The Pittsburgh Penguins 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.
Robert Lang is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round, 133rd overall, at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Lang made his NHL debut with the team in the 1992–93 season. He has also played in the NHL for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Phoenix Coyotes, with whom he retired with in 2010.
Bengt Tomas Holmström is a Swedish former professional ice hockey left winger who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won four Stanley Cup championships; in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.
Carl Henrik Zetterberg is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He played his entire National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL), for whom he would serve as captain for his final six seasons.
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
John Sherratt "Black Jack" Stewart was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 12 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He won two Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings and was named to the post-season NHL All-Star team on five occasions: three times on the first team and twice on the second. Stewart also played in the first four NHL All-Star Games. After completing his NHL career as captain of the Black Hawks, he went on to coach numerous teams at various levels of hockey.
Petr Sýkora is a Czech former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota Wild. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won with the Devils in 2000 and the Penguins in 2009. Sýkora has played in six Stanley Cup Finals in his NHL career.
Ryan Whitney is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. After playing with his high school team from Thayer Academy and the USA National Development Program, Whitney joined the college ranks with Boston University in 2001. Upon completing his freshman year, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins fifth overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Following parts of three seasons with the Penguins' minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Whitney played his NHL rookie season in 2005–06. Whitney remained in Pittsburgh for three-and-a-half seasons, helping the club to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. He was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2010 after a brief stint with the Anaheim Ducks.
The Duquesne Gardens was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a trolley barn, before becoming a multi-purpose arena. The Gardens opened three years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. Over the years, the Gardens was the home arena of several of Pittsburgh's historic sports teams, such as ice hockey's Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Hornets. The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which was the first ice hockey league to openly hire and trade players, played all of its games at the Gardens. The arena was also the first hockey rink to ever use glass above the dasher boards. Developed locally by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Herculite glass was first tested in Pittsburgh. Most rinks were using wire mesh before the shatterproof glass was invented. Finally, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America, played at the Gardens from 1946 to 1947.
The Pittsburgh Hornets were a minor-league professional men's ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Lawrence Henry "Little Dempsey" Aurie was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Cougars, Detroit Falcons and Detroit Red Wings.
Christopher Kunitz is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks.
Karl Mikael Samuelsson is a Swedish former professional ice hockey right winger. Samuelsson began his career in Sweden, starting with small town team IFK Mariefred, followed by Södertälje SK as a junior in 1994. He went on to also play for Swedish teams IK Nyköping, Frölunda HC and Brynäs IF. After being selected 145th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks, he moved to North America for the 2000–01 NHL season. Samuelsson spent short stints with the Sharks, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers, before returning to Europe during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. As NHL play resumed, Samuelsson signed with the Detroit Red Wings, where he enjoyed individual and team success, winning the Stanley Cup with the club in 2008. After four seasons in Detroit, he signed with the Vancouver Canucks in July 2009. He enjoyed the two most successful individual seasons of his career with Vancouver, recording back-to-back 50-point campaigns in 2009–10 and 2010–11. In his third year with the club, he was traded to the Panthers for his second stint in Florida. At the end of the season, he re-signed with the Red Wings in July 2012.
John Harold Sherf was an American ice hockey player. He played 19 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings between 1936 and 1943. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1935 to 1944, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League. Sherf won the Stanley Cup in 1937 with Detroit, and was the first U.S. citizen to have his name engraved on it.
Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets was the name of three separate ice hockey teams based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The original team was part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA) from 1920 to 1925 and developed from predecessors dating back to 1915. After winning the USAHA Championship in 1924 and 1925, the ostensibly amateur Yellow Jackets turned fully professional and became the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Hockey League. After the Pirates relocated in 1930 to play as the Philadelphia Quakers, a second Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets club played for two seasons in the International Hockey League, a minor professional circuit. A third Yellow Jackets team was organized at the amateur level in 1935 by John H. Harris and competed in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League before folding in 1937.
Joseph Aldège Albert "Baz" Bastien was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, head coach and general manager. He played five games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1945, but received most of his playing accolades while with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League. He later became the Hornets' head coach and general manager and served in several front office positions with National Hockey League clubs until he was named the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1976. He served in that capacity until his death in a car crash in 1983.
The Pittsburgh Shamrocks were a professional ice hockey team, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that played in the International Hockey League in 1935–36. The team played all of its home games at Duquesne Garden. During their lone season in existence, the Shamrocks finished in fourth place in the West Division behind the Detroit Olympics, Cleveland Falcons, and Windsor Bulldogs. The Shamrocks scored 137 goals and allowed 170. The team folded after one season. It is estimated that the team lost $36,000 during 1935–36 season.
Peter Angelo Bessone was an American ice hockey player and coach. Bessone played 6 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1937–38 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1931 to 1952, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League, though he also spent time in the French, Swiss, and Italian national leages. Internationally Bessone played for the American national team at the 1934 World Championships, where he won a silver medal. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.
The Fort Pitt Hornets were a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team played in the United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA), which was technically a semi-pro league by 1924.
