Pittsburgh Penguins

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Pittsburgh Penguins is a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Eastern Hockey League (NHL) Eastern Conference Eastern Conference Division.

The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the original league expansion of six to twelve teams. The Penguins played in the Civic Arena, also known as The Igloo , from the beginning until the end of the 2009-10 season, when they moved to the PPG Paints Arena. Penguins 1992-93 won the Franchise Presidential trophy to become the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. In addition to eight division titles, they have qualified for six Stanley Cup finals, winning the Stanley Cup five times - in 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, and 2017. Together with Edmonton Oilers, Penguins are tied for the most Cup of championships among non- Original Six. With victories in the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, Penguins became the first defending champion in 19 years (since Wings Red Red 1997-98) and the first team to do since the introduction of NHL salaries.

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Franchise history

Beginning (1967-1969)

Before the Penguin, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL Pirates from 1925 to 1930 and from the American Hockey League Hornets franchise from 1936 to 1967 (with a short pause from 1956 to 1961). In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring the NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focuses on the use of NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. Senators formed local investor groups that included heir H. J. Heinz Company H. J. Heinz III, owner of Pittsburgh Steelers Art Rooney, and Mellon family Richard Mellon Scaife. The projected league expansion depends on the vote acquisition of the current NHL owner; to ensure that Pittsburgh will be selected as one of the expansion cities, McGregor asked Rooney to file a petition 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 the expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967-68 season. The penguin pays $ 2.5 million ($ 19.1 million today) for entry and $ 750,000 ($ 5.5 million today) more for the initial fee. The Civic Arena's capacity was later upgraded from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet NHL requirements for expansion. Pens also paid the indemnity bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings, which owns the Pittsburgh Hornets franchise. Group of investors named McGregor president and chief executive officer, and he represents Pittsburgh on the Board of Governors of NHL.

The contest was held in which 700 of the 26,000 entries chose "Penguins" as a nickname for the team. Mark Peters has a winning entry (inspired by the fact that the team plays at "Igloo", nicknames of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena), a logo selected that has a penguin in front of a triangle, symbolized "Golden Triangle" from downtown Pittsburgh. "

Penguins' first general manager Jack Riley opened the first preseason camp for the franchise in Brantford, Ontario on September 13, 1967, playing the first franchise exhibition in Brantford against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 23, 1967. The pen, along with the rest of the expansion team, was blocked by strict rules that keep most people gifted with the existing "Original Six" team. In addition to snipper Andy Bathgate, All-Star defender Leo Boivin (who started his professional career with the Hornets) and Ranger veteran Earl Ingarfield, the first Penguin team was largely manned by former league players. A number of players have played for the Hornets the previous season: Bathgate, wing Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald, and Hicks Bassen and Joe Daley. George Sullivan was appointed head coach for the club's first two seasons, and McDonald was named first team captain.

On October 11, 1967, league presidents Clarence Campbell and McGregor together dropped the first ceremonial puck penguin to open the home game against the Montreal Canadiens. On October 21, 1967, they became the first team of the expansion class to defeat the 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 Western Division, sidelined the playoffs and ended up with the third worst record in the league. The best team player proved to be a Cleveland Barons AHL key player, Les Binkley, who scored 2.88 goals against the average and finished second in the league with six points. Defensive winger Ken Schinkel won the team's only league honor, named to represent Penguins in the NHL All-Star Game. Bathgate led the team in scoring with 59 points, but retired at the end of the season. McDonald, who leads the team in goals and the second in the team's assessment, also lost at the end of the season, was traded to St. Louis. Louis to Lou Angotti Center.

The following season, 1968-69, saw the team slip in the standings amid a sharp fall in form by Binkley, to sixth place and with the league's worst record. Several changes were made to try to improve the team, resulting in Boivin and several other players being traded, and new players - including the future of Pena Jean Pronovost Stars - made their debut. No captain was named to replace McDonald, and the team went with four alternative captains. Schinkel is once again the all-star All-Star Team.

Berths playoff victory and Briere tragedy (1970-1974)

In 1969 the Penguin draft was chosen Michel Briere who although selected 26 immediately drew comparisons with Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke. Joining the team in November, he finished as the second goal scorer in the NHL (behind Bobby Clarke) with 44 points (57th overall), and third in Penguins. Briere placed second at the Calder Memorial Trophy voting for the Rookie of the Year honors for Chicago goalkeeper Tony Esposito in Pittsburgh lead into the first NHL playoff spot since 1928 Pirates. The Penguins beat Oakland Seals in a four-game sweep in the quarter-finals, with Briere scoring a goal-scoring goal in extra time. In the semifinals, the reigning champion of the St. Louis Blues got the best of Penguins for six games. Briere leads the team in a playoff scoring, recording five goals (including three match winners) and eight points.

Tragedy struck the Penguin just days after their playoff heroism. On May 15, 1970, Briere had a car accident in his hometown of Quebec, suffering from brain trauma and experiencing a coma that would not heal, died a year later. Jersey No. 21 were never reissued, remaining from circulation to Penguin until officially retired in 2001.

The next season the Penguin finished five games from the playoffs with a 21-37-20 record, the fourth worst record in the league. Pittsburgh reached the playoff spot in 1972 only to be swept by the Chicago Black Hawks in the first half. With the exception of some decent players like Ken Schinkel, Jean Pronovost, Syl Apps Jr., Keith McCreary, agitator Bryan Watson and goaltender Les Binkley, the talent was expressed thinly, but enough for Penguins to reach the playoffs in both 1970 and 1972.

The Penguins fought with Golden Golden California for the warehouse division in 1974, when Riley was dismissed as general manager and replaced by Jack Button. The buttons are traded for Steve Durbano, Ab DeMarco, Bob "Battleship" Kelly and Bob Paradise. The personnel movement proved successful, as the team improved to a 28-41-9 record, although they kept nine points from the playoff spot.

However, in early 1975, the Penguins creditors demanded repayment of the debt, which forced the team into bankruptcy. The doors to the team office were locked, and looked like Penguins could fold or move. Around the same time, rumors began to circulate that the Penguins and Golden Seals of California moved to Seattle and Denver respectively, the two cities that became extensions for the 1976-77 season. Through a group intervention that included former Minnesota North Stars head trainer Wren Blair, the team was prevented from folding and remaining in Pittsburgh, eventually purchased by the owner of the shopping center Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr.

Playoff running and uniform change (1975-1982)

Beginning in the mid-70s, Pittsburgh sparked some powerful offensive clubs, led by the likes of "Century Line" from Syl Apps, Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost. They almost reached the semi-finals of the Stanley Cup in 1975, but were ousted from the playoffs by New York Islanders in one of the four best game series in NHL history where the team returned from three games to none. As the 1970s passed, Penguins brought in other offensive weapons such as Rick Kehoe, Pierre Larouche and Ron Schock, along with Ron Stackhouse and Dave Burrows. But Pens's success beyond the regular season has always been neutralized by the mediocre defense of the team. Goaltender Denis Herron is a supporter in goal for part of the six seasons.

Aldege "Baz" Bastien, former coach and general manager of AHL Hornets, later became general manager. The Penguins missed the playoffs in 1977-78 when their offense was missed, and Larouche traded for Peter Mahovlich and Peter Lee. Bastien traded major draft options for several players whose best years are behind them, such as Orest Kindrachuk, Tom Bladon and Rick MacLeish, and the team will suffer in the early 1980s as a result. The decade closed with a playoff appearance in 1979 and a series of opening victories over the Buffalo Sabers before the second round at the hands of the Boston Bruins.

The Penguins started the 1980s by changing the colors of their teams. In January 1980, the team switched from wearing blue and white to today's black and gold schemes in honor of other Pittsburgh sports teams, Pirates and the Steelers, as well as the Pittsburgh Flag. Both Pirates and Steelers have been wearing black and gold for decades, and both just out of the world championship season at that time. The Bruins protested against this color change, claiming a monopoly on black and gold, but Penguins defended their choice by stating that the NHL Pirates also use black and gold as their team colors, and that black and gold are the colors of traditional sports Pittsburgh. NHL agrees, and Pittsburgh is allowed to use black and gold. The Penguins officially debuted wearing black and gold against the St. Louis Blues at the Civic Arena on January 30, 1980. On the ice, Penguin started the 1980s with defenseman Randy Carlyle, and earning scorers Paul Gardner and Mike Bullard, but a little longer.

During the early part of this decade, Penguins made a habit of being a formidable opponent for their higher opponents in the playoffs. In 1980, the 13th Penguins brought the Bruins to the limit in their first playoff series. The following season, as the 15th seed, they lost the decisive game of their first-round series in extra-time to St. Louis Blues is well-liked. Then, in the 1982 playoffs, Penguins led 3-1 at the end of the fifth and final game of their playoff series against defending champion New York Islanders. However, the residents of the island rallied to force overtime and won the series on the goal by John Tonelli. This will be Pens's final playoff appearance until 1989.

The arrival of Mario Lemieux (1983-1988)

The team had the worst record in the league both in the 1983 and 1984 seasons, and with the team suffering from financial problems, it again looked as if the Penguin would fold or move on. Mario Lemieux, one of the most heralded NHL pick drafts in history, is due to be drafted in the 1984 NHL Draft Entry. Toward the end of the season leading up to the New Jersey Devil, who was placed last, the Penguin made a number of questionable moves that seemed to weaken the team in the short term. The Penguins have scored three six straight unbeaten games in their last 21 games of the season and have earned the right to draw Lemieux in the midst of protests from Satan's management. Pittsburgh coach Lou Angotti later acknowledged that a conscious decision was made to finish the season as the worst-rated team, saying in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that mid-season lunches pushed the plan, given the fact that it was possible the height of the folding franchise if Lemieux is not designed. Specifically, Angotti gave the example Penguin game a 3-1 win, at that time General Manager Eddie Johnston asked the coach "what are you doing?" in the first game interval that eventually lost 6-3. The Penguins still, despite losing ten of their last twelve games, are just two games away from losing Lemieux to the Devil. However, Angotti stated that he did not feel comfortable with the plan, even though it worked and saved the franchise. Other teams offer substantial trading packages for draft options, but Penguins continues to select and design the first Lemieux overall.

Lemieux paid immediate dividends, scoring on his first first shot of his first NHL shift, in his first NHL match. However, the team spent four more years of playoffs after his arrival. In the late 1980s, Penguin finally gave Lemieux a strong support player, trading for defender superstar Paul Coffey from Edmonton Oilers (after the 1987 Stanley Cup Oilers' win) and bringing young talent such as Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown and John Cullen minors. Also, the team eventually gained a top-flight goaltender with the acquisition of Tom Barrasso from Buffalo.

All of these talents have a direct impact in helping Lemieux lead the Pen; but Penguins are struggling to make the playoffs. The 1985-86 Pens unfortunately missed the playoffs on the final day of the season with one game. In 1986-1987 the Penguin missed the playoff with just two games and saw four teams with equal records or worse escaped. In 1987-88 the team returned absent in the playoffs on the final day of the season with one game.

Back- to-back and Lemieux/Jagr era (1989-1997)

In 1989, Pittsburgh finally broke through the barrier and made the playoffs, behind Lemieux leading the league in goals, assists and points. On December 31, 1988, Lemieux became the only player in history who scored in all five possible game situations in the same game (even strength, shortcomings, penalty kicks, power games, and empty wicket). The Pens shocked the New York Rangers in four games in the first half, but their trip was halted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second half. The seventh defeat of the game featured Mario Lemieux scoring five goals in the fifth game.

The disc herniated on the back of Lemieux cut the NHL season from 1989-90, although he still collected 123 points. However, the Penguin falls from the playoff image. The Penguins chose to strengthen their list and support Lemieux in the off-season 1990 season. Free agent players (Bryan Trottier) and trading (Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson) play a major part of this. There is virtually no greater step during this time than when the Penguin formulated Jaromir Jagr by selecting the fifth overall in the 1990 Draft Entry NHL. The first Czechoslovakian player designed into the NHL without first needing to defect to the West, Jagr became the second Penguins franchise player, and quickly developed into an offensive talent superstar. The list update culminated in Penguins winning their first Stanley Cup by beating the Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup Final in six games, punctuated by an 8-0 win in the decisive game, the biggest winning margin in the last Cup game in over 80 years. After the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, Penguins met with President George H. W. Bush, the first NHL team ever to visit the White House. 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 winners in 1991-92.

Cancer reviewed the Penguin in 1993 when Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Just two months after the diagnosis, losing 24 of 84 matches, he returned to win his fourth Art Ross Trophy as a scorers with 160 points, beating Pat LaFontaine and Adam Oates. Despite the difficulties of space, Pittsburgh finished with a 56-21-7 record, the best regular season franchise ever, winning the first Franchise (and, in 2017, only) the President's Cup. After Lemieux's return, the team played better than ever, winning a record 17 consecutive NHL matches. Despite all this success, they were knocked out in the second round by New York Islanders in overtime hours of Game 7.

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

The retreat and return of Lemieux (1998-2001)

The franchise was rocked on April 6, 1997 when Mario Lemieux, citing ongoing health issues, and disagreement with the way the NHL hockey was being unveiled, announced he would retire at the end of the 1997 playoffs. Lemieux is highly respected in the NHL, and his achievements during his career are so great, that he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the same year as he retired, a three-year waiting period was released. His departure will basically be the first in a series of events that will lead the Penguin once again to stagnation of the regular season, and towards financial ruin.

The team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 1998 by the Montreal Canadiens despite the second seeded team in the East. The following year, their post-season run ended in the second half when they lost to Toronto Maple Leafs in 6 matches. In 2000, Penguins shocked Houston Capitals who were highly praised 4-1 in the first half and fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in the second round.

At this point, the sublime contract awarded in the early 1990s began to pursue a franchise. Their free spending mode peaked in teams that owe more than $ 90 million to various creditors. The owners then Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg (who bought the Penguin after their first Cup win) asked the players to postpone their salary to help pay the bills. When deferred salary eventually matures, combined with other financial pressures, Penguins are forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1998.

At this point, Lemieux stepped up with an unusual proposal to buy the team from bankruptcy. Penguins owed $ 32.5 million to Lemieux in deferred salaries, making it the largest individual creditor of the team. He proposes to recover this money by turning it into equity - enough to give him control over the team. He also vowed to keep the team in Pittsburgh. The league and court agreed, and Lemieux, with the help of supermarket tycoon Ronald Burkle, took control on September 3, 1999, saving the franchise a second time.

Lemieux once again shocked the hockey world by announcing at a press conference on December 8, 2000 his intention to return to Penguin as an active player. On December 27, 2000, Lemieux stepped into NHL ice for the first time in 44 months, officially becoming the first player owner in NHL history. Lemieux helped lead the Penguin deep into the 2001 playoffs, highlighted by an overtime win against Buffalo Sabers in Game 7 in the second half. Darius Kasparaitis scored the goalscoring goal to advance Penguins to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost five games against New Jersey Devils.

Rebuilding and Mario Lemieux retire again (2002-2006)

The presence of Penguins has been reduced in the late 1990s. In 1998-1999, Penguin had an average attendance of 14,825 in home games, the lowest since the rookie Lemieux year. Reducing income above the previous bankruptcy requires the shedding of salaries. The biggest pay step was the superstar trading of Jaromir Jagr to the Capital of Washington in the summer of 2001. The return of Jagr was unremarkable, at best, because the Penguins accepted the prospects of Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk. The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years in 2002, finishing in a tie for the third to last in the conference. Further financial difficulties led them to trade Alexei Kovalev to the New York Rangers the following season, soon followed by the departure of free agent Robert Lang. The 2002-03 season was even worse, with the team finishing the last two at the Conference. The situation began to echo the dark days of the early 1980s. However, as in the 1980s, Penguins used the opportunity to rebuild through design and gain elite prospects. In the 2003 NHL Draft Entry, Penguins chose the Marc-Andre Fleury goalpender with the first overall pick.

The 2003-04 season was an ordeal with Lemieux losing all but 24 regular season matches with a hip injury, and attendance dropping to an average of 11,877 (the lowest average of any NHL team), with only one in demand. During the season, Penguin signed a new head coach (and former Penguin player and commentator) Eddie Olczyk, traded Martin Straka to the Los Angeles Kings and chose not to include high-ranking Fleury in the line for most of 2003-04 seasons. It peaked in the worst record in the NHL, as they only won 23 games. As in the 1980s, the Penguin struggles coincidentally coincided with a series of NHL Class Draft classes that would produce many world-class talents.

The Penguins lost on the first overall pick for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft which went to the Washington Capitals. As expected, the capital made the Russian superstar Alexander Ovechkin, the top choice. However, the citizens of Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin center, are also highly respected, and Pittsburgh takes it with a second overall choice.

At this point, Penguins have collapsed financially since Stanley's victory years in the early 1990s. Their place of origin, the Civic Arena has become the oldest and is widely regarded as the worst NHL arena in the league, and Lemieux has tried unsuccessfully to make a deal with the city for a new facility. With Pittsburgh uninterested in building a new hockey arena for the troubled Penguin, Lemieux began looking for possibilities to sell and/or relocate the team to Kansas City, Missouri. The NHL season 2004-05 was canceled due to NHL lockout. One of the many reasons for lockout includes disagreements about the resolution of a team's financial struggle such as Penguin and Senator Ottawa, who have filed for bankruptcy protection. In the middle of the lockout, Penguin is divided between American Hockey League (AHL) club affiliates, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and European leagues. Alexei Morozov and Milan Kraft were elected not to return to the Penguins after the lockout, opting to keep playing in Europe.

With a lockout completed in 2005, the League held an unprecedented draft draw to set up the NHL Draft selection sequence in 2005. The draft lottery, held behind closed doors in a "safe location", resulted in the Penguin being awarded the first overall pick for the second time in three years. The year's draft entries are touted as the largest rookie class since Lemieux, himself, has been compiled. Superstar Major League Junior Quebec Sidney Crosby (who has been training with Lemieux during the summer) is No consensus. 1 overall, with much reference to the draft lottery process as "The Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes". The Penguins chose Crosby on July 30, 2005 with top choice, instantly reviving hockey interest in Pittsburgh.

The penguin then begins to rebuild the team under the pay cap. They signed free agents Sergei Gonchar, John LeClair, and Zigmund Palffy, and traded for scorer Jocelyn Thibault. However, Evgeni Malkin, the 2004 Penguins' draft pick, second overall, could not report to Pittsburgh soon due to a right to play dispute with Russian Superleague (RSL).

The addition of Crosby paid an instant dividend, with attendance rising by about 4,000 on average in the 2005-06 season. However, Crosby's presence did not immediately translate into victory, as the team started the season with a long unsuccessful skid that resulted in a change of head coach from Olczyk to Michel Therrien. Palffy announced his retirement in the middle of the season with a left shoulder injury as the team's top scorer. Then, on January 24, 2006, Lemieux announced his second retirement, this time permanently, after developing an irregular heartbeat. He finished as the all-time NHL's seventh goal scorer (1,723), eighth in goals (690) and tenth in assists (1,033), but also with career second highest point per game (1.88), second for 1.900 Wayne Gretzky.

Regardless of the various team struggles, Crosby lived up to the hype and became an instant superstar collecting 102 points in his debut season and finishing second to Washington Alexander Ovechkin for the Calder Memorial Trophy awarded each year to the league's top rookie. In the last Penguin game of the season, Crosby scored and assisted to become the top scorer rookie in Penguin history (beating Lemieux). The Penguins once again set the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the highest goals of total opponents in the League. They received their second overall draft pick, their second top pick in four years, in the 2006 NHL Draft Entry and chose a two-way Jordan Staal toute.

The team announced on April 20 that the contract for General Manager Craig Patrick will not be updated. Patrick is a GM since December 1989. On May 25, Ray Shero signed a five-year contract as general manager.

Era Crosby-Malkin (2007 -now)

Malkin entry and arena agreement (2006-2007)

The change came to Penguins on October 18, 2006, when rookie Evgeni Malkin made his NHL debut. He went on to set up a modern NHL record with a goal in each of his first six matches. On February 27, 2007, Penguin got Gary Roberts from Florida Panthers and Georges Laraque from Phoenix Coyote. Malkin will go to tally points in 16 straight games with 14 wins and two extra overtime losses in early 2007. The streak ended on 19 February with a last-minute loss to the New York Islanders. It was the second longest point in the club's history.

On March 13, 2007, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Chief Executive Allegheny Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Mario Lemieux of the Penguin Pittsburgh ownership group, publicly announced that agreement had been reached between the parties to build the long-sought arena. The sophisticated multi-purpose facility, Consol Energy Center, guarantees that the Penguin will remain in the city of Pittsburgh. Following the announcement of the plan, the Lemieux ownership group announced that they no longer have plans to sell the team.

On June 8, 2007, a $ 325 million bond was issued and Penguins signed a 30-year contract, binding Penguin to the city of Pittsburgh until 2040; a lease agreement was signed on 19 September. On May 6, 2008, Pittsburgh's planning commission unanimously approved the final draft. The Arena includes a glass atrium overlooking downtown Pittsburgh and roof lights shining into the sky. The new $ 290 million dollar arena is expected to open in time for the 2010-11 season. On August 14, 2008, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new arena was held, thus officially commencing the construction of new facilities. On December 15, 2008, announced by Penguin they have signed an agreement with Consol Energy on a 21-year deal to name the rights to the new arena.

The Penguins finished the 2006-07 season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 47-24-11 record, totaling 105 points, just two points behind the Atlantic Division winner, the New Jersey Devils. This is the first season of 100 franchise points in 11 years, and represents a massive 47-point jump from the previous season. In the first round of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, Penguin was beaten 4-1 by late Stanley Cup runners-up, Ottawa senators. At the end of the season, rookies Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal were finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to Rookie of the Year, which Malkin won.

Runners-up and third of the Stanley Cup (2007- 2009)

After a mediocre start to the 2007-08 season, Sidney Crosby and the starting goalender, Marc-Andre Fleury, both suffered long-term injuries due to a high right ankle. In their absence, Penguin evolved due to the game and leadership center of Evgeni Malkin and the goalscorer Ty Conklin's reserve. The real Penguins increased in January, and fell no lower than the third seed in the East from that point onwards. On 26 February, Penguins will acquire right-wing Atlanta Thrashers star Marian Hossa and forward Pascal Dupuis at the NHL trade deadline, releasing Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and first round picks in 2008. Penguin also bought Hal Gill's defensement Toronto Maple Leafs to pick the second round in 2008 and pick the fifth round in 2009.

On April 2, 2008, Penguins won the Atlantic Division title - their first division title in 10 years - with a 4-2 win against rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. However, they closed the season by losing the Flyers the following night, moving them to the second seed in the East behind the Montreal Canadiens. Pens has spent most of the second half going back and forth with Habs for first place in the East. Evgeni Malkin completed the season with 106 points for second place in the League, behind only Alexander Ovechkin of Washington, and also finished as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. This is the first time that both New Jersey Demons and the Philadelphia Flyers won the Atlantic Division since the New York Rangers won the premiere, when they won the 1994 Stanley Cup.

The team started their extended playoff game in recent years, beating Ottawa 4-0, beating New York Rangers 4-1 and then beating Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 to win the Prince of Wales trophy. Pittsburgh then lost the 2008 Stanley Cup final to the Detroit Red Wings in six games, finishing the playoffs with a 14-6 record. Sidney Crosby finished the playoffs with 27 points (6 goals and 21 assists in 20 games), tied Conn Smythe Trophy-winner Henrik Zetterberg (13 goals and 14 assists in 22 matches) to lead the playoff scoring.

In the 2008-09 season, Malkin won Art Ross by beating rivals Alex Ovechkin in the points race and becoming a candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy for MVP. Crosby finished third in the League's scoring with 33 goals and 70 assists for 103 points, despite missing five games. Penguin record dipped mid-season but was appointed after Chief Coach Michel Therrien was replaced by Dan Bylsma and defenseman Sergei Gonchar back from injury. The effect was almost instantaneous and the Penguins recovered enough to secure an ice house advantage in their first-round match against the Philadelphia Flyers, who were beaten by the Penguins in six games. The next series, against Washington, took all seven matches for the Penguins to win, sending them to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they sent the Carolina Hurricanes in four games. After defeating Hurricanes, Penguins earned their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings, to whom they have lost the Cup before. After losing Game 1 and 2 in Detroit, as in previous years, Penguins won Game 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh. Each team wins at home ice in Games 5 and 6. In Game 7 in Detroit, Maxime Talbot scores two goals, including the winner of the match, as the Penguins win 2-1 to clinch their third Stanley Cup. Malkin's dominant playoff performance was rewarded by Conn Smythe Trophy.

New arena and playoff bout (2010-2015)

On Friday, October 2nd 2009, Penguin opened the 2009-10 season against New York Rangers. This was the last home opener at Mellon Arena and it was also the team's night lifting the banner of the Stanley Cup championship to the rafters. Penguin started the season by winning seven franchise games to start the season. For the second year in a row, Penguins finished the season in second place, behind New Jersey. Crosby scored 109 points (51 goals and 58 assists) in 81 matches, finishing second in scoring for 112 points Henrik Sedin (29 goals, 83 assists) from 82 matches. 51 goals Crosby also earned him Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top scorer of the season. Penguins, who are seeded fourth in the East, start their title defense against the Ottawa senator. Losing Game 1 with a score of 5-4, the team went on to win the next three games. With the Penguins riding 3-1 in their series, they look to close the series in Game 5, which was eventually won by Ottawa in three overtime. The Penguins then won Game 6 in extra time, despite a 3-0 deficit early in the game. In the next round, Penguin faces Montreal Canadiens. The team will swap victories in the series on the way to the decisive Game 7, which the Penguin lost 5-2, ending their season and their tenure at Mellon Arena. By chance, Canadiens opened and closed the Mellon Arena with victory.

In 2010-11, Penguins played their first game at Consol Energy Center, losing their competition, the Philadelphia Flyers. The start of the season was quite successful, and Penguin played in NHL Winter Classic versus the Washington Capitals. However, this season was marred by a concussion and knee injury in the season to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, respectively. After some difficulties, Penguin successfully overcame the key loss, especially through Jordan Staal's enhanced game and a 10-3 record in the shootout, and finished second in the Atlantic Division behind the Philadelphia Flyer. Despite this success, Penguins made an early exit in the playoffs, losing the series after taking a 3-1 series lead over Tampa Bay Lightning, with goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury questionable.

With Sidney Crosby still absent with post-concussion syndrome, at the start of the 2011-12 season, Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins top line and dominated the league score. He finished with 50 goals and 109 points as the Penguins produced 51 wins this season. Penguin offense 'was reinforced by a breakout performance from James Neal, who scored 40 goals, and Jordan Staal, who set his career high on points while missing significant time with injury. With Malkin's Art Ross-winning performance and Crosby's late-season return from injury, Penguins headed into the playoffs in 2012 with high hopes of making a significant Cup run. However, the highly-favored Penguins were beaten in six games by their cross-country rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, after falling to a 0-3 series hole. Malkin was later awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson award.

Following the disappointing playoffs of Penguins, General Manager Ray Shero made major changes to the team at the 2012 NHL Draft Entrance for the upcoming 2012-13 season. After Jordan Staal declined a ten-year contract offer to remain with the Penguins, he traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a first-round pick draft (Derrick Pouliot), Brandon Sutter and Brian Dumoulin. The Penguins then traded defenseman Zbynek Michalek to Phoenix Coyotes to pick a third-round draft, Marc Cheverie and prospect Harrison Ruopp. Penguin also signed Tyler Vokoun, a veteran forward, for a two-year deal after securing his negotiating rights to select a seven-round draft.

During the 2012-13 shortest-locked season, the Penguin are again struggling through serious injuries. Malkin missed 17 games due to a mild concussion and shoulder injury, while Crosby missed the entire month of April with a broken jaw. At the time limit of trading, General Manager Ray Shero sells several prospects and draft picks to get Jarome Iginla, Brendan Morrow, Douglas Murray and Jussi Jokinen in separate transactions. At the end of the regular season, Penguin ends in the Eastern Conference, which fits against the eighth New York Islands in the first round. The Penguins beat the Islands in six games, with Marc-Andre Fleury fighting once again and being replaced by Tomas Vokoun after Game 4. The Penguins then sent the Ottawa senator in five matches before being swept at the Final Conference by Boston Bruins, scoring only two goals across four sweeping matches.

On June 13, 2013, Malkin signed an eight-year contract extension at an annual rate of $ 9.5 million. This extension, along with Crosby's 12-year extension previously signed in the 2012 season, ensures that the duo will remain the core of Penguin for the foreseeable future. In the 2013-14 season, Penguins acquired Marcel Goc and Lee Stempniak and once again suffered numerous injuries throughout the campaign, including the end of season Pascal Dupuis's loss to the ACL in December and Kris Letang suffered a stroke in January. Despite the difficulty, Penguins won the Metropolitan Division of eight teams, though Pittsburgh fought in the playoffs, needing six matches to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, then lost to the New York Rangers in seven games despite leading 3-1 after four games. The collapse of the team series prompted Penguin ownership to fire General Manager Ray Shero, replacing him on June 6 with Jim Rutherford, former general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. Rutherford's first act as GM was to ease Coach Dan Bylsma's head from his job, and on June 25, he announced that Mike Johnston was employed as a substitute for Bylsma behind the bench.

In the 2014-15 season, Penguins lead the Metropolitan Division for the first half of the season. However, after losing players like Olli Maatta - a shoulder surgery - and Pascal Dupuis - a blood clot in his lungs - for injuries and illnesses including mumps, the team fell to fourth in the Division. The team also led the League in the penalty spot throughout the season. As a result, Penguins are in danger of eliminating from a playoff dispute with one game remaining in the regular season. In the final game, however, the Penguins clinched the eighth and final playoff spot with a win against Buffalo, simultaneously eliminating Boston from a playoff bout after a team defeat to Tampa Bay. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh will lose five games to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

On July 1, 2015, Penguins made a deal with Nick Spaling, Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, a conditional first-round pick, and a third-round pick to Toronto Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel, Tyler Biggs, Tim Erixon, and a second-round pick. Toronto will also retain $ 1.2 million of Kessel's salary in each of the next seven seasons. On July 28, 2015, Penguin gets Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening, and second-round pick in 2016 for Brandon Sutter and pick the 3rd round. On August 6, 2015, Penguin signed the Matt Cullen Center on a 1-year contract. The move reunites him with Jim Rutherford, who has worked with Cullen in his time as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. On October 27, 2015, Penguin's former lawyer Sergei Gonchar accepted a coaching position for player development within the Penguins organization, having failed to get the team at the end of the training camp. On December 8, 2015 Pascal Dupuis announces his resignation in season due to health concerns related to blood clots. He is placed on long-term injury reserves but remains under contract with Penguin. Back to back. Cup title and 50th birthday (2016-present)

On December 12, 2015, the team has a 15-10-3 record. The organization then sacked head coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with Mike Sullivan, head coach of the affiliate of the American Hockey League organization in Wilkes-Barre. This step was followed by a series of trades by Jim Rutherford.

On December 14th, Rob Scuderi was sold to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Trevor Daley. On January 16, 2016, Penguin trades forward David Perron and defenseman Adam Clendening to Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Carl Hagelin. On 27 February 2016, Penguins acquired Justin Schultz of Edmonton Oilers in exchange for selecting the third round in the 2016 NHL Draft Entry. To complete this trade, Penguin called several players from their AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who included Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl, Bryan Rust and Matt Murray; all of which will be fixed in the team's postseason lineup.

The Penguins qualify for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. They got second place in the Metropolitan Division with 104 points. In the 2016 Stanley Cup playoff round, Penguins beat Rangers in series 4-1, 4-2 Capitals, and Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3, to win the Eastern Region Championship, advance to the Stanley Cup Final against the San Jose Sharks. On June 12, 2016, Penguins defeated the Sharks in series 4-2 to win their fourth Stanley Cup title. Team captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The Penguins opened their 50th anniversary in the NHL as defending champions of the Stanley Cup, raising their warning banners on October 13, 2016 in a shoot-out victory over the Capital. With Red Wings' playoff appearances ending in 25 seasons, Penguins emerged in the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season, now the longest active streak in the NHL.

The Penguins face the Columbus Blue Jackets, in the opening round of the 2017 playoffs, and beat them in five games. In the second half, they play against their division rivals, the Washington Capitals, and face them for the second year in a row in the same round where the Penguins win after seven difficult game series to fight for. In the Final Conference, Penguins won against the Ottawa Senator in seven games, and moved into the Stanley Cup Final where they faced Predator Nashville. The Penguins won the first two games of the Final and then lost in the next two games before dominating the fifth and sixth games of the series, and won their second Stanley Cup. By defending his title, Penguin became the first team since the 1997-98 Red Wings successfully defended his title, and the former did so in the salary cap era.

In 2017-18, Penguins once again qualifies for the Stanley Cup playoff with second division playoff spot, completing the regular season with 100 points. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the First Round in six games, but were defeated by the Capital in six games.

Maps Pittsburgh Penguins

Logo and uniform

With the exception of the 1992-2002 period, Penguins have used variations of the "penguin skating" logo since the beginning of the team. For its inaugural season, the logo featured a large-looking penguin skating wearing a scarf, on a golden triangle inside a circle that read "Pittsburgh Penguins." The Golden Triangle is a reference to the Golden Triangle in the city of Pittsburgh. General-General Jack Riley's manager felt the team's name and logo was ridiculous, and refused to appear in the team uniform, which only displays the word "PITTSBURGH" diagonally. The smooth version of the logo appeared in a redesigned uniform in the second season, which took off the scarf and gave the penguin a slimmer, "more sinister" look. The circle surrounding the logo was removed mid-season in 1971-1972.

Team colors were originally powder blue, navy blue, and white. The blue powder turned into royal blue in 1973, but returned in 1977 when the navy became the dominant uniform color. The team adopted the current black and gold scheme in January 1980 (the announcement was made part-time from the Super Bowl XIV) to unite the color of the city's professional sports teams, though like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers, the gold color is closer to yellow. The change was not without controversy, as the Boston Bruins protested by claiming to have rights over black and gold. But Penguin cites the colors used by the now-defunct NHL Pittsburgh Pirates team, and black and gold became the official colors of Pittsburgh City and its namesake, allowing it to obtain permission to use black and gold. The NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates use Pittsburgh Police uniforms, thus starting the tradition of black and gold sports in the city.

It will remain unchanged until the 1992-93 season, when the team unveils new uniforms and new logos, created by Pittsburgh visual communications agency Vance Wright Adams. This logo features a modern and sleek looking penguin. Although the "Robo-Penguin" logo persisted in various forms for 15 years, it received mixed responses from fans and was never widely accepted as a "skating penguin" logo. The old marker of KDKA, Bill Burns, even mentions the penguin in the logo of "a pigeon." After Mario Lemieux (a private fan of the "skating penguin" logo) bought the team from bankruptcy court in 1999, he announced plans to bring back the "skating pinguin" logo. This happened for the 2000-01 season, when the team revived the logo (albeit with the "Vegas gold" triangle instead of "Pittsburgh gold") in the new team's alternate jersey chest. In 2002-03, the logo became the main logo, and the "flying penguin" logo (also with the "Vegas gold" triangle instead of "Pittsburgh gold") was downgraded to secondary status and only on the jersey team's back, until retiring in 2007 when the team introducing their version of RBK Edge uniform.

The uniform itself has changed several times over the years. The original jerseys of the team's first season had a diagonal text reading of "Pittsburgh." Currently, only these uniform images survive, even though the jersey is available at NHL Hitz 2003 and some EA Sports' NHL games as an alternate jersey available to be played on the team. The uniform itself was discovered almost 30 years later in a garbage bag by a Civic Arena employee in the arena. Due to the years of neglect in the bag, the uniform was damaged and irreparable. The following season, the revised version of the logo was used on a completely redesigned uniform. The player's name was first added in 1970.

Until 1977, the team had some minor striping patterns on changing shirts every few years. But in 1977, the team basically adopted the longest uniform style to date and the style they will wear for the next 16 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup twice in the process. When colors were switched from blue and white to black and gold in 1980, the uniform pattern itself remained unchanged. This may be due to the fact that the change was made in the middle of the season. From the 1981-82 season to the 1984-85 season, the team wore a gold "Sunday" jersey, so called because the team only wore it on Sunday. This is a rare example of an NHL team that had a third jersey before a rule that allowed the shirt to be officially implemented in 1995.

After winning their second Stanley Cup in 1992, the team completely redesigned their uniforms and introduced the "fly penguin" logo. The team away uniform is slightly different from the team's first season, as they revive the diagonal "Pittsburgh" script. In 1995, the team introduced their second alternative jersey, featuring different stripe designs on each arm. This Jersey will prove so popular that the team adopted it as their jersey away in 1997. In 2000, the team launched another alternative jersey, the black jersey mentioned above that featured the rise of the "skating pinguin" logo. This then proves to be a test to see how the revived logo will be done with fans, and the next season becomes a team uniform with white uniform as a team jersey. This time, the gold used is known as "Vegas gold", a more metallic color. When the RBK Edge T-shirt was launched for the 2007/2008 season, Penguins made a big striping pattern change and silently pulled out the "fly penguin" logo from the shoulders. They also added a "Pittsburgh 250" circular patch to the shoulders to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the city of Pittsburgh.

While Penguins, like with other NHLs, have been wearing their black jersey at home since the league made the initiative to do so starting with the 2003-04 NHL season, the team wore their white shirts in several home games during 2007 -08 seasons and at least once during the 2008- 09, as well as wearing their blue powder, 1968-1972 "setback" against Buffalo Sabers at the 2008 NHL Winter Classic. On November 5, 2008, this jersey was introduced as a new alternative team jersey. It is used for home game selections during the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. This setback should have been stopped with the introduction of the new third dark blue jersey debuting at NHL Winter Classic 2011 at Heinz Field but worn in some games after Winter Classic 2011. The new Jersey Winter Classic 2011 was first worn as the third jersey against the Los Angeles Kings on February 10, 2011. After this, Penguins stopped using their Winter Classic 2008 jersey.

For the 2011-12 season, the Winter Classic 2011 jersey is the team's third official uniform, with the 2008 Retired Classic winter retirement. Called "Blue Jerseys of Doom" by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, alternate shirts are worn when Sidney Crosby suffers a broken jaw injury on March 30, 2013, and also when he receives a concussion at the Winter 2011 Classic. Evgeni Malkin was also injured, also with a concussion, during a match when the Penguins wore an alternative uniform on February 22, 2013. The team will wear a blue shirt for the 2 April 2013 match against Buffalo Sabers, three days after Crosby broke a broken jaw but wearing a T- their black houses and "Vegas gold". On April 4, 2013, Penguin announced that the club will not wear an alternative uniform for the 2013-14 season. The team then announced that they are in the process of designing a new design for the 2014-15 season, the 30th anniversary of the majority of rookies who hosted Mario Lemieux.

The Penguins wear a modified version of their away uniform for the 2014 NHL Stage against the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field, featuring an enlarged number on the back, a slight beveled line and arm number and a front-edged "penguin skating" version. On September 19, 2014, Penguin released their new alternative uniform for the 2014-15 season. The new black uniform is a setback to the early part of Lemieux's playing career, mimicking the uniforms worn by the 1991 and 1992 Penguin teams in the Stanley Cup. The new alternative uniform featured "Pittsburgh gold", a special gold color that had been retired when the Penguin switched to full-time metallic gold in 2002. After the 2016 season, the team returned using the "Pittsburgh gold" jersey as the main uniform. The "Vegas gold" jerseys have retired, in time for the 50th anniversary in 2017. The "Pittsburgh gold" home and new go jerse was inaugurated on June 24, 2016, and was first presented in 2016 NHL Entry Draft. A warning patch added to the uniform throughout the 2016-17 season to celebrate the team's 50th year playing in the NHL.

On November 25, 2016, Penguin introduced their T-shirts for their 2017 NHL Stadium Series match against the Philadelphia Flyers at Heinz Field. The main color for the T-shirt is Pittsburgh gold. Traditional skating penguins, without golden triangles, don emblem, while the arms have black streaks. A black key rock patch that says "City of Champions" with two cross hockey sticks in gold, is located on the left arm. This patch also has four gold stars on it to represent the Pittsburgh Stanley Cup championships in 1991, 1992, 2009 and 2016.

src: pbs.twimg.com

season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Penguin.

Note: GP = Game played, W = Win, L = Loss, T = Tie, OTL = Overtime Loss, Points = Points, GF = Goal for, GA = Goal Against

src: bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com

Player

List of current names
Updated May 17, 2018

Retired number

Notes

Pittsburgh Penguins

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