Media Root Sports Pittsburgh The X (105.9 FM) ESPN Pittsburgh (970 AM) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Owner(s) Mario Lemieux Ron Burkle General manager Ray Shero Head coach Dan Bylsma Captain Sidney Crosby Minor league affiliates Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) Stanley Cups 3 (1990–91, 1991–92, 2008–09) Conference championships 4 (1990–91, 1991–92, 2007–08, 2008–09) Presidents' Trophies 1 (1992–93) Division championships 6 (1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2007–08) The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original expansion from six to tw! elve teams. The Penguins played in the Mellon Arena from the time of their inception through the end of the 2009-10 season . They moved into their new arena, Consol Energy Center, to begin the 2010–11 NHL season. They have qualified for four Stanley Cup Finals, winning 3 Stanley Cups in their history, in 1990–91, 1991–92, and 2008–09. Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 1965 to 1969: Founding a franchise 1.2 1970–1974: Tragedy of Briere and making the playoffs 1.3 Summer of '75 to 1982: A winning record and seven playoffs berths in eight seasons 1.4 1983 to 1988: The Mario Lemieux sweepstakes and losing seasons 1.5 1989–2001: The Lemieux-Jagr Era: two Cups and 12 playoffs in 13 seasons 1.6 2002–2006: Bankruptcy, relocation rumors and losing seasons 1.7 2006–present: Crosby Era 1.7.1 2008–09 season: Third Stanley Cup 1.7.2 2009-10 season: The Last Season at Mellon Arena 1.7.3 2010-11: New Arena & Beyond 2 Logos and uniforms 3 Season-by-season r! ecord 4 Players 4.1 Current roster 4.2 Hall of Famers 4.3 Peng! uins Hal l of Fame 4.4 Team captains 4.5 Retired numbers 4.6 Penguins' Ring of Honor 4.7 Franchise scoring leaders 5 NHL awards and trophies 6 Franchise individual records 7 Current staff 8 Rivals 8.1 Philadelphia Flyers 8.2 Washington Capitals 9 Arenas 10 Farm system 11 Media 11.1 Broadcasters 11.1.1 Television 11.1.2 Radio 11.2 Figures with broadcasting resumés 12 References 13 External links [edit] Franchise history [edit] 1965 to 1969: Founding a franchise Before the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL's Pirates from 1925 to 1930, and the Hornets AHL franchise from the 1930s to 1967. Both the Pirates and Hornets had multiple playoff runs, with the Hornets playing in the final series seven times and winning three championships. In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, devised a plan to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. McGregor's plan involved lobbying some of his campaign contributors (who were avid sports fans) and community ! leaders. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of local investors for the Pittsburgh franchise 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 1967 NHL Expansion depended on securing votes from the then-current NHL owners; to ensure that Pittsburgh would be selected for expansion, 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 NHL awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million for their entry in to the NHL and $750,000 more for start-up costs. The Civic Arena's capacity was then 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, who held the rights to t! he Pitts burgh Hornets. The investor group named McGregor president and chief executive officer, and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL's Board of Governors.[1] After deciding on the "Penguin" nickname (which was inspired by the fact that the team was to play in the "Igloo", the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena),[2] a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the "Golden Triangle" of downtown Pittsburgh."[3] The Penguins' first general manager was Jack Riley. His team (along with the other expansion teams) was hampered by restrictive rules that kept most major talent with the "Original Six". Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate and tough defenseman Leo Boivin, the first Penguins team was manned by a cast of former minor leaguers. 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.[1] The Penguins would go 27–34–13 th! at year, missing the playoffs; however, the Penguins were a mere six points out of first place in the close-fought West Division. Still, there was a great moment in their first season: on October 21, 1967, they became the first team from the expansion class to beat an Original Six team, as they defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2. Though Bathgate led the team in scoring, both he and Boivin were soon gone. Former player George Sullivan was the head coach for the club's first two seasons until being replaced by Hockey Hall of Famer Red Kelly. [edit] 1970–1974: Tragedy of Briere and making the playoffs With the exception of a handful of decent players such as Ken Schinkel, Keith McCreary, agitator Bryan Watson, and goaltender Les Binkley, talent was otherwise thin, but enough for the Penguins to reach the playoffs in both 1970 and 1972. In the 1969 draft the Penguins discovered a diamond in the rough with the selection of Michel Briere who although being chosen 26th soon ! was drawing comparisons to Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke. Joi! ning the team in November, he finished as the top rookie scorer in the NHL with 44 points (57th overall), and third on the Penguins. He was only slightly edged out for the Calder Trophy honors to future Hall of Fame goalie Tony Esposito. The team finally had its first home-grown superstar in the making. The 1969–70 season only got better as Pittsburgh celebrated its first NHL Playoff berth since the 1928 Pirates. Besting the original franchise the Penguins recorded the first NHL series victory in the city's history, defeating the Oakland Seals in four games. A series away from the Stanley Cup Finals, the defending conference champions St. Louis Blues got the best of the club during six games, but the Penguins had shown the hockey world that Pittsburgh was on the rise. The club was just the fourth expansion team to win an NHL series. The rookie Briere was even more impressive as the post season got underway, recording five goals (including three game winners) and eight points in ju! st 10 games. Most dramatically he scored an overtime goal to win Pittsburgh its first NHL Playoff series in California. With the franchise two games shy of the Stanley Cup Finals and a promising rookie getting better with each game the future looked incredibly bright. Tragedy struck the Penguins just days after their playoff heroics. On May 15, 1970 Briere suffered head trauma in a car crash in his native Quebec. After two brain surgeries and never fully recovering from a comatose state for over a year, Briere died in a Montreal hospital. His jersey, number 21, was never reissued, remaining out of circulation for the Penguins until it was formally retired in 2001. Briere's 21 and Mario Lemieux's 66 are, to date, the only numbers retired by the Penguins. The next season the Penguins managed almost the same record as the 1969–70 campaign but finished five games out of the playoffs. Pittsburgh bounced back strong in 1971–72 with a playoff berth only to be swept by the Chic! ago Blackhawks in the first round. All the promise that built ! up in th e franchise in the last few seasons was slowly unraveling with age getting to the older expansion draft players, the low draft picks and the tragic death of what should have been the Penguins superstar Brière. The Penguins battled the California Golden Seals near the division cellar in 1973–74, Riley was fired as general manager and replaced with Jack Button. Button traded for Steve Durbano, Ab DeMarco, Jr., Bob "Battleship" Kelly, and Bob Paradise. The personnel moves proved successful, as the team's play improved. The Penguins just barely missed the playoffs in 1974. In early 1975 however the Penguins' creditors demanded payment of back debts. It forced the team into bankruptcy. The doors to the team's offices were padlocked, and it looked like the Penguins might fold or relocate. In early 1975, rumors had begun to circulate that the Penguins and California Golden Seals were to be relocated to Seattle and Denver respectively, the two cities that were to have been the si! tes of an expansion for the 1976–77 season. 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. [edit] Summer of '75 to 1982: A winning record and seven playoffs berths in eight seasons Beginning in the mid-seventies, Pittsburgh iced some powerful offensive clubs, led by the likes of the "Century Line" of Syl Apps, Jr., Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost. They came tantalizingly close to reaching the Stanley Cup semifinals in 1975, but were ousted from the playoffs by the New York Islanders in one of only three 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, the Penguins brought in other offensive weapons such as R
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