The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins 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, which was also known as Mellon Arena from 1999 to 2010, and by its nickname "the Igloo". The Penguins are affiliated with two minor league teams – the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.
Mario Lemieux is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2005, and he assumed ownership of the franchise in 1999. Nicknamed "The Magnificent One", "Le Magnifique", and "Super Mario", his combination of size, strength, athleticism, and creativity made him one of the greatest players of all time.
Ronald Michael Francis Jr. is a Canadian ice hockey sports executive and former player. He currently serves as the general manager of the Seattle Kraken. He spent most of his career as either a player or executive for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes organization, 23 years in total.
The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, from 1967 to 2010.
Sidney Patrick Crosby is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Sid the Kid" and dubbed "The Next One", he was selected first overall by the Penguins in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Born and raised in Halifax, Crosby was considered one of the most lauded prospects in ice hockey history and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time.
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers football team, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
Jeffrey Thomas Norton is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Pittsburgh Penguins 2006–07 season was rife with potential, as the team featured one of the largest groups of young stars in the National Hockey League (NHL). Evgeni Malkin, the second overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, came to the United States from Russia prior to the season and joined the team. He promptly became the first NHL rookie since 1917 to score goals in each of his first six games. Malkin and second-year phenom Sidney Crosby were joined by 18-year-old Jordan Staal, who made the jump directly from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to the Penguins roster after being drafted second overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins also brought back Mark Recchi via free agency, giving Recchi his third stint with the team. It would also be the first season the team would have involving defenceman and soon-to-be alternate captain Kris Letang.
Richard Brian Pilon is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Métis heritage. He was drafted 143rd overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. Playing as a defenceman, Pilon played for the Islanders, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues during his 15-year NHL career. He is the former coach of the Weyburn Red Wings of The SJHL.
PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2011 to 2014.
The Flyers–Penguins rivalry, also known as the Battle of Pennsylvania, is a National Hockey League (NHL) rivalry between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey clubs. Both teams compete in the NHL's Eastern Conference Metropolitan Division. The rivalry began in 1967, when the teams were introduced into the NHL's "Next Six" expansion wave. The rivalry exists due to divisional alignment and geographic location, as both teams play in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Flyers and Penguins met in the Stanley Cup playoffs four times in 11 years from 2008 to 2018, strengthening the rivalry.
David Morehouse is an American businessman and former president and chief executive officer of Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. During his tenure, the Penguins won three Stanley Cups, reached four Stanley Cup finals and was sold out every game for 14 seasons. He previously served in politics as a member of the Clinton administration, and on the presidential campaigns of Al Gore (2000) and John Kerry (2004).
The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2011, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fourth edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Washington Capitals against the Pittsburgh Penguins; the Capitals won, 3–1. The game, rescheduled from its original 1:00 p.m. ET start time to 8:00 p.m. due to weather concerns, was telecast on NBC in the United States, and CBC (English) and RDS (French) in Canada. Pittsburgh native Jackie Evancho performed the Star Spangled Banner and Pittsburgh sports legends Mario Lemieux, Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis presided over the ceremonial dropping of the puck, and during the second intermission Harris and Bettis hosted a fan event at the outside rink.
Hockey Fights Cancer is a charitable initiative of the US and Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) dedicated to raising money and awareness toward cancer research. It was founded in 1998 as an outgrowth of a similar program instituted by the Tampa Bay Lightning after former player John Cullen made a brief NHL comeback after suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The program had raised over US$14 million according to its Web site in 2015.
The Penguins–Islanders brawl was an incident during a National Hockey League (NHL) regular season ice hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders that resulted in a record for combined penalty minutes for both teams. The game was played on February 11, 2011, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the home arena of the Islanders at the time. New York won the game 9–3. In all, 65 penalties were assessed, including 15 fighting majors and 21 game misconducts, resulting in a total of 346 penalty minutes.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 1988 in ice hockey.
The following is a chronicle of events during the year 1984 in ice hockey.
