Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division
Pittsburgh Penguins
| Team's name: Pittsburgh Penguins Conference: Eastern Division: Atlantic  Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Nickname: Penguins Mascot: Iceburgh Team Colors: Black, Vegas Gold and White Joined the Conference: 1967 General Manager: Ray Shero Hockey Head Coach: Michel Therrien Hockey Stadium: Mellon Arena Current Capacity: 16,958 First Year of Hockey: 1967 Team Titles: Stanley Cup: 1990-91, 1991-92, 2008-09 Conference Championships: 1990-91, 1991-92, 2008-09 Division Championships: 1990-91, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1997-98, 2007-08 |
The Pittsburgh Penguins are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded as an expansion franchise in 1967. The “Penguins” nickname is derived from the team’s original stadium, the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, nicknamed the “Igloo.”
Although the team did not make the playoffs in its inaugural season, it was the first expansion team to defeat one of the NHL’s original 6 teams, the Chicago Blackhawks. (The rest of the Original Six are the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Detroit Red Wings, the Boston Bruins, and the New York Rangers.)
The Penguins reached the playoffs for the first time in 1970 but were defeated by the St. Louis Blues; they would again make the playoffs in 1972, but the years thereafter would see the team fighting for the cellar. The second half of the decade saw improvement; the team hit the postseason twice, in 1975 and 1979.
In 1980, the Penguins changed their colors from blue and white to their present-day black and gold. The 1980s proved to be a back-and-forth decade for the franchise; it had dismal records in 1983 and 1984 but made the playoffs in 1982 and 1989. It was in the 1980s, though, that the team picked French hockey phenomenon Mario Lemieux, and in the late years of the decade, also acquired a strong supporting cast.
In 1990, Lemieux was paired with right-winger Jaromir Jagr, and in 1991, the duo brought the Penguins to their first-ever Stanley Cup. The next year the Penguins swept the Chicago Blackhawks to take home the Stanley Cup for their second year in a row. The team remained formidable throughout the 1990s, claiming a President’s Trophy and setting franchise records.
Lemieux retired in 1997 and was immediately inducted into the Hall of Fame. A year later, when the team was forced into bankruptcy, Lemieux purchased the Flyers and became the team’s new owner. He also returned to the ice as a player in 2001, becoming the NHL’s first owner-player.
The team lost Jagr for the 2002 season, and his absence dropped the team to the bottom of the standings. The next year, the team picked goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury in the 2003 NHL Draft, a player who might have been able to rescue the Penguins, but the team did not play him in his first year. The Penguins were again in a slump, hovering at last place. The team was, however, able to pick Evgeni Malkin as a second overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft and then Sidney Crosby in the 2005 NHL Draft, choices that would thrust the team back into respectability in the coming years.
Things began to turn around for the Penguins in 2006. Lemieux retired, but Evgeni Malkin proved to be a replacement superstar. The franchise had its first 100-point season in 11 years and entered the postseason at fifth seed, but the team was defeated in the first round by the Ottawa Senators. Malkin also claimed the Calder Memorial Trophy.
The team improved immensely in the next year. After a series of strong acquisitions in the NHL Draft, the team captured the Atlantic Division title and entered into a long run for the Stanley Cup. The Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators, the New York Rangers, and the Philadelphia Flyers, gaining the Prince of Wales Trophy. However, they lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Detroit Red Wings.
Then came 2009. The year proved a magical season. The team’s entry into the playoffs in the previous year brought experience and maturity to the Penguins’ superstars, and the addition of coach Dan Bylsma kept the team on top. The Penguins were in the postseason again, this time at fourth seed, and the team went on to the Stanley Cup Finals – again, playing last year’s opponents, the Detroit Red Wings. The results this year, however, were dramatically different: the Penguins claimed the Stanley Cup in a winner-take-all Game 7.
For more information on the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, click here.
Pittsburgh Penguins Current Roster
| Centers | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 87 | Sidney Crosby | 21 | 5-11 | 200 | L |
| 48 | Tyler Kennedy | 22 | 5-10 | 183 | R |
| 71 | Evgeni Malkin | 22 | 6-3 | 192 | L |
| 11 | Jordan Staal | 20 | 6-4 | 220 | L |
| 25 | Maxime Talbot | 25 | 5-11 | 190 | L |
| Left Wings | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 24 | Matt Cooke | 30 | 5-11 | 205 | L |
| 9 | Pascal Dupuis | 30 | 6-0 | 199 | L |
| 26 | Ruslan Fedotenko | 30 | 6-2 | 195 | L |
| 14 | Chris Kunitz | 29 | 6-0 | 194 | L |
| Right Wings | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 27 | Craig Adams | 31 | 6-0 | 200 | R |
| 28 | Eric Godard | 29 | 6-4 | 221 | R |
| 13 | Bill Guerin | 38 | 6-2 | 220 | R |
| 81 | Miroslav Satan | 34 | 6-3 | 192 | L |
| 17 | Petr Sykora | 32 | 6-0 | 190 | L |
| Defense | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 43 | Philippe Boucher | 36 | 6-3 | 221 | R |
| 7 | Mark Eaton | 31 | 6-2 | 204 | L |
| 2 | Hal Gill | 34 | 6-7 | 250 | L |
| 55 | Sergei Gonchar | 35 | 6-2 | 212 | L |
| 58 | Kris Letang | 21 | 5-11 | 190 | R |
| 44 | Brooks Orpik | 28 | 6-2 | 219 | L |
| 4 | Rob Scuderi | 30 | 6-0 | 214 | L |
| Goalies | |||||
| No. | Name | Age | HT | WT | Shot |
| 29 | Marc-Andre Fleury | 24 | 6-2 | 180 | L |
| 32 | Mathieu Garon | 31 | 6-2 | 192 | R |