- 1967
- 1984
- 1991
- 1992
- 1999
- 2006
- 2009
- 2016
- 2017
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1967 Pittsburgh Penguins Team Formation
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 Blackhawks, and his brother Bruce Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The effort was successful, and on February 8, 1966, the National Hockey ... -
Mario Lemieux Drafted
The team had the league’s worst record in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons, and with the team suffering financial problems, it again looked as though the Penguins would fold. 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 ... -
Stanley Cup Winner 1991
The 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the National Hockey League (NHL) championship began on April 3, 1991, following the 1990 – 1991 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, from the top four teams of the four divisions, played best-of-seven series with re-seeding after the division finals. The Conference Champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup. -
Stanley Cup Winner 1992
The 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 18, after the conclusion of the 1991 – 1992 NHL season. It was the 100th anniversary of the first awarding of the Stanley Cup, and it was won by the Pittsburgh Penguins, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks. -
Bankruptcy
The Penguins were simultaneously in the midst of a battle for their survival. Their free-spending ways in the early 1990s came with a price; at one point they owed over $90 million to various creditors. Owners Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg who bought the Penguins after their first Cup win asked the players to defer their salaries to help pay ... -
Drafting Sidney Crosby
Entering the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Crosby was listed first overall in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and International Scouting Services’ respective rankings of prospects. He had also won the Mike Bossy Trophy as the QMJHL’s best prospect. Crosby went on to be selected first overall in the draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 30, 2005. Due to the ... -
Stanley Cup Winner 2009
The 2009 Stanley Cup Final was the best-of-seven NHL championship series of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs contested between the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings. It was Detroit’s 24th appearance in the Finals and Pittsburgh’s fourth appearance in the Finals. This was a rematch of the 2008 Finals where Detroit had defeated ... -
Stanley Cup Winner 2016
The 2016 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL)’s 2015 – 2016 season and the culmination of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. This was the 123rd year of the Stanley Cup’s presentation. The Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks four games to two to win their fourth ... -
Stanley Cup Winner 2017
The 2017 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) 2016–17 season, and the culmination of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Western Conference champion Nashville Predators, four games to two. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as a ...
History of the Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan 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 twelve teams. The Penguins played in the Civic Arena, also known to Pittsburgh fans as “The Igloo”, from the time of their inception through the end of the 2009 – 2010 season. They moved into their new arena, PPG Paints Arena, to begin the 2010 – 2011 NHL season. They have qualified for five Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup four times – in 1991, 1992, 2009, and 2016.
Established
1967
City
Pittsburgh
League History
1967 – Present / National Hockey League
Team History
1967 – Present / Pittsburgh Penguins
Nickname
Penguins – The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sponsored a name-the-team contest, but Carol McGregor, the wife of one of the franchise’s part owners, Jack McGregor, was the one responsible for the nickname. Here is how Carol McGregor came up with the name. “I was thinking of something with a P. And I said to Jack, ‘What do they call the Civic Arena?’ And he said, ‘The Big Igloo.’ So I thought, ice … Pittsburgh … Penguins.” More than 700 of the 26,000 entries in the team’s naming contest suggested Penguins; the winner, Emily Roberts of Belle Vernon, Pa., was the new team’s first season-ticket holder.
Championship
Stanley Cup 5
2017, 2015, 2009, 1992, 1991
Arena
2016 – Present / PPG Paints Arena
2010 – 2016 / Consol Energy Center
1967 – 2010 / Civic Arena
Owner
1999 – Present / Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle
1997 – 1999 / Howard Baldwin, Morris Belzberg, Thomas Ruta, and Roger Marino
1991 – 1997 / Howard Baldwin, Morris Belzberg, and Thomas Ruta
1977 – 1991 / Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr.
1976 – 1977 / Al Savill and Otto Frenzel
1975 – 1976 / Al Savill, Otto Frenzel, and Wren Blair
1975 / National Hockey League
1971 – 1975 / Peter Block, Elmore Keener, and Peter Burchfield
1968 – 1971 / Donald Parsons
1965 – 1968 / Jack McGregor and Peter Block
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
21 / Michel Briere
66 / Mario Lemieux
99 / Wayne Gretzky
*Blue is this team’s history