coffey from the Edmonton Oilers (after the Oilers' 1987 Stanley Cup win) and bringing in young talent like scorers Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown and John Cullen from the minors. The team finally acquired a top-flight goaltender with the acquisition of Tom Barrasso from Buffalo. All this talent had an immediate impact in helping Lemieux lead the Pens; but the team struggled to make the playoffs. The 1985–86 Pens missed the playoffs on the final day of the season by one game. In 1986–87, they missed the playoffs by just two games and saw four teams with equal or worse records qualify. In 1987–88, for the second time in a row, the Penguins missed the playoffs by one game.[10]

In 1989, Pittsburgh finally broke through the barrier and made the playoffs on the back of Lemieux leading the league in goals, assists and points. On December 31, 1988, Lemieux became the only player in history to score a goal in all five possible game situations in the same game (even strength, shorthanded, penalty shot, power play, and empty net). The Pens shocked the New York Rangers in a four-game sweep in the first round; however, the Philadelphia Flyers halted their in the second round. The seven-game defeat featured Lemieux scoring five goals in the fifth game.[10]

Back-to-back Stanley Cup titles (1989–1997)

A herniated disc in Lemieux's back cut short his 1989–90 season, although he still amassed 123 points. However, the Penguins fell out of the playoff picture. They opted to strengthen their roster and support Lemieux in the 1990 off-season. Free-agent signings (Bryan Trottier) and trades (Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson) played a major part in this. Arguably no move was bigger during this time than when the Penguins drafted Jaromir Jagr with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. The first Czechoslovak player to be drafted into the NHL without first needing to defect to the West, Jagr became the Penguins' second franchise player, and quickly developed into a superstar offensive talent. The roster overhaul culminated in the Penguins winning their first Stanley Cup title by defeating the Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games, punctuated by an 8–0 victory in the deciding game, the largest margin of victory in a final Stanley Cup game in over 80 years. After the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, the Penguins met with President George H. W. Bush, the first NHL team ever to visit the White House.[17] The following season, the team lost coach Bob Johnson to cancer, and Scotty Bowman took over as coach. Under Bowman, they swept the Chicago Blackhawks to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 1991–92.[5][10]

Cancer revisited the Penguins in 1993 when Lemieux was tragically diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. Only two months after the diagnosis, missing 24 out of 84 games, he came back to win his fourth Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion with 160 points, edging out Pat LaFontaine and Adam Oates. Despite the off-ice difficulties, Pittsburgh finished with a 56–21–7 record, the franchise's best regular-season ever, winning the Presidents' Trophy. After Lemieux's return, the team played better than it ever had before, winning an NHL-record 17 consecutive games. Despite all of this success, the New York Islanders eliminated them in the second round of Game 7 in overtime.[10][5]

The Penguins continued to be a formidable team throughout the 1990s. The stars of the Stanley Cup years were followed by the likes of forwards: Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka, Aleksey Morozov, Robert Lang and Petr Nedved, and defensemen Sergei Zubov, Darius Kasparaitis and Kevin Hatcher. Despite the departure of many of the franchise's Stanley Cup-winning roster, the Penguins fielded enough talent to reach the first round of the playoffs in 1994 (where they lost to the Washington Capitals in six games), the second round in 1995 (where they lost to the New Jersey Devils in five games) and the conference finals in 1996 (where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games). The 1997 playoffs marked a turning point, as the Penguins suffered a first-round elimination at the hands of the rival Philadelphia Flyers in five games.[10]

Lemieux's retirement and return (1997–2001)

 
Lemieux with the Penguins during the 2000–01 season, his first season after coming out of retirement.

On April 6, 1997, the franchise was rocked when Mario Lemieux, citing ongoing health concerns and his disapproval with the way NHL hockey was being officiated, announced he would retire at the conclusion of the 1997 playoffs. Lemieux was so respected in the NHL, and his achievements over the course of his career were so great, that he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the year he retired, the three-year waiting period being waived. His departure was the first in a series of events that would once again lead the Penguins into regular season stagnation, and to the brink of financial ruin.

The Montreal Canadiens eliminated the team in the first round of the playoffs in 1998, despite being the second-seeded team in the East. The following year, their playoff run ended in the second round when they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. In 2000, the Penguins stunned the highly touted Washington Capitals 4–1 in the first round, only to fall to the Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 in the second round.

By this time, the lofty contracts handed out during the early 1990s were catching up with the Penguins. At one point, the team owed over $90 million to numerous creditors, leading then-owners Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg (who bought the Penguins after their first Stanley Cup win) to ask the players to defer their salaries to help pay the bills. When the deferred salaries finally came due, combined with other financial pressures, the Penguins were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1998.

Lemieux then stepped in with an unusual proposal to buy the team out of bankruptcy. The Penguins owed Lemieux $32.5 million in deferred salary, making him the team's largest individual creditor. He proposed recovering this money by converting it into equity—enough to give him controlling interest. He also vowed to keep the team in Pittsburgh. The NHL and the courts agreed, and Lemieux (with help from supermarket tycoon Ronald Burkle) assumed control on September 3, 1999, saving the franchise for the second time.[5]

Lemieux again shocked the hockey world by announcing at a press conference on December 8, 2000, his intentions to return to the Penguins as an active player. On December 27, 2000, Lemieux stepped onto NHL ice for the first time in 44 months, officially becoming the first player–owner in NHL history. Lemieux helped lead the Penguins deep into the 2001 playoffs, highlighted by an overtime victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of the second round. Darius Kasparaitis scored the series-clinching goal to advance the Penguins to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost in five games to the New Jersey Devils.[5]

Rebuilding (2001–2005)

 
Marc-Andre Fleury was drafted first overall in 2003 by the Penguins.

The Penguins' attendance had dwindled in the late 1990s. In 1998–99, the club had an average attendance of 14,825 at home games, the lowest it had been since Lemieux's rookie year.[18] Reducing revenue on top of the previous bankruptcy necessitated salary shedding. The biggest salary move was the trading of superstar Jaromir Jagr to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2001. The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years in 2002, finishing in a tie for third-to-last in their conference. The following season they finished second-last. In the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, the Penguins selected goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with the first overall pick.[19][20]

The 2003–04 season was an ordeal with Lemieux missing all but 24 regular-season games with a hip injury, and attendance dipping to an average of 11,877 (the lowest average of any NHL team), with just one sellout.[18] As the season progressed, the Penguins signed new head coach (and former Penguins' player and commentator) Eddie Olczyk and opted not to include Fleury in the lineup for the bulk of the season. This culminated in the worst record in the NHL, with the team winning just 23 games. As in the 1980s, the Penguins' struggles were fortuitously concurrent with a string of NHL Entry Draft classes that would yield multiple world-class talents. The Penguins lost out on the first overall pick for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft (Alexander Ovechkin), which went to the Washington Capitals. However, Ovechkin's countryman, center Evgeni Malkin, was similarly highly regarded, and Pittsburgh took him with the second overall pick. However, a transfer dispute between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) delayed his Pittsburgh debut.[21]

By this point, the Penguins had collapsed financially since the Stanley Cup-winning years of the early 1990s. Their home venue, the Civic Arena, had become the oldest arena in the NHL, and Lemieux had tried unsuccessfully to cut a deal with the city for a new facility. With Pittsburgh uninterested in building a new hockey arena for the struggling Penguins, Lemieux began looking into the possibilities of selling and/or relocating the team to Kansas City, Missouri.[22][23][24][25] A lockout prompted the cancellation of the 2004–05 NHL season. One of the many reasons for the lockout included disagreements on resolving the financial struggles of teams like the Penguins and the Ottawa Senators, which had filed for bankruptcy protection.[26] During the lockout, the Penguins' players dispersed between the club's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and to European leagues.[5]

Crosby–Malkin era (2005–present)

 
Sidney Crosby during his sophomore season with the Penguins. He was drafted first overall by the team in the 2005 draft.

With the lockout resolved in 2005, the NHL organized an unprecedented draft lottery to set the 2005 NHL Entry Draft selection order. The draft lottery, which was held behind closed doors in a "secure location", resulted in the Penguins being awarded the first overall pick.[27][28][29] Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) superstar Sidney Crosby (who had been training with Lemieux over the summer)[27] was the consensus first overall pick, with many referring to the draft lottery process as "The Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes". The Penguins selected Crosby on July 30, 2005, with the top pick, instantly rekindling interest in hockey in Pittsburgh.[10]

The Penguins began rebuilding the team under the salary cap. However, Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins' 2004 draft pick, could not report to Pittsburgh immediately because of a playing rights dispute with the Russian Superleague. The addition of Crosby paid instant dividends, with attendance rising by approximately 4,000 per game on average in the 2005–06 season.[18] However, Crosby's presence did not immediately translate into wins, as the team began the season with a long winless skid that resulted in a head coaching change from Olczyk to Michel Therrien. Then, on January 24, 2006, Lemieux announced his second retirement, after developing an irregular heartbeat, this time permanently. He finished as the NHL's seventh all-time scorer (1,723), eighth in goals (690) and tenth in assists (1,033), and with the second-highest career points per game average (1.88), which is second to Wayne Gretzky's 1.92.[30][31]

Despite the team's struggles, Crosby established himself as a star in the league, amassing 102 points in his debut season and finishing second to Alexander Ovechkin for the Calder Memorial Trophy awarded each year to the league's top rookie. In the Penguins' final game of the season, Crosby tallied a goal and an assist to become the top-scoring rookie in Penguin history (eclipsing Lemieux). The Penguins again posted the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the highest goals-against total in the League. They received the second overall draft pick, their fourth top-two pick in four years, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, and selected touted two-way forward Jordan Staal. The team announced on April 20 they would not renew the contract for general manager Craig Patrick, who had been the general manager since December 1989.[32] On May 25, Ray Shero signed a five-year contract as general manager.

Runner–up and third Stanley Cup title (2006–2009)

 
Evgeni Malkin made an immediate impact, driving the Penguins to their first playoff appearance in six years.

Change came for the Penguins on October 18, 2006, when Evgeni Malkin made his NHL debut. He set the modern NHL record with a goal in each of his first six games. Malkin would record points in 16 consecutive games.[33] The Penguins finished the 2006–07 season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 47–24–11, totaling 105 points, only two points behind the Atlantic Division winners, the New Jersey Devils. It was the franchise's first 100-point season in 11 years and represented an enormous 47-point leap from the previous season. In the first round of the 2007 playoffs the eventual Stanley Cup runners-up, the Ottawa Senators, defeated the Penguins 4–1. At the season's end, rookies Malkin and Jordan Staal were finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the Rookie of the Year, which Malkin won.

On March 13, 2007, Pennsylvania's Governor Ed Rendell, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Mario Lemieux of the Penguins ownership group announced an agreement had been reached among the parties to build the long-sought arena. The state-of-the-art, multi-purpose facility, the Consol Energy Center, guaranteed that the Penguins would remain in the city of Pittsburgh. Following the announcement of the plan, the Lemieux ownership group announced they no longer had plans to sell the team. On June 8, 2007, a $325 million bond was issued, and the Penguins signed a 30-year lease on September 19, binding them to the city of Pittsburgh through 2040.[34]

After a mediocre start to the 2007–08 season, Crosby and starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury were both injured long-term due to high right ankle sprains. In their absence, the team flourished because of the play and leadership of Malkin. On April 2, 2008, the Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division title—their first division title in 10 years—with a 4–2 win against rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. Malkin finished the season with 106 points for second place in the league and finished as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. The team launched into their first extended playoff run in many years, beating Ottawa 4–0, defeating the New York Rangers 4–1 and then defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 to clinch the Prince of Wales Trophy. Pittsburgh lost the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals to the Detroit Red Wings in six games, finishing the playoffs with a 14–6 record. Crosby finished the playoffs with 27 points (6 goals and 21 assists in 20 games), tying Conn Smythe Trophy-winner Henrik Zetterberg (13 goals and 14 assists in 22 games) for the playoff scoring lead.

 
Crosby, Bill Guerin, and Chris Kunitz during the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the Finals, earning their third Stanley Cup title.

In the 2008–09 season, Malkin won the Art Ross and was again a candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Crosby finished third in League scoring with 33 goals and 70 assists for 103 points, despite missing five games. The Penguins' record dipped mid-season but lifted after Dan Bylsma replaced head coach Therrien. The effect was almost instantaneous, and the Penguins recovered enough to secure home-ice advantage in their first-round match up against the Philadelphia Flyers, whom the Penguins defeated in six games. It took seven games for the Penguins to win the next series against Washington, sending them to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in a four-game sweep. After defeating the Hurricanes, the Penguins earned their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, to whom they lost the previous year. After losing Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, like the previous years, the Penguins won Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh. Each team won on home ice in Games 5 and 6. In Game 7 in Detroit, Maxime Talbot scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Penguins won 2–1 to win their third Stanley Cup title.[35] Malkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.[10]

New arena and injuries (2009–2015)

 
Outside of Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena) in March 2010 before it officially opened.

During the 2009–10 season, Crosby scored 109 points (51 goals and 58 assists) in 81 games, winning the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL season's leading goalscorer. The Penguins, seeded fourth in the East, began their title defense, defeating the Ottawa Senators in six games. In the next round, the Penguins faced the Montreal Canadiens. The teams swapped wins in the series en route to the decisive Game 7, which the Penguins lost 5–2, ending their season and their tenure at Mellon Arena.[36]

 
The Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field during the 2011 NHL Winter Classic.

In 2010–11, the Penguins played their first game in the Consol Energy Center. On February 11, 2011, the Pittsburgh Penguins–New York Islanders brawl took place.[37] A season-ending concussion suffered by Crosby and a knee injury to Malkin marred the season. The team left early in the playoffs, blowing a 3–1 series lead to Tampa Bay Lightning, with Fleury's goaltending called into question.[38] With Crosby still sidelined with post-concussion syndrome, at the start of the 2011–12 season, Malkin led the Penguins' top line and dominated league scoring. He finished with 50 goals and 109 points as the Penguins earned 51 wins on the season. With Malkin's Art Ross-winning performance, and Crosby's late-season return from injury, the Penguins headed into the 2012 playoffs with high hopes of making a significant Stanley Cup run. However, their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, defeated the highly favored Penguins in six games.[39] Malkin was later awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson award. Following the Penguins' disappointing playoff exit, general manager Ray Shero made changes to the team at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft for the upcoming 2012–13 season.[40][41]

During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, the Penguins again fought through serious injury. At the end of the regular season, they finished atop the Eastern Conference, matching up against the New York Islanders in round one. The Penguins defeated the Islanders in six games, with Fleury struggling once again. The team then dispatched the Ottawa Senators in five games before being swept in the Conference Finals by the Boston Bruins, scoring just two goals in the entire four-game sweep. On June 13, 2013, Malkin signed an eight-year contract extension worth an annual average of $9.5 million.[42]

 
On July 1, 2015, the Penguins acquired right-winger Phil Kessel in a multi-player deal.

In the 2013–14 season, the Penguins suffered numerous injuries throughout the campaign. Despite the adversity, the Penguins won the realigned, eight-team Metropolitan Division, though the club struggled in the playoffs, requiring six games to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, then losing to the New York Rangers in seven games despite leading the series 3–1 after four games. This collapse prompted Penguins ownership to fire general manager Shero, replacing him on June 6 with Jim Rutherford, the former general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes.[43] Rutherford's first action as general manager was to fire head coach Dan Bylsma, and on June 25, he announced that Mike Johnston was hired as Bylsma's replacement. In the 2014–15 season, the Penguins led the Metropolitan Division for the first half of the season. However, after losing players to injuries and illnesses, including the mumps, the team fell to fourth in the Division. The Pens lost in five games to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. In the off-season, Rutherford traded several players and picks to acquire star winger Phil Kessel.[44]

Back-to-back Stanley Cups and 50th anniversary (2015–2017)

After acquiring Kessel, the Penguins had high expectations for the 2015–16 season. However, by December 12, 2015, the team was barely managing a winning season, posting a 15–10–3 record. The organization fired head coach Mike Johnston, and replaced him with Mike Sullivan, who had previously served as the head coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.[45] This move was followed by a series of trades by Jim Rutherford.[46][47]

 
Crosby with the Stanley Cup during the Penguins' victory parade. The team won their fourth Stanley Cup championship in 2016.

The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. They earned second place in the Metropolitan Division with 104 points. In the playoffs, the Penguins defeated the Rangers in a 4–1 series, the Capitals 4–2 and the Lightning 4–3 to win the Eastern Conference Championship, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals against the San Jose Sharks.[48] On June 12, 2016, the Penguins defeated the Sharks in a 4–2 series to win their fourth Stanley Cup title. Captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.[49]

The Penguins opened their 50th anniversary season in the NHL as defending Stanley Cup champions, raising their commemorative banner on October 13, 2016, in a shootout victory over Washington.[50] The Penguins faced the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round of the 2017 playoffs, defeating them in five games. In the second round, they played against their divisional rival, Washington, and faced them for the second-straight year in the same round, winning a seven-game series. In the Conference Finals, the Penguins eliminated the Ottawa Senators in seven games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they faced the Nashville Predators. The Penguins won the first two games of the finals and then lost the next two matchups before dominating the fifth and the sixth games of the series to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year. By defending their title, the Penguins became the first team since the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings to defend their title successfully and the first to do so in the salary cap era.[5]

 
Patric Hornqvist celebrates the 2017 Stanley Cup-clinching goal against the Nashville Predators.

Contenders (2017–present)

Before the 2017–18 season, the Penguins lost longtime goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft to the Vegas Golden Knights.[51] Nevertheless, the Penguins again qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs with the second division playoff spot, finishing the regular season with 100 points. They defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round in six games, but were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in six games.[52] In the next season, the Penguins clinched a playoff berth, but were swept by the New York Islanders in the First Round.[53] In the following season, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team advanced to the 2020 playoffs, but were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in the Qualifying Round.[54] On February 9, 2021, the Penguins named Ron Hextall as their new general manager, after Jim Rutherford resigned from his post on January 27, because of personal reasons. Brian Burke was hired as president of hockey operations.[55][56] On February 21, Crosby became the first player to reach 1,000 NHL games for the team.[57] The Penguins won the East Division title, extending their playoff streak to 15 seasons.[58] This became the longest active streak in North American sports as a result of the San Antonio Spurs missing the 2020 NBA playoffs.[59] The 2020–21 season came to an end in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs against the New York Islanders.[60]

On November 29, 2021, Fenway Sports Group announced its intent to purchase a controlling stake in the Penguins.[61] On December 31, 2021, they officially took over as majority owners of the Penguins.[62]

Team culture

Fanbase

 
Iceburgh, the mascot of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Despite Pittsburgh's long history with hockey and a small but loyal fanbase, the Penguins struggled with fan support early on in its history, at times averaging only 6,000 fans per game when Civic Arena had a seating capacity of over 16,000. Fan support was so low by the team's first bankruptcy that the NHL had no problem with the team being moved, something that would change decades later when the team faced another relocation threat.

While the drafting of Mario Lemieux piqued interest in hockey locally, fans remained skeptical. John Steigerwald, brother of former Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald,[63] noted in his autobiography that upon his arrival at KDKA-TV from WTAE-TV in 1985, the station cared more about the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League than the Penguins.[64] However, Lemieux's play steadily grew the fanbase in the area, which would only be reassured upon the arrival of Sidney Crosby after the team struggled both on the ice and in attendance following the Jaromir Jagr trade.

Today, the Penguins are one of the NHL's most popular teams, especially among American non-Original Six franchises, and are considered second behind the Steelers among Pittsburgh's three major professional sports teams, taking advantage of both its success and the Pittsburgh Pirates struggles both on and off the field.[65] Especially notable was a 2007 survey done of the four major sports leagues' 122 teams. The Penguins surprised observers by being ranked 20th overall and third among NHL teams, while the Steelers were ranked number one and the Pirates (before the arrival of Andrew McCutchen and that team's turnaround)[66] ranked much lower on the list than its peers. The Penguins' popularity has at times rivaled that of the Steelers at the local level.[67]

Rivalries

Philadelphia Flyers

Main article: Flyers–Penguins rivalry

Considered by some to be the best rivalry in the NHL,[68][69][70] the Philadelphia Flyers–Pittsburgh Penguins rivalry began in 1967 when the teams were introduced in the NHL's "Next Six" expansion wave. The rivalry exists both due to divisional alignment and geographic location, as both teams play in Pennsylvania. The Flyers lead the head-to-head record with a 153–98-30 record.[71] However, the Penguins eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs in 2008 and 2009 and were eliminated by them from the playoffs in 2012, strengthening the rivalry. Three years later, the Flyers won the sixth playoff meeting between the clubs to advance to the Conference Semi-finals.[72] The franchises have met seven times in the playoffs, with the Flyers winning four series (1989 Patrick Division Finals, 4–3; 1997 Eastern Conference Quarter-finals, 4–1; 2000 Eastern Conference Semi-finals, 4–2; and 2012 Eastern Conference Quarter-finals, 4–2) and the Penguins winning three (2008 Eastern Conference Finals, 4–1; 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, 4–2; and 2018 Eastern Conference First Round, 4–2).

Washington Capitals

Main article: Capitals–Penguins rivalry
 
An altercation between the Penguins and the Washington Capitals during the 2009 playoffs.

The two teams have faced off 11 times in the playoffs, with the Penguins winning nine of the 11 matchups, their two series losses coming in the 1994 and 2018 playoffs. The Penguins defeated the Capitals en route to their five Stanley Cup victories. They have met in a decisive game 7 in the 1992, 1995, 2009 and 2017 playoffs. The NHL's fourth Winter Classic, played on January 1, 2011, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh showcased this rivalry. The Capitals won the game 3–1. The rivalry can also be seen in the American Hockey League (AHL). Pittsburgh's top farm team is the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and their in-state and biggest rivals are the Capitals' top farm team, the Hershey Bears.[73][74][75]

Team information

Crest and sweater design

When the Penguins made their NHL debut in 1967, the team wore the colors dark blue, light blue and white. The uniforms had the word "Pittsburgh" written diagonally down the front of the sweater with three dark blue stripes around the sleeves and bottom. The logo featured a hockey-playing penguin in a scarf over an inverted triangle, symbolizing the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. A refined version of the logo appeared on a redesigned uniform in the second season, which removed the scarf and gave the penguin a sleeker look. The circle encompassing the logo was later removed.[76] The team's colors were originally powder blue, navy blue, and white. The powder blue was changed to royal blue in 1973 but returned in 1977. The team adopted the current black and gold color scheme in 1980 to unify the colors of the city's professional sports teams although, like the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Steelers, the shade of gold more closely resembled yellow. The change was not without controversy, as the Boston Bruins protested by claiming to own the rights to the black and gold colors. However, the Penguins cited the colors worn by the now-defunct NHL team the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1920s, as well as black and gold being the official colors of the City of Pittsburgh and its namesake, and obtained permission to use the black and gold colors. The NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates used old Pittsburgh Police uniforms,[77] beginning the black and gold color tradition in the city.[76]

The Penguins generally wore the black and gold "skating penguin" uniform between 1980 and 1992, with a few noticeable changes in the lettering and striping. A gold alternate uniform was worn between 1980 and 1984, and briefly replaced the white uniform for home games in the 1983–84 season.[76]

In the 1992–93 season, the Penguins unveiled new uniforms and introduced the "flying penguin" logo, or "Robopenguin".[78][79] The team's away uniforms were a throwback to the team's first season, as they revived the diagonal "Pittsburgh" script. In 1995, the team introduced their second alternate jersey, featuring different stripe designs on each sleeve. This jersey proved to be so popular that the team adopted it as their away jersey in 1997. In 2000, the Penguins brought back the "skating penguin" logo, but with a "Vegas gold" shade, upon releasing its new alternate uniform. After 2002, the "skating penguin" was readopted as the primary, though the "flying penguin" remained the alternate. A corresponding white version of the "Vegas gold" uniforms was introduced, and the 1995–2002 black uniform was retired. When the new jerseys were unveiled for the 2007–08 season league wide, the Penguins made major striping pattern changes and removed the "flying penguin" logo from the shoulders.[76]

 
Throughout the 2016–17 season, a commemorative patch was added to the uniforms to celebrate the team's 50th anniversary.

The Penguins have worn their black jersey at home since the league began the initiative to do so beginning with the 2003–04 NHL season. The team wore their powder blue, 1968–1972 "throwbacks" against the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL Winter Classic. This throwback was supposedly retired with the introduction of a new dark blue third jersey that made its debut at the 2011 NHL Winter Classic.[80] For the 2011–12 season, the 2011 Winter Classic jersey was the team's official third uniform, with the 2008 Winter Classic uniform having been retired.[81] Called the "Blue Jerseys of Doom" by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the alternate jerseys were worn when Sidney Crosby sustained a broken jaw and when he suffered a concussion in the 2011 Winter Classic. Evgeni Malkin was also concussed during a game when the Penguins donned the alternate uniforms.[76][82][83]

In 2014, the Penguins released their new alternate uniforms. The new black uniforms are throwbacks to the early part of Lemieux's playing career, emulating the uniforms worn by the Penguins' 1991 and 1992 Cup-winning teams. The new alternate uniform featured "Pittsburgh gold", the particular shade of gold which had been retired when the Penguins switched to the metallic gold full-time in 2002.[84] The Penguins eventually brought back a white version of the black "Pittsburgh gold" alternates, thus retiring the "Vegas gold" uniforms they wore from 2000 to 2016. A commemorative patch was added to the uniforms throughout the 2016–17 season to celebrate the team's 50th anniversary.[85] During the 2017 NHL Stadium Series against the archrival Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins wore a special gold uniform featuring military-inspired lettering, a "City of Champions" patch and a variation of the "skating penguin" logo.[86] This design served as the basis for the team's third uniform, which was unveiled in the 2018–19 season and was also partly inspired by the early 1980s gold uniforms.[87] The Penguins wore monochrome black uniforms minus the white elements when they faced the Flyers again in the 2019 NHL Stadium Series.[88]

In 2021, the Penguins wore white "Reverse Retro" uniforms based on the 1992–97 uniforms. This set replaced the "flying penguin" with the alternate "skating penguin" logo minus the gold triangle on the shoulders.[89] A black version served as the replacement for the gold alternate uniforms starting in the 2021–22 season.[90] In the 2022–23 season, the Penguins unveiled their second "Reverse Retro" uniform, this time featuring a black version of the white "flying penguin" uniform they wore from 1992 to 2002.[91]

For the 2023 NHL Winter Classic, the Penguins went with a vintage white uniform with black stripes, and added a gold "P" logo as a nod to the NHL Pirates of the late 1920s.[92]

Media

Radio

Further information: Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network

The Penguins currently have their radio home on WXDX-FM and their television home on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network consists of a total of 34 stations in four states.[93] Twenty three of these are in Pennsylvania, four in West Virginia, three in Ohio, and three in Maryland. The network also features an FM high-definition station in Pittsburgh.

Broadcasters

Main article: List of Pittsburgh Penguins broadcasters

Local ABC affiliate WTAE-TV broadcast the Penguins during the 1967–68 season, with station Sports Director Ed Conway handling the play-by-play during both the television and radio broadcasts. He remained the lone play-by-play broadcaster until the completion of the 1968–69 season. Joe Tucker took over for Ed Conway during the 1969–70 season, when WPGH-TV and WTAE-TV split Penguins' broadcasts. WPGH-TV retained the rights to broadcast the Penguins for the 1970–71 season, with Bill Hamilton handing the play-by-play duties. The 1970–71 season was also the first season where the Penguins introduced a color commentator to the broadcast team, with John MacDonald taking the position in the booth.[94][95]

 
Mike Lange served as a play-by-play commentator for the team from 1974 until 2021.

Mike Lange, who joined the Penguins' broadcast team as a play-by-play announcer on the radio side in 1974–75 became the play-by-play broadcaster for the team at the start of the 1979–80 season. At his side was Terry Schiffauer, who had previously held the position of Penguins' director of public relations and eventually transitioned into color commentator for Sam Nover in 1972–73. Lange and Schiffauer remained a team in the Penguins' broadcast booth until 1984–85, when Schiffauer was replaced by Paul Steigerwald. Lange and Steigerwald remained a constant in the broadcast booth from 1985 until 1999. With Steigerwald's departure in 1999, Mike Lange shared the broadcast booth with former Penguins' defenseman Peter Taglianetti. Taglianetti remained in the position for one season before being replaced by Eddie Olczyk. Lange and Olczyk were broadcast partners from 2000 until 2003, when Olczyk left the booth to become the 18th head coach in Penguins' history following the firing of previous head coach Rick Kehoe after the 2002–03 season.[96] With Olczyk's vacancy, the Penguins hired Bob Errey as their new color commentator for the start of the 2003–04 season. Lange and Errey remained in the booth until 2005–06. After 26 seasons in the television broadcast booth, FSN Pittsburgh did not retain Mike Lange. Instead, he was replaced by former broadcast partner Paul Steigerwald, who remained the team's TV play-by-play broadcaster until the 2016–17 season. Lange returned to the radio broadcast booth and currently holds the position of radio play-by-play announcer, the same position he held with the team in the mid-1970s. Following the 2016–17 season, Steigerwald moved back to the Penguins front office and NHL Network personality Steve Mears was hired as the new television play-by-play announcer starting with the 2017–18 season. Lange retired in the 2021 offseason, with Josh Getzoff being named as his replacement. Currently, Phil Bourque serves as the radio color commentator.

Every Penguins game is currently carried on the AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh network, which is carried by cable providers in most of two states and parts of four others. In addition, Fox Sports Ohio simulcasts Penguins hockey in the Cleveland metro area, as well as some parts of Eastern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Dish Network, Verizon FiOS, and Direct TV each carry the Penguins games on their AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh channel in HD nationally. The Pittsburgh Penguins also receive monthly and sometimes weekly "game of the week" national exposure on American networks ESPN, ESPN+, ABC, and TNT, and Canadian networks Sportsnet and CBC. Previously, the Penguins received national TV exposure on NBC and NBCSN in the U.S., and TSN in Canada.

In-game announcers

Ryan Mill has been the Penguins’ public address announcer since 2009 when he succeeded John Barbero. Jeff Jimerson has been the team’s official anthem singer since 1991 and also served in the same capacity in the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Sudden Death.

Arenas

The Penguins called Civic Arena home for over 45 seasons from their inception in 1967. In September 2010, they completed the move to the state-of-the-art Consol Energy Center (now named the PPG Paints Arena). The Penguins also played two "home" games in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio, in 1992 and 1993 at the Richfield Coliseum (this is not unlike the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA playing an annual pre-season game in Pittsburgh;[97] the Philadelphia 76ers used the Civic Arena as a second home in the early 1970s).[98]

 
The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex under construction in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, in April 2015. The complex opened in August 2015, and is used by the Penguins as their practice facility.

From 1995 to 2015, the IceoPlex at Southpointe in the South Hills suburbs served as the team's practice facility. Robert Morris University's 84 Lumber Arena has served as a secondary practice facility for the team. During the franchise's first pre-season training camp and pre-season exhibition games, the Brantford Civic Centre in Brantford, Ontario, served as its home,[99] and by the 1970s and continuing through the 1980s, the team was using the suburban Rostraver Ice Garden for training.

In August 2015, the Penguins and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) opened the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, combining a new team practice and training facility with a UPMC Sports Medicine treatment and research complex, in suburban Cranberry Township near the interchange between Interstate 79 and Pennsylvania Route 228.[100] The twin rink facility replaced both the IceoPlex at Southpointe and the 84 Lumber Arena as the Penguins' regular practice facility, freeing up the Consol Energy Center for other events on days the Penguins are not scheduled to play.[101]

As with most other NHL arenas, the Penguins make use of a goal horn whenever the team scores a goal at home. It is also played just before the beginning of a home game, and after a Penguins victory. Their current goal horn made by Nathan Manufacturing, Inc. and introduced in 2005 to coincide with Sidney Crosby joining the team, was used at both the Civic Arena and the Consol Energy Center.[102][103]

Minor league affiliates

The Penguins have two minor league affiliates assigned to their team. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, their AHL affiliate, have played in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, since 1999. The Penguins also have a secondary affiliate in the ECHL, the Wheeling Nailers, which they have been associated with since the start of the 2000–01 season.[104]

Season-by-season record

Main article: List of Pittsburgh Penguins seasons
 
Sidney Crosby with Marc-Andre Fleury (left) and the Stanley Cup during the Penguins' victory parade in 2009.

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Penguins.[105]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2017–18 82 47 29 6 100 272 250 2nd, Metropolitan Lost in Second Round, 2–4 (Capitals)
2018–19 82 44 26 12 100 273 241 3rd, Metropolitan Lost in First Round, 0–4 (Islanders)
2019–20 69 40 23 6 86 224 196 3rd, Metropolitan Lost in Qualifying Round, 1–3 (Canadiens)
2020–21 56 37 16 3 77 196 156 1st, East Lost in First Round, 2–4 (Islanders)
2021–22 82 46 25 11 103 272 229 3rd, Metropolitan Lost in First Round, 3–4 (Rangers)

Players

Current roster

Updated March 11, 2023[106][107]

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
15   Josh Archibald RW R 30 2022 Regina, Saskatchewan
13   Nick Bonino   C L 34 2023 Hartford, Connecticut
77   Jeff Carter C/RW R 38 2021 London, Ontario
87   Sidney Crosby (C) C L 35 2005 Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
1   Casey DeSmith G L 31 2017 Rochester, New Hampshire
8   Brian Dumoulin D L 31 2012 Biddeford, Maine
64   Mikael Granlund RW L 31 2023 Oulu, Finland
59   Jake Guentzel LW L 28 2013 Omaha, Nebraska
43   Danton Heinen W L 27 2021 Langley, British Columbia
35   Tristan Jarry G L 27 2013 Surrey, British Columbia
73   Pierre-Olivier Joseph D L 23 2019 Laval, Quebec
7   Dmitry Kulikov D L 32 2023 Lipetsk, Soviet Union
58   Kris Letang (A) D R 35 2005 Montreal, Quebec
71   Evgeni Malkin (A) C L 36 2004 Magnitogorsk, Soviet Union
19   Alexander Nylander LW R 25 2022 Calgary, Alberta
10   Drew O'Connor LW/C L 24 2020 Chatham, New Jersey
28   Marcus Pettersson D L 26 2018 Skellefteå, Sweden
26   Jeff Petry D R 35 2022 Ann Arbor, Michigan
25   Ryan Poehling   C/LW L 24 2022 Lakeville, Minnesota
67   Rickard Rakell W R 29 2022 Sundbyberg, Sweden
2   Chad Ruhwedel D R 32 2016 San Diego, California
17   Bryan Rust RW R 30 2010 Pontiac, Michigan
44   Jan Rutta D R 32 2022 Písek, Czechoslovakia
16   Jason Zucker LW L 31 2020 Newport Beach, California


Honored members

Further information: List of Pittsburgh Penguins award winners

Retired numbers

 
The banners of numbers retired by the Penguins franchise hang in the rafters of the PPG Paints Arena.
Pittsburgh Penguins retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
21[108] Michel Briere C 1969–1970 January 5, 2001[A]
66[109] Mario Lemieux C 1984–1997
2000–2006		 November 19, 1997[B]
Notes
  • A Taken out of circulation following Briere's death (1971), but not officially retired until January 5, 2001.
  • B Lemieux's number was restored when he resumed playing for the team on December 27, 2000, and once again retired on October 5, 2006.
  • Though not retired, no. 68 has not been issued since Jaromir Jagr was traded in 2001 and Lemieux himself confirmed that the number would be retired by the franchise in the future.[110]
  • The NHL retired Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.[111]

Hockey Hall of Fame

The Pittsburgh Penguins presently acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Inductees affiliated with the Penguins include 14 former players and five builders of the sport.[a][112] The four individuals recognized as builders by the Hockey Hall of Fame includes former head coaches, and general managers.

In addition to builders and players, broadcasters and sports journalists have also been recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2001, radio play-by-play broadcaster Mike Lange, was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hall of Fame.[113] In 2009, Dave Molinari, a sports journalist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hall of Fame.[114]

Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Affiliation with inductees based on team acknowledgement
Hall of Fame players[112]
Andy Bathgate
Leo Boivin 		Paul Coffey
Ron Francis 		Tim Horton
Marian Hossa 		Jarome Iginla
Mario Lemieux 		Joe Mullen
Larry Murphy 		Mark Recchi
Luc Robitaille 		Bryan Trottier
Sergei Zubov
Hall of Fame builders[112]
Scotty Bowman Herb Brooks Bob Johnson Craig Patrick Jim Rutherford

Team captains

 
The team's current captain, Sidney Crosby, during a playoff game in 2016.

All the players who have served as team captain with the Penguins franchise

Franchise individual records

Further information: List of Pittsburgh Penguins records

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history.[116] Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

  •  *  – current Penguins player
 
Kris Letang holds the franchise's all-time points record for a defenseman.

Franchise goaltending leaders

These are the top-ten goaltenders in franchise history by wins.[117] Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

  •  *  – current Penguins player
Goaltenders
Player GP W L T OT GAA SV% SO
Marc-Andre Fleury 691 375 216 2 66 2.58 .912 44
Tom Barrasso 460 226 153 53 8 3.27 .896 22
Matt Murray 199 117 53 0 19 2.67 .914 11
Ken Wregget 212 104 67 21 4 3.29 .898 6
Denis Herron 290 88 133 44 – 3.88 .879 6
Jean-Sebastien Aubin 168 63 72 11 10 2.92 .900 6
Tristan Jarry* 101 59 29 11 - 2.66 .912 7
Les Binkley 196 58 94 34 – 3.12 .900 11
Gregory Millen 135 57 56 18 – 3.83 .874 4
Johan Hedberg 116 46 57 12 6 2.88 .901 7

Franchise playoff scoring leaders

These are the top-ten playoff point-scorers in franchise playoff history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL season.

  •  * – current Penguins player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Source:[118]

Front office and coaching staff

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins owners, List of Pittsburgh Penguins general managers, and List of Pittsburgh Penguins head coaches
Executive Committee
Hockey Operations
  • President of Hockey Operations – Brian Burke
  • General Manager – Ron Hextall
  • Hockey Operations Director - Alec Schall
  • Hockey Operations Manager – Erik Heasley
  • Hockey Operations Advisor – Trevor Daley
  • Hockey Operations Analyst/Pro Personnel - Andy Saucier
  • Head Coach – Mike Sullivan
  • Associate Coach – Todd Reirden
  • Assistant Coach – Mike Vellucci
  • Assistant Coach - Ty Hennes
  • Goaltending Coach – Andy Chiodo
  • Director of Player Development – Tom Kostopoulos
  • Player Development Coach – Chris Butler
  • Player Development – Matt Cullen
  • Integrated Development Coach – Brett Hextall
  • Goaltending Development – Kain Tisi, Chuck Grant
  • Sr VP of Integrated Performance - Teena Murray
  • Strength & Conditioning – Alex Trinca, Alexi Pianosi
  • Video Coach – Madison Nikkel 
  • Director of Team Operations – Jason Seidling
Scouting
  • Assistant GM, Director of Player Personnel – Chris Pryor
  • Director of Amateur Scouting - Nick Pryor
  • Director of Professional Scouting – Kerry Huffman

In the community

The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation conducts numerous community activities to support both youth and families through hockey education and charity assistance.

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Penguins also recognize an affiliation with Hall of Famer Red Kelly, who served as the Penguins' head coach from 1969–73. However, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the players' category in 1969, not its builder category, and had never played for the Penguins. However, the team continues to acknowledge an affiliation as a Penguins Hall of Famer.[112]

Citations

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  14. ^ "How the Isles dynasty survived some the Penguins".
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  16. ^ . post-gazette.com. March 28, 2004. Archived from the original on March 11, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
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  19. ^ "Fleury has history against him". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
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  22. ^ "It Was a Great Night For Hockey – in Kansas City". National Hockey League. from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  23. ^ "It Was a Great Night For Hockey - in Kansas City". NHL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "Penguins declare impasse, will explore relocation". ESPN.com. March 5, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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Further reading

  • Buker, Rick (2010). Total Penguins: the definitive encyclopedia of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Chicago, Ill: Triumph Books. ISBN 9781600783975.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pittsburgh Penguins.
  • Official website

March 15, 2023
pittsburgh, penguins, colloquially, known, pens, professional, hockey, team, based, pittsburgh, they, compete, national, hockey, league, member, metropolitan, division, eastern, conference, have, played, their, home, games, paints, arena, originally, known, co. The Pittsburgh Penguins colloquially known as the Pens are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh They compete in the National Hockey League NHL as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference and have played their home games at PPG Paints Arena originally known as Consol Energy Center since 2010 The team previously played at the Civic Arena also known as the Igloo The Penguins are currently affiliated with two minor league teams the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League AHL and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL Pittsburgh Penguins2022 23 Pittsburgh Penguins seasonConferenceEasternDivisionMetropolitanFounded1967HistoryPittsburgh Penguins1967 presentHome arenaPPG Paints ArenaCityPittsburgh PennsylvaniaColorsBlack Pittsburgh gold white 1 2 3 MediaAT amp T SportsNet PittsburghThe X 105 9 FM ESPN Pittsburgh 970 AM Pittsburgh Penguins Radio NetworkOwner s Fenway Sports Group majority Ronald BurkleMario LemieuxGeneral managerRon HextallHead coachMike SullivanCaptainSidney CrosbyMinor league affiliatesWilkes Barre Scranton Penguins AHL Wheeling Nailers ECHL Stanley Cups5 1990 91 1991 92 2008 09 2015 16 2016 17 Conference championships6 1990 91 1991 92 2007 08 2008 09 2015 16 2016 17 Presidents Trophy1 1992 93 Division championships9 1990 91 1992 93 1993 94 1995 96 1997 98 2007 08 2012 13 2013 14 2020 21 Official websitenhl wbr com wbr penguinsFounded during the 1967 expansion the Penguins have qualified for six Stanley Cup Finals winning the Stanley Cup five times in 1991 1992 2009 2016 and 2017 Along with the Edmonton Oilers the Penguins are tied for the most Stanley Cup championships among the non Original Six teams and sixth overall With their Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017 the Penguins became the first back to back champions in the salary cap era Several of the team s former members have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame including co owner Mario Lemieux who purchased the Penguins in 1999 and brought the club out of bankruptcy Lemieux Jaromir Jagr Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have won the Hart Memorial Trophy while playing for the franchise The Penguins have made the playoffs every year since the 2006 07 season currently holding the NHL record for most consecutive playoff seasons with 16 This record is also the longest in North American Sports as of 2023 Contents 1 Team history 1 1 Early years 1967 1984 1 1 1 Triumph of playoff berths and tragedy of Briere 1969 1974 1 1 2 Playoff runs and a uniform change 1974 1982 1 2 Lemieux Jagr era 1984 2005 1 2 1 Back to back Stanley Cup titles 1989 1997 1 2 2 Lemieux s retirement and return 1997 2001 1 2 3 Rebuilding 2001 2005 1 3 Crosby Malkin era 2005 present 1 3 1 Runner up and third Stanley Cup title 2006 2009 1 3 2 New arena and injuries 2009 2015 1 3 3 Back to back Stanley Cups and 50th anniversary 2015 2017 1 3 4 Contenders 2017 present 2 Team culture 2 1 Fanbase 2 2 Rivalries 2 2 1 Philadelphia Flyers 2 2 2 Washington Capitals 3 Team information 3 1 Crest and sweater design 3 2 Media 3 2 1 Radio 3 2 2 Broadcasters 3 2 3 In game announcers 3 3 Arenas 3 4 Minor league affiliates 4 Season by season record 5 Players 5 1 Current roster 5 2 Honored members 5 2 1 Retired numbers 5 2 2 Hockey Hall of Fame 5 2 3 Team captains 5 3 Franchise individual records 5 4 Franchise goaltending leaders 5 4 1 Franchise playoff scoring leaders 6 Front office and coaching staff 7 In the community 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksTeam historyEarly years 1967 1984 Prior to the arrival of the Penguins Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL s Pittsburgh Pirates from 1925 to 1930 and of the American Hockey League s Pittsburgh Hornets franchise from 1936 to 1967 with a short break from 1956 to 1961 In the spring of 1965 Jack McGregor a state senator from Kittanning Pennsylvania began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh The senator formed a group of local investors that included H J Heinz Company heir H J Heinz III Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney and the Mellon family s Richard Mellon Scaife The projected league expansion depended on securing votes from the then current NHL owners to ensure Pittsburgh would be selected as one of the expansion cities McGregor enlisted Rooney to petition votes from James D Norris owner of the Chicago Black Hawks and his brother Bruce Norris owner of the Detroit Red Wings The effort was successful and on February 8 1966 the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967 68 season The Penguins paid 2 5 million 21 1 million today for their entry and 750 000 6 1 million today more for start up costs The Civic Arena s capacity was boosted from 10 732 to 12 500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion The Pens also paid an indemnification bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings which owned the Pittsburgh Hornets franchise The investor group named McGregor president and chief executive officer and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL s Board of Governors 4 5 The Civic Arena s capacity was increased to meet NHL requirements for a franchise The arena served as the Penguins home arena from 1967 to 2010 A contest was held where 700 of 26 000 entries picked Penguins as the team s nickname sharing its nickname with the athletic department of the newly named Youngstown State University in nearby Youngstown Ohio Youngstown is part of the Penguins territorial rights to this day though they did briefly share them with the Cleveland Barons in the mid 1970s Mark Peters had the winning entry which was inspired because the team was to play in the Igloo the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena 6 7 a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle which symbolized the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh 6 8 The Penguins first general manager Jack Riley opened the first pre season camp for the franchise in Brantford Ontario 9 on September 13 1967 playing the franchise s first exhibition match in Brantford against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 23 1967 Restrictive rules which kept most major talent with the existing Original Six teams hampered the Pens along with the rest of the expansion teams Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate all star defenseman Leo Boivin who had begun his professional career with the Hornets and New York Rangers veteran Earl Ingarfield a cast of former minor leaguers largely manned the first Penguins team Several players played for the Hornets the previous season Bathgate wingers Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald and goaltenders Hank Bassen and Joe Daley George Sullivan was named the head coach for the club s first two seasons and McDonald was named the team s first captain 10 On October 11 1967 league president Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens 4 On October 21 1967 they became the first team from the expansion class to defeat an Original Six team as they defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4 2 However the Penguins went 27 34 13 and finished in fifth place in the West Division missing the playoffs and ending with the third worst record in the league The team s best player proved to be longtime Cleveland Barons AHL goaltender Les Binkley who recorded a 2 88 goals against average and was second in the league with six shutouts Defensive winger Ken Schinkel won the team s sole league honor being named to represent the Penguins in the NHL All Star Game Bathgate led the team in scoring with 59 points but retired at season s end McDonald who led the team in goals and was second in team scoring was also gone at season s end traded to the St Louis Blues in exchange for center Lou Angotti 5 The next season 1968 69 saw the team slip in the standings amid a sharp drop in form by Binkley into sixth place and with the league s worst record Several changes were made to improve the team resulting in Boivin and several others being traded and new players including longtime future Pens star Jean Pronovost making their debuts No captain was named to replace McDonald the team went with four alternate captains Triumph of playoff berths and tragedy of Briere 1969 1974 Michel Briere s number was taken out of circulation after his career ending accident in 1970 It was later formally retired in 2001 In the 1969 draft the Penguins selected Michel Briere who although being chosen 26th was soon drawing comparisons to Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke Joining the team in November he finished as the second place rookie scorer in the NHL behind Bobby Clarke with 44 points 57th overall and third on the Penguins Briere placed second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting for Rookie of the Year honors behind Chicago goaltender Tony Esposito Briere led Pittsburgh to its first NHL playoff berth since the 1928 Pirates The Penguins defeated the Oakland Seals in a four game sweep in the quarterfinals with Briere scoring the series clinching goal in overtime In the semi final round defending conference champions St Louis Blues got the best of the Penguins during six games Briere led the team in playoff scoring recording five goals including three game winners and eight points Tragedy struck the Penguins just days after their playoff heroics On May 15 1970 Briere was in a car crash in his native Quebec suffering brain trauma and slipping into a coma from which he would never recover he died a year later His number 21 jersey was never reissued remaining out of circulation until it was formally retired in 2001 5 In the 1970 71 season the Penguins finished five games out of the playoffs with a 21 37 20 record the fourth worst record in the league Pittsburgh achieved a playoff berth in 1972 only to be swept by the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round Except for a handful of players like Ken Schinkel Pronovost Syl Apps Jr Keith McCreary agitator Bryan Watson and goaltender Les Binkley talent was thin but enough for the Penguins to reach the playoffs in both 1970 and 1972 The Penguins battled the California Golden Seals for the division cellar in 1974 when Riley was fired as general manager and replaced by Jack Button Button obtained Steve Durbano Ab DeMarco Bob Battleship Kelly and Bob Paradise through trades The personnel moves proved successful and the team improved to a 28 41 9 record although they remained nine points away from a playoff berth However in early 1975 the Penguins creditors demanded payment of back debts forcing the team into bankruptcy The doors to the team s offices were padlocked and it looked like the Penguins would fold or relocate 11 Around the same time rumors began circulating that the Penguins and the California Golden Seals were to be relocated to Seattle and Denver respectively the two cities that were to have been the sites of an expansion for the 1976 77 season 12 Through the intervention of a group that included former Minnesota North Stars head coach Wren Blair the team was prevented from folding and remained in Pittsburgh eventually being bought by shopping mall magnate Edward J DeBartolo Sr Playoff runs and a uniform change 1974 1982 During the mid 1970s Lowell MacDonald was paired with Syl Apps Jr and Jean Pronovost forming the Century Line MacDonald played with the Penguins from 1970 to 1978 Beginning in the mid 1970s Pittsburgh iced some powerful offensive clubs led by the likes of the Century Line of Syl Apps Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost They nearly reached the Stanley Cup semi finals in 1975 but were ousted from the playoffs by the New York Islanders in one of the only four best of seven game series in NHL history where a team came back from being down three games to none As the 1970s wore on a mediocre team defense neutralized the Penguins success beyond the regular season Baz Bastien a former coach and general manager of the AHL s Hornets later became general manager The Penguins missed the playoffs in 1977 78 Bastien traded prime draft picks for several players whose best years were already behind them and the team would suffer in the early 1980s as a result The decade closed with a playoff appearance in 1979 and a rousing opening series win over the Buffalo Sabres before a second round sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins 5 The Penguins began the 1980s by changing their team colors in January 1980 the team switched from wearing blue and white to their present day scheme of black and gold to honor Pittsburgh s other sports teams the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as the Flag of Pittsburgh Both the Pirates and Steelers had worn black and gold for decades and both had enjoyed world championship seasons The Bruins protested this color change claiming a monopoly on black and gold but the Penguins defended their choice stating that the NHL Pirates also used black and gold as their team colors and that black and gold were Pittsburgh s traditional sporting colors The NHL agreed and Pittsburgh could use black and gold The Penguins officially debuted the black and gold uniform in a game against the St Louis Blues at the Civic Arena on January 30 1980 13 On the ice the Penguins began the 1980s with defenseman Randy Carlyle and prolific scorers Paul Gardner and Mike Bullard but little else During the early part of the decade the Penguins made a habit of being a tough draw for higher seeded opponents in the playoffs In 1980 the 13th seeded Penguins took the Bruins to the limit in their first round playoff series The following season as the 15th seed they lost the decisive game of their first round series in overtime to the heavily favored St Louis Blues Then in the 1982 playoffs the Penguins held a 3 1 lead late in the fifth and final game of their playoff series against the reigning champions the New York Islanders However the Islanders rallied to force overtime and won the series on a goal by John Tonelli who had tied the game before 14 It would be the Pens final playoff appearance until 1989 Lemieux Jagr era 1984 2005 Mario Lemieux played for the Penguins in three stints 1984 1994 1995 1997 2000 2006 The team had the league s worst record in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons With the team suffering financial problems it seemed the Penguins would either fold or relocate Mario Lemieux one of the most highly touted NHL draft picks in history was due to be drafted in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft Heading towards the end of the season ahead of the New Jersey Devils who were placed last the Penguins made several questionable moves that appeared to weaken the team in the short term They posted three six game winless streaks in the last 21 games of the season and earned the right to draft Lemieux amidst protests from Devils management 15 Pittsburgh head coach Lou Angotti later admitted that a conscious decision was made to finish the season as the team with the worst record saying in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that a mid season lunch prompted the plan because there was a high chance of the franchise folding if Lemieux was not drafted 16 Other teams offered substantial trade packages for the draft choice but the Penguins kept the pick and drafted Lemieux first overall Lemieux paid dividends right away scoring on his first ever shot of his first ever NHL shift in his first NHL game However the team spent four more years out of the playoffs after his arrival In the late 1980s the Penguins finally gave Lemieux a strong supporting cast trading for superstar defenseman Paul Coffey from the Edmonton Oilers after the Oilers 1987 Stanley Cup win and bringing in young talent like scorers Kevin Stevens Rob Brown and John Cullen from the minors The team finally acquired a top flight goaltender with the acquisition of Tom Barrasso from Buffalo All this talent had an immediate impact in helping Lemieux lead the Pens but the team struggled to make the playoffs The 1985 86 Pens missed the playoffs on the final day of the season by one game In 1986 87 they missed the playoffs by just two games and saw four teams with equal or worse records qualify In 1987 88 for the second time in a row the Penguins missed the playoffs by one game 10 In 1989 Pittsburgh finally broke through the barrier and made the playoffs on the back of Lemieux leading the league in goals assists and points On December 31 1988 Lemieux became the only player in history to score a goal in all five possible game situations in the same game even strength shorthanded penalty shot power play and empty net The Pens shocked the New York Rangers in a four game sweep in the first round however the Philadelphia Flyers halted their in the second round The seven game defeat featured Lemieux scoring five goals in the fifth game 10 Back to back Stanley Cup titles 1989 1997 A herniated disc in Lemieux s back cut short his 1989 90 season although he still amassed 123 points However the Penguins fell out of the playoff picture They opted to strengthen their roster and support Lemieux in the 1990 off season Free agent signings Bryan Trottier and trades Joe Mullen Larry Murphy Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson played a major part in this Arguably no move was bigger during this time than when the Penguins drafted Jaromir Jagr with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft The first Czechoslovak player to be drafted into the NHL without first needing to defect to the West Jagr became the Penguins second franchise player and quickly developed into a superstar offensive talent The roster overhaul culminated in the Penguins winning their first Stanley Cup title by defeating the Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games punctuated by an 8 0 victory in the deciding game the largest margin of victory in a final Stanley Cup game in over 80 years After the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals the Penguins met with President George H W Bush the first NHL team ever to visit the White House 17 The following season the team lost coach Bob Johnson to cancer and Scotty Bowman took over as coach Under Bowman they swept the Chicago Blackhawks to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 1991 92 5 10 Cancer revisited the Penguins in 1993 when Lemieux was tragically diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma Only two months after the diagnosis missing 24 out of 84 games he came back to win his fourth Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion with 160 points edging out Pat LaFontaine and Adam Oates Despite the off ice difficulties Pittsburgh finished with a 56 21 7 record the franchise s best regular season ever winning the Presidents Trophy After Lemieux s return the team played better than it ever had before winning an NHL record 17 consecutive games Despite all of this success the New York Islanders eliminated them in the second round of Game 7 in overtime 10 5 The Penguins continued to be a formidable team throughout the 1990s The stars of the Stanley Cup years were followed by the likes of forwards Alexei Kovalev Martin Straka Aleksey Morozov Robert Lang and Petr Nedved and defensemen Sergei Zubov Darius Kasparaitis and Kevin Hatcher Despite the departure of many of the franchise s Stanley Cup winning roster the Penguins fielded enough talent to reach the first round of the playoffs in 1994 where they lost to the Washington Capitals in six games the second round in 1995 where they lost to the New Jersey Devils in five games and the conference finals in 1996 where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games The 1997 playoffs marked a turning point as the Penguins suffered a first round elimination at the hands of the rival Philadelphia Flyers in five games 10 Lemieux s retirement and return 1997 2001 Lemieux with the Penguins during the 2000 01 season his first season after coming out of retirement On April 6 1997 the franchise was rocked when Mario Lemieux citing ongoing health concerns and his disapproval with the way NHL hockey was being officiated announced he would retire at the conclusion of the 1997 playoffs Lemieux was so respected in the NHL and his achievements over the course of his career were so great that he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the year he retired the three year waiting period being waived His departure was the first in a series of events that would once again lead the Penguins into regular season stagnation and to the brink of financial ruin The Montreal Canadiens eliminated the team in the first round of the playoffs in 1998 despite being the second seeded team in the East The following year their playoff run ended in the second round when they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games In 2000 the Penguins stunned the highly touted Washington Capitals 4 1 in the first round only to fall to the Philadelphia Flyers 4 2 in the second round By this time the lofty contracts handed out during the early 1990s were catching up with the Penguins At one point the team owed over 90 million to numerous creditors leading then owners Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg who bought the Penguins after their first Stanley Cup win to ask the players to defer their salaries to help pay the bills When the deferred salaries finally came due combined with other financial pressures the Penguins were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1998 Lemieux then stepped in with an unusual proposal to buy the team out of bankruptcy The Penguins owed Lemieux 32 5 million in deferred salary making him the team s largest individual creditor He proposed recovering this money by converting it into equity enough to give him controlling interest He also vowed to keep the team in Pittsburgh The NHL and the courts agreed and Lemieux with help from supermarket tycoon Ronald Burkle assumed control on September 3 1999 saving the franchise for the second time 5 Lemieux again shocked the hockey world by announcing at a press conference on December 8 2000 his intentions to return to the Penguins as an active player On December 27 2000 Lemieux stepped onto NHL ice for the first time in 44 months officially becoming the first player owner in NHL history Lemieux helped lead the Penguins deep into the 2001 playoffs highlighted by an overtime victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of the second round Darius Kasparaitis scored the series clinching goal to advance the Penguins to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost in five games to the New Jersey Devils 5 Rebuilding 2001 2005 Marc Andre Fleury was drafted first overall in 2003 by the Penguins The Penguins attendance had dwindled in the late 1990s In 1998 99 the club had an average attendance of 14 825 at home games the lowest it had been since Lemieux s rookie year 18 Reducing revenue on top of the previous bankruptcy necessitated salary shedding The biggest salary move was the trading of superstar Jaromir Jagr to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2001 The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years in 2002 finishing in a tie for third to last in their conference The following season they finished second last In the 2003 NHL Entry Draft the Penguins selected goaltender Marc Andre Fleury with the first overall pick 19 20 The 2003 04 season was an ordeal with Lemieux missing all but 24 regular season games with a hip injury and attendance dipping to an average of 11 877 the lowest average of any NHL team with just one sellout 18 As the season progressed the Penguins signed new head coach and former Penguins player and commentator Eddie Olczyk and opted not to include Fleury in the lineup for the bulk of the season This culminated in the worst record in the NHL with the team winning just 23 games As in the 1980s the Penguins struggles were fortuitously concurrent with a string of NHL Entry Draft classes that would yield multiple world class talents The Penguins lost out on the first overall pick for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft Alexander Ovechkin which went to the Washington Capitals However Ovechkin s countryman center Evgeni Malkin was similarly highly regarded and Pittsburgh took him with the second overall pick However a transfer dispute between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF delayed his Pittsburgh debut 21 By this point the Penguins had collapsed financially since the Stanley Cup winning years of the early 1990s Their home venue the Civic Arena had become the oldest arena in the NHL and Lemieux had tried unsuccessfully to cut a deal with the city for a new facility With Pittsburgh uninterested in building a new hockey arena for the struggling Penguins Lemieux began looking into the possibilities of selling and or relocating the team to Kansas City Missouri 22 23 24 25 A lockout prompted the cancellation of the 2004 05 NHL season One of the many reasons for the lockout included disagreements on resolving the financial struggles of teams like the Penguins and the Ottawa Senators which had filed for bankruptcy protection 26 During the lockout the Penguins players dispersed between the club s American Hockey League AHL affiliate the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins and to European leagues 5 Crosby Malkin era 2005 present Sidney Crosby during his sophomore season with the Penguins He was drafted first overall by the team in the 2005 draft With the lockout resolved in 2005 the NHL organized an unprecedented draft lottery to set the 2005 NHL Entry Draft selection order The draft lottery which was held behind closed doors in a secure location resulted in the Penguins being awarded the first overall pick 27 28 29 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League QMJHL superstar Sidney Crosby who had been training with Lemieux over the summer 27 was the consensus first overall pick with many referring to the draft lottery process as The Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes The Penguins selected Crosby on July 30 2005 with the top pick instantly rekindling interest in hockey in Pittsburgh 10 The Penguins began rebuilding the team under the salary cap However Evgeni Malkin the Penguins 2004 draft pick could not report to Pittsburgh immediately because of a playing rights dispute with the Russian Superleague The addition of Crosby paid instant dividends with attendance rising by approximately 4 000 per game on average in the 2005 06 season 18 However Crosby s presence did not immediately translate into wins as the team began the season with a long winless skid that resulted in a head coaching change from Olczyk to Michel Therrien Then on January 24 2006 Lemieux announced his second retirement after developing an irregular heartbeat this time permanently He finished as the NHL s seventh all time scorer 1 723 eighth in goals 690 and tenth in assists 1 033 and with the second highest career points per game average 1 88 which is second to Wayne Gretzky s 1 92 30 31 Despite the team s struggles Crosby established himself as a star in the league amassing 102 points in his debut season and finishing second to Alexander Ovechkin for the Calder Memorial Trophy awarded each year to the league s top rookie In the Penguins final game of the season Crosby tallied a goal and an assist to become the top scoring rookie in Penguin history eclipsing Lemieux The Penguins again posted the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the highest goals against total in the League They received the second overall draft pick their fourth top two pick in four years in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and selected touted two way forward Jordan Staal The team announced on April 20 they would not renew the contract for general manager Craig Patrick who had been the general manager since December 1989 32 On May 25 Ray Shero signed a five year contract as general manager Runner up and third Stanley Cup title 2006 2009 Evgeni Malkin made an immediate impact driving the Penguins to their first playoff appearance in six years Change came for the Penguins on October 18 2006 when Evgeni Malkin made his NHL debut He set the modern NHL record with a goal in each of his first six games Malkin would record points in 16 consecutive games 33 The Penguins finished the 2006 07 season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 47 24 11 totaling 105 points only two points behind the Atlantic Division winners the New Jersey Devils It was the franchise s first 100 point season in 11 years and represented an enormous 47 point leap from the previous season In the first round of the 2007 playoffs the eventual Stanley Cup runners up the Ottawa Senators defeated the Penguins 4 1 At the season s end rookies Malkin and Jordan Staal were finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy awarded to the Rookie of the Year which Malkin won On March 13 2007 Pennsylvania s Governor Ed Rendell Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Mario Lemieux of the Penguins ownership group announced an agreement had been reached among the parties to build the long sought arena The state of the art multi purpose facility the Consol Energy Center guaranteed that the Penguins would remain in the city of Pittsburgh Following the announcement of the plan the Lemieux ownership group announced they no longer had plans to sell the team On June 8 2007 a 325 million bond was issued and the Penguins signed a 30 year lease on September 19 binding them to the city of Pittsburgh through 2040 34 After a mediocre start to the 2007 08 season Crosby and starting goaltender Marc Andre Fleury were both injured long term due to high right ankle sprains In their absence the team flourished because of the play and leadership of Malkin On April 2 2008 the Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division title their first division title in 10 years with a 4 2 win against rivals the Philadelphia Flyers Malkin finished the season with 106 points for second place in the league and finished as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy The team launched into their first extended playoff run in many years beating Ottawa 4 0 defeating the New York Rangers 4 1 and then defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4 1 to clinch the Prince of Wales Trophy Pittsburgh lost the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals to the Detroit Red Wings in six games finishing the playoffs with a 14 6 record Crosby finished the playoffs with 27 points 6 goals and 21 assists in 20 games tying Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg 13 goals and 14 assists in 22 games for the playoff scoring lead Crosby Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz during the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals The Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the Finals earning their third Stanley Cup title In the 2008 09 season Malkin won the Art Ross and was again a candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy Crosby finished third in League scoring with 33 goals and 70 assists for 103 points despite missing five games The Penguins record dipped mid season but lifted after Dan Bylsma replaced head coach Therrien The effect was almost instantaneous and the Penguins recovered enough to secure home ice advantage in their first round match up against the Philadelphia Flyers whom the Penguins defeated in six games It took seven games for the Penguins to win the next series against Washington sending them to the Eastern Conference Finals where they eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in a four game sweep After defeating the Hurricanes the Penguins earned their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings to whom they lost the previous year After losing Games 1 and 2 in Detroit like the previous years the Penguins won Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh Each team won on home ice in Games 5 and 6 In Game 7 in Detroit Maxime Talbot scored two goals including the game winner as the Penguins won 2 1 to win their third Stanley Cup title 35 Malkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs 10 New arena and injuries 2009 2015 Outside of Consol Energy Center now PPG Paints Arena in March 2010 before it officially opened During the 2009 10 season Crosby scored 109 points 51 goals and 58 assists in 81 games winning the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL season s leading goalscorer The Penguins seeded fourth in the East began their title defense defeating the Ottawa Senators in six games In the next round the Penguins faced the Montreal Canadiens The teams swapped wins in the series en route to the decisive Game 7 which the Penguins lost 5 2 ending their season and their tenure at Mellon Arena 36 The Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field during the 2011 NHL Winter Classic In 2010 11 the Penguins played their first game in the Consol Energy Center On February 11 2011 the Pittsburgh Penguins New York Islanders brawl took place 37 A season ending concussion suffered by Crosby and a knee injury to Malkin marred the season The team left early in the playoffs blowing a 3 1 series lead to Tampa Bay Lightning with Fleury s goaltending called into question 38 With Crosby still sidelined with post concussion syndrome at the start of the 2011 12 season Malkin led the Penguins top line and dominated league scoring He finished with 50 goals and 109 points as the Penguins earned 51 wins on the season With Malkin s Art Ross winning performance and Crosby s late season return from injury the Penguins headed into the 2012 playoffs with high hopes of making a significant Stanley Cup run However their cross state rivals the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the highly favored Penguins in six games 39 Malkin was later awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B Pearson award Following the Penguins disappointing playoff exit general manager Ray Shero made changes to the team at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft for the upcoming 2012 13 season 40 41 During the lockout shortened 2012 13 season the Penguins again fought through serious injury At the end of the regular season they finished atop the Eastern Conference matching up against the New York Islanders in round one The Penguins defeated the Islanders in six games with Fleury struggling once again The team then dispatched the Ottawa Senators in five games before being swept in the Conference Finals by the Boston Bruins scoring just two goals in the entire four game sweep On June 13 2013 Malkin signed an eight year contract extension worth an annual average of 9 5 million 42 On July 1 2015 the Penguins acquired right winger Phil Kessel in a multi player deal In the 2013 14 season the Penguins suffered numerous injuries throughout the campaign Despite the adversity the Penguins won the realigned eight team Metropolitan Division though the club struggled in the playoffs requiring six games to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets then losing to the New York Rangers in seven games despite leading the series 3 1 after four games This collapse prompted Penguins ownership to fire general manager Shero replacing him on June 6 with Jim Rutherford the former general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes 43 Rutherford s first action as general manager was to fire head coach Dan Bylsma and on June 25 he announced that Mike Johnston was hired as Bylsma s replacement In the 2014 15 season the Penguins led the Metropolitan Division for the first half of the season However after losing players to injuries and illnesses including the mumps the team fell to fourth in the Division The Pens lost in five games to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs In the off season Rutherford traded several players and picks to acquire star winger Phil Kessel 44 Back to back Stanley Cups and 50th anniversary 2015 2017 After acquiring Kessel the Penguins had high expectations for the 2015 16 season However by December 12 2015 the team was barely managing a winning season posting a 15 10 3 record The organization fired head coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with Mike Sullivan who had previously served as the head coach in Wilkes Barre Scranton 45 This move was followed by a series of trades by Jim Rutherford 46 47 Crosby with the Stanley Cup during the Penguins victory parade The team won their fourth Stanley Cup championship in 2016 The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season They earned second place in the Metropolitan Division with 104 points In the playoffs the Penguins defeated the Rangers in a 4 1 series the Capitals 4 2 and the Lightning 4 3 to win the Eastern Conference Championship advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals against the San Jose Sharks 48 On June 12 2016 the Penguins defeated the Sharks in a 4 2 series to win their fourth Stanley Cup title Captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy 49 The Penguins opened their 50th anniversary season in the NHL as defending Stanley Cup champions raising their commemorative banner on October 13 2016 in a shootout victory over Washington 50 The Penguins faced the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round of the 2017 playoffs defeating them in five games In the second round they played against their divisional rival Washington and faced them for the second straight year in the same round winning a seven game series In the Conference Finals the Penguins eliminated the Ottawa Senators in seven games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals where they faced the Nashville Predators The Penguins won the first two games of the finals and then lost the next two matchups before dominating the fifth and the sixth games of the series to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year By defending their title the Penguins became the first team since the 1997 98 Detroit Red Wings to defend their title successfully and the first to do so in the salary cap era 5 Patric Hornqvist celebrates the 2017 Stanley Cup clinching goal against the Nashville Predators Contenders 2017 present Before the 2017 18 season the Penguins lost longtime goaltender Marc Andre Fleury in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft to the Vegas Golden Knights 51 Nevertheless the Penguins again qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs with the second division playoff spot finishing the regular season with 100 points They defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round in six games but were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in six games 52 In the next season the Penguins clinched a playoff berth but were swept by the New York Islanders in the First Round 53 In the following season which was shortened by the COVID 19 pandemic the team advanced to the 2020 playoffs but were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in the Qualifying Round 54 On February 9 2021 the Penguins named Ron Hextall as their new general manager after Jim Rutherford resigned from his post on January 27 because of personal reasons Brian Burke was hired as president of hockey operations 55 56 On February 21 Crosby became the first player to reach 1 000 NHL games for the team 57 The Penguins won the East Division title extending their playoff streak to 15 seasons 58 This became the longest active streak in North American sports as a result of the San Antonio Spurs missing the 2020 NBA playoffs 59 The 2020 21 season came to an end in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs against the New York Islanders 60 On November 29 2021 Fenway Sports Group announced its intent to purchase a controlling stake in the Penguins 61 On December 31 2021 they officially took over as majority owners of the Penguins 62 Team cultureFanbase Iceburgh the mascot of the Pittsburgh Penguins Despite Pittsburgh s long history with hockey and a small but loyal fanbase the Penguins struggled with fan support early on in its history at times averaging only 6 000 fans per game when Civic Arena had a seating capacity of over 16 000 Fan support was so low by the team s first bankruptcy that the NHL had no problem with the team being moved something that would change decades later when the team faced another relocation threat While the drafting of Mario Lemieux piqued interest in hockey locally fans remained skeptical John Steigerwald brother of former Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald 63 noted in his autobiography that upon his arrival at KDKA TV from WTAE TV in 1985 the station cared more about the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League than the Penguins 64 However Lemieux s play steadily grew the fanbase in the area which would only be reassured upon the arrival of Sidney Crosby after the team struggled both on the ice and in attendance following the Jaromir Jagr trade Today the Penguins are one of the NHL s most popular teams especially among American non Original Six franchises and are considered second behind the Steelers among Pittsburgh s three major professional sports teams taking advantage of both its success and the Pittsburgh Pirates struggles both on and off the field 65 Especially notable was a 2007 survey done of the four major sports leagues 122 teams The Penguins surprised observers by being ranked 20th overall and third among NHL teams while the Steelers were ranked number one and the Pirates before the arrival of Andrew McCutchen and that team s turnaround 66 ranked much lower on the list than its peers The Penguins popularity has at times rivaled that of the Steelers at the local level 67 Rivalries Philadelphia Flyers Main article Flyers Penguins rivalry Considered by some to be the best rivalry in the NHL 68 69 70 the Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins rivalry began in 1967 when the teams were introduced in the NHL s Next Six expansion wave The rivalry exists both due to divisional alignment and geographic location as both teams play in Pennsylvania The Flyers lead the head to head record with a 153 98 30 record 71 However the Penguins eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs in 2008 and 2009 and were eliminated by them from the playoffs in 2012 strengthening the rivalry Three years later the Flyers won the sixth playoff meeting between the clubs to advance to the Conference Semi finals 72 The franchises have met seven times in the playoffs with the Flyers winning four series 1989 Patrick Division Finals 4 3 1997 Eastern Conference Quarter finals 4 1 2000 Eastern Conference Semi finals 4 2 and 2012 Eastern Conference Quarter finals 4 2 and the Penguins winning three 2008 Eastern Conference Finals 4 1 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals 4 2 and 2018 Eastern Conference First Round 4 2 Washington Capitals Main article Capitals Penguins rivalry An altercation between the Penguins and the Washington Capitals during the 2009 playoffs The two teams have faced off 11 times in the playoffs with the Penguins winning nine of the 11 matchups their two series losses coming in the 1994 and 2018 playoffs The Penguins defeated the Capitals en route to their five Stanley Cup victories They have met in a decisive game 7 in the 1992 1995 2009 and 2017 playoffs The NHL s fourth Winter Classic played on January 1 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh showcased this rivalry The Capitals won the game 3 1 The rivalry can also be seen in the American Hockey League AHL Pittsburgh s top farm team is the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins and their in state and biggest rivals are the Capitals top farm team the Hershey Bears 73 74 75 Team informationCrest and sweater design When the Penguins made their NHL debut in 1967 the team wore the colors dark blue light blue and white The uniforms had the word Pittsburgh written diagonally down the front of the sweater with three dark blue stripes around the sleeves and bottom The logo featured a hockey playing penguin in a scarf over an inverted triangle symbolizing the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh A refined version of the logo appeared on a redesigned uniform in the second season which removed the scarf and gave the penguin a sleeker look The circle encompassing the logo was later removed 76 The team s colors were originally powder blue navy blue and white The powder blue was changed to royal blue in 1973 but returned in 1977 The team adopted the current black and gold color scheme in 1980 to unify the colors of the city s professional sports teams although like the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Steelers the shade of gold more closely resembled yellow The change was not without controversy as the Boston Bruins protested by claiming to own the rights to the black and gold colors However the Penguins cited the colors worn by the now defunct NHL team the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1920s as well as black and gold being the official colors of the City of Pittsburgh and its namesake and obtained permission to use the black and gold colors The NHL s Pittsburgh Pirates used old Pittsburgh Police uniforms 77 beginning the black and gold color tradition in the city 76 The Penguins generally wore the black and gold skating penguin uniform between 1980 and 1992 with a few noticeable changes in the lettering and striping A gold alternate uniform was worn between 1980 and 1984 and briefly replaced the white uniform for home games in the 1983 84 season 76 In the 1992 93 season the Penguins unveiled new uniforms and introduced the flying penguin logo or Robopenguin 78 79 The team s away uniforms were a throwback to the team s first season as they revived the diagonal Pittsburgh script In 1995 the team introduced their second alternate jersey featuring different stripe designs on each sleeve This jersey proved to be so popular that the team adopted it as their away jersey in 1997 In 2000 the Penguins brought back the skating penguin logo but with a Vegas gold shade upon releasing its new alternate uniform After 2002 the skating penguin was readopted as the primary though the flying penguin remained the alternate A corresponding white version of the Vegas gold uniforms was introduced and the 1995 2002 black uniform was retired When the new jerseys were unveiled for the 2007 08 season league wide the Penguins made major striping pattern changes and removed the flying penguin logo from the shoulders 76 Throughout the 2016 17 season a commemorative patch was added to the uniforms to celebrate the team s 50th anniversary The Penguins have worn their black jersey at home since the league began the initiative to do so beginning with the 2003 04 NHL season The team wore their powder blue 1968 1972 throwbacks against the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL Winter Classic This throwback was supposedly retired with the introduction of a new dark blue third jersey that made its debut at the 2011 NHL Winter Classic 80 For the 2011 12 season the 2011 Winter Classic jersey was the team s official third uniform with the 2008 Winter Classic uniform having been retired 81 Called the Blue Jerseys of Doom by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review the alternate jerseys were worn when Sidney Crosby sustained a broken jaw and when he suffered a concussion in the 2011 Winter Classic Evgeni Malkin was also concussed during a game when the Penguins donned the alternate uniforms 76 82 83 In 2014 the Penguins released their new alternate uniforms The new black uniforms are throwbacks to the early part of Lemieux s playing career emulating the uniforms worn by the Penguins 1991 and 1992 Cup winning teams The new alternate uniform featured Pittsburgh gold the particular shade of gold which had been retired when the Penguins switched to the metallic gold full time in 2002 84 The Penguins eventually brought back a white version of the black Pittsburgh gold alternates thus retiring the Vegas gold uniforms they wore from 2000 to 2016 A commemorative patch was added to the uniforms throughout the 2016 17 season to celebrate the team s 50th anniversary 85 During the 2017 NHL Stadium Series against the archrival Philadelphia Flyers the Penguins wore a special gold uniform featuring military inspired lettering a City of Champions patch and a variation of the skating penguin logo 86 This design served as the basis for the team s third uniform which was unveiled in the 2018 19 season and was also partly inspired by the early 1980s gold uniforms 87 The Penguins wore monochrome black uniforms minus the white elements when they faced the Flyers again in the 2019 NHL Stadium Series 88 In 2021 the Penguins wore white Reverse Retro uniforms based on the 1992 97 uniforms This set replaced the flying penguin with the alternate skating penguin logo minus the gold triangle on the shoulders 89 A black version served as the replacement for the gold alternate uniforms starting in the 2021 22 season 90 In the 2022 23 season the Penguins unveiled their second Reverse Retro uniform this time featuring a black version of the white flying penguin uniform they wore from 1992 to 2002 91 For the 2023 NHL Winter Classic the Penguins went with a vintage white uniform with black stripes and added a gold P logo as a nod to the NHL Pirates of the late 1920s 92 Media Radio Further information Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network The Penguins currently have their radio home on WXDX FM and their television home on AT amp T SportsNet Pittsburgh The Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network consists of a total of 34 stations in four states 93 Twenty three of these are in Pennsylvania four in West Virginia three in Ohio and three in Maryland The network also features an FM high definition station in Pittsburgh Broadcasters Main article List of Pittsburgh Penguins broadcasters Local ABC affiliate WTAE TV broadcast the Penguins during the 1967 68 season with station Sports Director Ed Conway handling the play by play during both the television and radio broadcasts He remained the lone play by play broadcaster until the completion of the 1968 69 season Joe Tucker took over for Ed Conway during the 1969 70 season when WPGH TV and WTAE TV split Penguins broadcasts WPGH TV retained the rights to broadcast the Penguins for the 1970 71 season with Bill Hamilton handing the play by play duties The 1970 71 season was also the first season where the Penguins introduced a color commentator to the broadcast team with John MacDonald taking the position in the booth 94 95 Mike Lange served as a play by play commentator for the team from 1974 until 2021 Mike Lange who joined the Penguins broadcast team as a play by play announcer on the radio side in 1974 75 became the play by play broadcaster for the team at the start of the 1979 80 season At his side was Terry Schiffauer who had previously held the position of Penguins director of public relations and eventually transitioned into color commentator for Sam Nover in 1972 73 Lange and Schiffauer remained a team in the Penguins broadcast booth until 1984 85 when Schiffauer was replaced by Paul Steigerwald Lange and Steigerwald remained a constant in the broadcast booth from 1985 until 1999 With Steigerwald s departure in 1999 Mike Lange shared the broadcast booth with former Penguins defenseman Peter Taglianetti Taglianetti remained in the position for one season before being replaced by Eddie Olczyk Lange and Olczyk were broadcast partners from 2000 until 2003 when Olczyk left the booth to become the 18th head coach in Penguins history following the firing of previous head coach Rick Kehoe after the 2002 03 season 96 With Olczyk s vacancy the Penguins hired Bob Errey as their new color commentator for the start of the 2003 04 season Lange and Errey remained in the booth until 2005 06 After 26 seasons in the television broadcast booth FSN Pittsburgh did not retain Mike Lange Instead he was replaced by former broadcast partner Paul Steigerwald who remained the team s TV play by play broadcaster until the 2016 17 season Lange returned to the radio broadcast booth and currently holds the position of radio play by play announcer the same position he held with the team in the mid 1970s Following the 2016 17 season Steigerwald moved back to the Penguins front office and NHL Network personality Steve Mears was hired as the new television play by play announcer starting with the 2017 18 season Lange retired in the 2021 offseason with Josh Getzoff being named as his replacement Currently Phil Bourque serves as the radio color commentator Every Penguins game is currently carried on the AT amp T SportsNet Pittsburgh network which is carried by cable providers in most of two states and parts of four others In addition Fox Sports Ohio simulcasts Penguins hockey in the Cleveland metro area as well as some parts of Eastern Ohio and Northern Kentucky Dish Network Verizon FiOS and Direct TV each carry the Penguins games on their AT amp T SportsNet Pittsburgh channel in HD nationally The Pittsburgh Penguins also receive monthly and sometimes weekly game of the week national exposure on American networks ESPN ESPN ABC and TNT and Canadian networks Sportsnet and CBC Previously the Penguins received national TV exposure on NBC and NBCSN in the U S and TSN in Canada In game announcers Ryan Mill has been the Penguins public address announcer since 2009 when he succeeded John Barbero Jeff Jimerson has been the team s official anthem singer since 1991 and also served in the same capacity in the Jean Claude Van Damme movie Sudden Death Arenas The Penguins called Civic Arena home for over 45 seasons from their inception in 1967 In September 2010 they completed the move to the state of the art Consol Energy Center now named the PPG Paints Arena The Penguins also played two home games in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield Ohio in 1992 and 1993 at the Richfield Coliseum this is not unlike the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA playing an annual pre season game in Pittsburgh 97 the Philadelphia 76ers used the Civic Arena as a second home in the early 1970s 98 The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex under construction in Cranberry Township Pennsylvania in April 2015 The complex opened in August 2015 and is used by the Penguins as their practice facility From 1995 to 2015 the IceoPlex at Southpointe in the South Hills suburbs served as the team s practice facility Robert Morris University s 84 Lumber Arena has served as a secondary practice facility for the team During the franchise s first pre season training camp and pre season exhibition games the Brantford Civic Centre in Brantford Ontario served as its home 99 and by the 1970s and continuing through the 1980s the team was using the suburban Rostraver Ice Garden for training In August 2015 the Penguins and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center UPMC opened the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex combining a new team practice and training facility with a UPMC Sports Medicine treatment and research complex in suburban Cranberry Township near the interchange between Interstate 79 and Pennsylvania Route 228 100 The twin rink facility replaced both the IceoPlex at Southpointe and the 84 Lumber Arena as the Penguins regular practice facility freeing up the Consol Energy Center for other events on days the Penguins are not scheduled to play 101 As with most other NHL arenas the Penguins make use of a goal horn whenever the team scores a goal at home It is also played just before the beginning of a home game and after a Penguins victory Their current goal horn made by Nathan Manufacturing Inc and introduced in 2005 to coincide with Sidney Crosby joining the team was used at both the Civic Arena and the Consol Energy Center 102 103 Minor league affiliates The Penguins have two minor league affiliates assigned to their team The Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins their AHL affiliate have played in Wilkes Barre Township Pennsylvania since 1999 The Penguins also have a secondary affiliate in the ECHL the Wheeling Nailers which they have been associated with since the start of the 2000 01 season 104 Season by season recordMain article List of Pittsburgh Penguins seasons Sidney Crosby with Marc Andre Fleury left and the Stanley Cup during the Penguins victory parade in 2009 This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Penguins 105 Note GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties OTL Overtime Losses Pts Points GF Goals for GA Goals against Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs2017 18 82 47 29 6 100 272 250 2nd Metropolitan Lost in Second Round 2 4 Capitals 2018 19 82 44 26 12 100 273 241 3rd Metropolitan Lost in First Round 0 4 Islanders 2019 20 69 40 23 6 86 224 196 3rd Metropolitan Lost in Qualifying Round 1 3 Canadiens 2020 21 56 37 16 3 77 196 156 1st East Lost in First Round 2 4 Islanders 2021 22 82 46 25 11 103 272 229 3rd Metropolitan Lost in First Round 3 4 Rangers PlayersCurrent roster viewtalkedit Updated March 11 2023 106 107 No Nat Player Pos S G Age Acquired Birthplace15 Josh Archibald RW R 30 2022 Regina Saskatchewan13 Nick Bonino C L 34 2023 Hartford Connecticut77 Jeff Carter C RW R 38 2021 London Ontario87 Sidney Crosby C C L 35 2005 Cole Harbour Nova Scotia1 Casey DeSmith G L 31 2017 Rochester New Hampshire8 Brian Dumoulin D L 31 2012 Biddeford Maine64 Mikael Granlund RW L 31 2023 Oulu Finland59 Jake Guentzel LW L 28 2013 Omaha Nebraska43 Danton Heinen W L 27 2021 Langley British Columbia35 Tristan Jarry G L 27 2013 Surrey British Columbia73 Pierre Olivier Joseph D L 23 2019 Laval Quebec7 Dmitry Kulikov D L 32 2023 Lipetsk Soviet Union58 Kris Letang A D R 35 2005 Montreal Quebec71 Evgeni Malkin A C L 36 2004 Magnitogorsk Soviet Union19 Alexander Nylander LW R 25 2022 Calgary Alberta10 Drew O Connor LW C L 24 2020 Chatham New Jersey28 Marcus Pettersson D L 26 2018 Skelleftea Sweden26 Jeff Petry D R 35 2022 Ann Arbor Michigan25 Ryan Poehling C LW L 24 2022 Lakeville Minnesota67 Rickard Rakell W R 29 2022 Sundbyberg Sweden2 Chad Ruhwedel D R 32 2016 San Diego California17 Bryan Rust RW R 30 2010 Pontiac Michigan44 Jan Rutta D R 32 2022 Pisek Czechoslovakia16 Jason Zucker LW L 31 2020 Newport Beach California Honored members Further information List of Pittsburgh Penguins award winners Retired numbers The banners of numbers retired by the Penguins franchise hang in the rafters of the PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh Penguins retired numbers No Player Position Career No retirement21 108 Michel Briere C 1969 1970 January 5 2001 A 66 109 Mario Lemieux C 1984 19972000 2006 November 19 1997 B NotesA Taken out of circulation following Briere s death 1971 but not officially retired until January 5 2001 B Lemieux s number was restored when he resumed playing for the team on December 27 2000 and once again retired on October 5 2006 Though not retired no 68 has not been issued since Jaromir Jagr was traded in 2001 and Lemieux himself confirmed that the number would be retired by the franchise in the future 110 The NHL retired Wayne Gretzky s No 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All Star Game 111 Hockey Hall of Fame The Pittsburgh Penguins presently acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees affiliated with the Penguins include 14 former players and five builders of the sport a 112 The four individuals recognized as builders by the Hockey Hall of Fame includes former head coaches and general managers In addition to builders and players broadcasters and sports journalists have also been recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame In 2001 radio play by play broadcaster Mike Lange was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hall of Fame 113 In 2009 Dave Molinari a sports journalist for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hall of Fame 114 Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Hall of Fame inducteesAffiliation with inductees based on team acknowledgementHall of Fame players 112 Andy BathgateLeo Boivin Paul CoffeyRon Francis Tim HortonMarian Hossa Jarome IginlaMario Lemieux Joe MullenLarry Murphy Mark RecchiLuc Robitaille Bryan TrottierSergei ZubovHall of Fame builders 112 Scotty Bowman Herb Brooks Bob Johnson Craig Patrick Jim RutherfordTeam captains The team s current captain Sidney Crosby during a playoff game in 2016 All the players who have served as team captain with the Penguins franchise Ab McDonald 1967 1968 Earl Ingarfield 1968 1969 Ron Schock 1973 1977 Jean Pronovost 1977 1978 Orest Kindrachuk 1978 1981 Randy Carlyle 1981 1984 Mike Bullard 1984 1986 Terry Ruskowski 1986 1987 Dan Frawley 1987 Mario Lemieux 1987 1994 1995 1997 2001 2006 Ron Francis 1995 115 1997 1998 Jaromir Jagr 1998 2001 Sidney Crosby 2007 present Franchise individual records Further information List of Pittsburgh Penguins records These are the top ten point scorers in franchise history 116 Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season current Penguins player Kris Letang holds the franchise s all time points record for a defenseman Points Player Pos GP G A Pts P GMario Lemieux C 915 690 1 033 1 723 1 88Sidney Crosby C 1 108 517 892 1 409 1 27Evgeni Malkin C 981 444 702 1 146 1 17Jaromir Jagr RW 806 439 640 1 079 1 34Kris Letang D 941 144 506 650 69Rick Kehoe RW 722 312 324 636 88Ron Francis C 533 164 449 613 1 15Jean Pronovost RW 753 316 287 603 80Kevin Stevens LW 522 260 295 555 1 06Syl Apps Jr C 495 151 349 500 1 01 Goals Player Pos GMario Lemieux C 690Sidney Crosby C 517Evgeni Malkin C 444Jaromir Jagr RW 439Jean Pronovost RW 316Rick Kehoe RW 312Kevin Stevens LW 260Mike Bullard C 185Chris Kunitz LW 169Martin Straka C 165 Assists Player Pos AMario Lemieux C 1 033Sidney Crosby C 892Evgeni Malkin C 702Jaromir Jagr RW 640Kris Letang D 506Ron Francis C 449Syl Apps Jr C 349Paul Coffey D 332Rick Kehoe RW 324Kevin Stevens LW 295 Franchise goaltending leaders These are the top ten goaltenders in franchise history by wins 117 Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season current Penguins playerGoaltenders Player GP W L T OT GAA SV SOMarc Andre Fleury 691 375 216 2 66 2 58 912 44Tom Barrasso 460 226 153 53 8 3 27 896 22Matt Murray 199 117 53 0 19 2 67 914 11Ken Wregget 212 104 67 21 4 3 29 898 6Denis Herron 290 88 133 44 3 88 879 6Jean Sebastien Aubin 168 63 72 11 10 2 92 900 6Tristan Jarry 101 59 29 11 2 66 912 7Les Binkley 196 58 94 34 3 12 900 11Gregory Millen 135 57 56 18 3 83 874 4Johan Hedberg 116 46 57 12 6 2 88 901 7Franchise playoff scoring leaders These are the top ten playoff point scorers in franchise playoff history Figures are updated after each completed NHL season current Penguins playerNote Pos Position GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points P G Points per game Points Player Pos GP G A PtsSidney Crosby C 180 71 130 201Evgeni Malkin C 177 67 113 180Mario Lemieux C 107 76 96 172Jaromir Jagr RW 140 65 82 147Kevin Stevens LW 103 46 60 106Ron Francis C 97 32 68 100Kris Letang D 149 23 67 90Chris Kunitz LW 126 23 53 76Larry Murphy D 74 15 57 72Jake Guentzel LW 58 34 24 58 Goals Player Pos GMario Lemieux C 76Sidney Crosby C 71Evgeni Malkin C 67Jaromir Jagr RW 65Kevin Stevens LW 46Jake Guentzel LW 34Ron Francis C 32Jordan Staal C 23Chris Kunitz LW 23Kris Letang D 23 Assists Player Pos ASidney Crosby C 130Evgeni Malkin C 113Mario Lemieux C 96Jaromir Jagr RW 82Ron Francis C 68Kris Letang D 67Kevin Stevens RW 60Chris Kunitz LW 57Larry Murphy D 53Sergei Gonchar D 37 Source 118 Front office and coaching staffSee also List of Pittsburgh Penguins owners List of Pittsburgh Penguins general managers and List of Pittsburgh Penguins head coaches Executive CommitteeOwnership Fenway Sports Group Minority Owners Mario Lemieux Ron Burkle Chairman Mario Lemieux President Chief Executive Officer Vacant President of Business Operations Kevin AcklinHockey OperationsPresident of Hockey Operations Brian Burke General Manager Ron Hextall Hockey Operations Director Alec Schall Hockey Operations Manager Erik Heasley Hockey Operations Advisor Trevor Daley Hockey Operations Analyst Pro Personnel Andy Saucier Head Coach Mike Sullivan Associate Coach Todd Reirden Assistant Coach Mike Vellucci Assistant Coach Ty Hennes Goaltending Coach Andy Chiodo Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos Player Development Coach Chris Butler Player Development Matt Cullen Integrated Development Coach Brett Hextall Goaltending Development Kain Tisi Chuck Grant Sr VP of Integrated Performance Teena Murray Strength amp Conditioning Alex Trinca Alexi Pianosi Video Coach Madison Nikkel Director of Team Operations Jason SeidlingScoutingAssistant GM Director of Player Personnel Chris Pryor Director of Amateur Scouting Nick Pryor Director of Professional Scouting Kerry HuffmanIn the communityThe Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation conducts numerous community activities to support both youth and families through hockey education and charity assistance ReferencesFootnotes The Penguins also recognize an affiliation with Hall of Famer Red Kelly who served as the Penguins head coach from 1969 73 However he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the players category in 1969 not its builder category and had never played for the Penguins However the team continues to acknowledge an affiliation as a Penguins Hall of Famer 112 Citations Penguins Make The Move to Pittsburgh Gold PittsburghPenguins com NHL Enterprises L P June 24 2016 Archived from the original on April 18 2017 Retrieved April 18 2017 Penguins Uniform History PittsburghPenguins com NHL Enterprises L P Archived from the original on May 9 2018 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