Pittsburgh Penguins
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Pittsburgh Penguins | |
Conference | Eastern |
Division | Atlantic |
Founded | 1967 |
History | Pittsburgh Penguins 1967-present |
Arena | Mellon Arena |
City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Local Media Affiliates | FSN Pittsburgh WPCW 19 (Pittsburgh's CW) WXDX (105.9 FM) WBGG (970 AM) |
Team Colors | Black, White, and Gold |
Owner | Lemieux Group L.P. (pending sale to Jim Balsillie) |
General Manager | Ray Shero |
Head Coach | Michel Therrien |
Captain | Vacant |
Minor League Affiliates | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) |
Stanley Cups | 1990-91, 1991-92 |
Conference Championships | 1990-91, 1991-92 |
Division Championships | 1990-91, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1997-98 |
The Pittsburgh Penguins is a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They began play in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a 1967 expansion team.
[edit] Franchise history
[edit] Expansion years: 1967-69
The home of the early NHL incarnation of the Pirates during the 1920s and the successful Hornets American Hockey League franchise from the 1930s through the 1960s, Pittsburgh was one of six cities (the other five were Los Angeles and Oakland, California, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Minneapolis) which were awarded an expansion team when the NHL doubled in size for the start of 1967-68. The Penguins' first general manager was Jack Riley. The new teams were hampered by restrictive rules that kept most major talent with the "Original Six" (the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks) and beyond aging ex-Rangers/Leafs sniper Andy Bathgate and tough ex-Bruin defenseman Leo Boivin, one of the most devastating body checkers in the league, the first Penguins team was manned by a cast of former minor-leaguers. The club missed the playoffs in their first season in the NHL finishing 5th in the close-fought West Division. However, they were only six points out of first place.
Former player George Sullivan was the head coach for the club's first two seasons. He was soon replaced by Hockey Hall of Famer Leo Kelly in 1969. Though Bathgate led the team in scoring, both he and Boivin were soon gone. Despite a handful of decent players such as Ken Schinkel, Keith McCreary, agitator Bryan Watson and goaltender Les Binkley, talent was thin. The Penguins' record was poor in the early years. They missed the playoffs in five of their first seven seasons.
[edit] 1970s Mediocrity and a Rise — and the team almost folds
Tragedy struck the Penguins in 1970 when rookie center Michel Briere, who finished third in scoring on the team during his only season in the league, was injured in a car crash. He died in 1971 after spending a year in the hospital. Pittsburgh managed a playoff berth in 1972, but went downhill from there. Finally, with the Penguins near last with the California Seals in 1973-74, Jack Riley was fired as general manager and replaced by Jack Button. Button traded for Steve Durbano, Ab Demarco Jr. and Bob "Battleship" Kelly, and others, such as Bob Paradise, and now the team was winning. Although the Penguins missed the playoffs in 1974, they almost made it, turning around in great fashion. Gone was a team that could be pushed around.
For a few years in the mid-Seventies, Pittsburgh iced some powerful offensive clubs, led by the likes of the "Century Line" of forwards 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 the few best-of-seven game series' in professional sports history where a team came back from being down three games to none. As the 70s wore on, they brought in stars such as Rick Kehoe, Pierre Larouche and Ron Schock on offense, along with defensemen Ron Stackhouse and Dave Burrows. But the Pens' success was always neutralized by mediocre team defense and poor goaltending, and the club never went far in the playoffs.
The Penguins almost folded in 1975 when their creditors demanded payment of back debts. A group that included Wren Blair stepped in and prevented the Penguins from folding. A decline started when Baz Bastien became general manager. The Penguins missed the playoffs in 1977-78 when their offense and defense declined, and Larouche was traded for Pete Mahovlich and Peter Lee. Bastien traded draft choices for such players as Orest Kindrachuk, Tom Bladon, Rick MacLeish and Gregg Sheppard and the team would suffer in the 1980s as a result.
[edit] Early 1980s — The Penguins Nearly Fold Again
By the early Eighties Pittsburgh had Kehoe, star defenseman Randy Carlyle and prolific scorers Paul Gardner and Mike Bullard, but little else. The team had the league's worst record in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons and it looked as though the Penguins would fold. The reward for such pitiful hockey was the right to draft French Canadian phenomenon Mario Lemieux. Other teams offered substantial trade packages for the draft choice, but the Penguins kept the pick and a legend was born.
On a side note, the Penguins began the decade by changing their team colors in January 1980, during the middle of the season. The team went from blue & white to their present-day black & gold, to honor Pittsburgh's other two sports teams, baseball's Pirates and American football's Steelers. Both the Pirates and Steelers wore black & gold, and both were fresh off world championship seasons at that time. (Strangely enough, the patterns on the uniforms remained basically the same, just the colors were changed.) The Boston Bruins supposedly tried suing the Penguins and the NHL for preventing the team from using black & gold (the same colors as the Bruins) [citation needed], but the lawsuit was later dismissed because Pittsburgh was able to claim a link between the colors of the Steelers and the Pirates, as well as the Pirates hockey team that played in Pittsburgh during the 1920s and 1930s.
[edit] Rising from the ashes: The Mario Lemieux era: 1984-94, 1995-97, 2000-04, 2005-06
The Penguins finished last in the league in 1984. With the first overall pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft Pittsburgh selected Quebec Major Junior Hockey League superstar Mario Lemieux, who would become one of the greatest players in NHL history. He paid dividends right away, scoring on the first shot of his first shift in his first NHL game. As an added bonus, future Hall of Fame blueliner and fellow Montrealer and Rookie of the Year Ray Bourque of the Bruins was he from whom Lemieux stole the puck. Some criticized Lemieux for neglecting his defensive responsibilities, but Steeltown was looking for offense and Lemieux delivered.
After four more years out of the playoffs, Lemieux led the league in scoring in 1988-89, making, for the second consecutive season, Wayne Gretzky not the point leader in the NHL. The Penguins gave him a supporting cast for the first time, trading for superstar defenseman Paul Coffey from the Edmonton Oilers (after the Oilers' 1987 Stanley Cup win), and adding scorers Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown, and John Cullen from the minors. And there was finally a top-flight goaltender between the pipes, with the acquisition of Tom Barrasso from the Buffalo Sabres. The Pens made the playoffs, but lost in the second round to their trans-Pennsylvania rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers. Despite Lemieux missing 21 games in 1989-90 (because of a herniated disk in his back), and yet amassing 123 points, the Pens slipped out of the playoffs, revocalizing Lemieux's detractors.
But in 1990-91, the Penguins reached the top. They drafted Czech right-winger Jaromir Jagr in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, the first player from his country to attend an NHL draft without having to defect, and he paired with Lemieux as probably the league's biggest one-two scoring threat throughout the 1990s. Mark Recchi arrived from the minors, Joe Mullen and Bryan Trottier signed as free agents, and major trades brought Larry Murphy, Ron Francis, and Ulf Samuelsson to Pittsburgh. The Penguins finally became the league's best team, defeating the Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup finals in six games. The following season, the team lost coach Bob Johnson to cancer, and Scotty Bowman took over as coach. Under the legendary Bowman, they swept the Chicago Blackhawks to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.
Cancer nearly dealt the Penguins a double whammy in 1993. Not only were they reeling from Johnson's death, but Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Only two months after the diagnosis, his comeback was one of the league's great "feel-good" stories of all time, missing 24 out of 84 games, but winning his fourth Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion with 160 points scored, edging out Pat LaFontaine and Adam Oates for the award. Despite the off-ice difficulties, Pittsburgh finished with a 56-21-7 record, winning the franchise's first (and still only) Presidents' Trophy as the team with the most points in the regular season. After Lemieux's return, the team played better than it ever had before, winning an NHL-record 17 consecutive games before playing to a tie in the final game of the season. Despite all of this success, they were still eliminated in the second round by the New York Islanders, when in double overtime, New York's David Volek suddenly scored.
The Penguins continued to be a formidable team throughout the 1990s. The stars of the Stanley Cup years were followed by the likes of forwards Martin Straka, Petr Nedved, Alexei Kovalev and Robert Lang, and defensemen Sergei Zubov, Kevin Hatcher, and Darius Kasparaitis. Lemieux retired in 1997 and formally passed the torch to Jagr as the league's leading scorer. Because of his legendary status, the Hockey Hall of Fame waived its three-year waiting period and inducted him as an Honored Member in the same year he retired. When Gretzky retired two years later, everyone amongst the list of NHL superstars who was expecting a full-steam-ahead Hall of Fame berth was disappointed.
The Penguins' free-spending ways came with a price — they'd paid so much for their talent that they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1998. Lemieux, a principal creditor due to being owed many millions in deferred salary from his playing days, took the team over in bankruptcy court and prevented it from relocating. Just as he saved the franchise in 1984, he did it again. He later shocked the hockey world by deciding to come back on December 27, 2000 and led the Penguins into the 2001 playoffs, where they lost to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals. Kasparitis scored the overtime 2001 goal against the Buffalo Sabres in the second round. Lemieux was the first player-owner in NHL history.
Still, the Penguins needed to cut costs. They dealt Jagr and Frantisek Kucera to the Washington Capitals for prospects Kris Beech, Michal Sivek, and Ross Lupaschuk, and $4.9 million in the summer of 2001. The absence of Jagr proved devastating to the Penguins, and in 2002 they missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. Further financial difficulties saw them trade fan favorite Kovalev to the New York Rangers the next season, quickly followed by the departure of Lang in free agency. Unfortunately for the franchise, none of the prospects acquired for the stars' salary dumps materialized into NHL stars. Thus, the Penguins spent the next several seasons in the NHL's basement.
2003 was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Penguins, with first overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and new head coach (and former Penguin and commentator) Eddie Olczyk. Cost restrictions made the signing of Fleury rather tense, but he later showed his resolve with excellent goaltending for a last-place club. Lemieux suffered a hip injury early in the season, and he sat out the rest of the season to recover. The Pens then traded Straka away to the Los Angeles Kings and sent Fleury back to his junior team due to further money problems. The Penguins finished with the worst NHL record, but lost the lottery for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft to the Washington Capitals.
The Penguins suffered small-market syndrome for most of their existence, and cost-cutting prevented another collapse into insolvency. Financially, the team was one of the better-managed NHL franchises between its 1998 bankruptcy and the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Thanks to significant post-season runs, the Penguins broke even in 2000 and turned a small profit in 2001. Failure to make the playoffs in the next three seasons hurt the team's bottom line, but the shedding of contracts kept the team afloat as other franchises, like the Ottawa Senators, faced significant losses or declared bankruptcy.
[edit] Lockout season: 2004-05
With the 2004-05 NHL season cancelled due to the NHL lockout, several Penguins signed with the club's American Hockey League affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, while experienced players like Aleksey Morozov and Milan Kraft honed their talents in the elite European and Russian leagues.
[edit] The Sidney Crosby Era: 2005 and beyond
The Penguins won an unprecedented draft lottery in the summer of 2005, in which all thirty teams had weighted chances to win the first overall pick of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins chose junior league superstar Sidney Crosby from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. With a new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed by the owners and players to end the 2004-05 NHL lockout, the Penguins began rebuilding the team under a salary cap. They signed big-name free agents Sergei Gonchar, John LeClair and Zigmund Palffy, and traded for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault from the Chicago Blackhawks. Crosby set a new record for the youngest NHL player to score 100 points, previously held by former Rookie of the Year Dale Hawerchuk, in 2005-06, and, with 102 points, broke Lemieux's Penguins record. He was also the first rookie to score 100 points and have 100 penalty minutes (110) in the same season. Hawerchuk had been 100 days older than Crosby was at his own 100-point mark, in 1981-82 when he scored 103 points for the Winnipeg Jets, which are now known as the Phoenix Coyotes.
The team began the season with a long winless skid that resulted in a coaching change from Olczyk to Michel Therrien. Palffy announced his retirement due to a lingering shoulder injury while the team's second-leading scorer. Then on January 24, 2006, Lemieux announced his second retirement, this time for good, after developing an irregular heart beat. He finished as the NHL's seventh all-time scorer (1,723), eighth in goals (690) and tenth in assists (1,033).[1][2][3]
It was now, for all intents and purposes, Crosby's team, and on April 17, Crosby became the youngest rookie in history to score 100 points, tying Lemieux's rookie record. And on April 18, on the Penguins' final game of the season, Crosby scored a goal and an assist to break Lemieux's record and became the top scoring rookie in team history with 102 points, despite losing the rookie scoring race to Alexander Ovechkin by 4 points, and the game to the late-surging, Jean-Sébastien Aubin-led, Toronto Maple Leafs, 5—3. Despite a decent finish, the Penguins posted the worst record of the Eastern Conference and the highest goals-against in the league. Only the St. Louis Blues closed the season with a worse record.
The team announced on April 20, two days after the close of 2005-06, that the contract for General Manager Craig Patrick would not be renewed. Patrick had been GM since December 1989, and the Penguins won five division titles and back-to-back Stanley Cups during his tenure. On May 25, Ray Shero signed a five-year contract as General Manager. Shero had previously spent eight seasons as Assistant General Manager for the Nashville Predators preceded by six seasons as Assistant GM for the Ottawa Senators. Ray is the son of the late NHL coach Fred Shero.
On October 18, 2006, young Russian superstar Evgeni Malkin played and scored a goal in his first NHL game, and went on to set the modern NHL record with a goal in each of his first six games. Also contributing early to the 2006-07 season was Jordan Staal, the third of four Staal brothers in hockey, who was the Penguins' second overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
[edit] Penguins Sold
On October 4, 2006, it was announced that a group led by Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion, had come to agreement with the current ownership to purchase the franchise. The purchase casts further doubt on the club remaining in Pittsburgh, as the Waterloo, Ontario-area based Balsillie once had the scheduling rights to Hamilton's Copps Coliseum for an NHL franchise and made efforts earlier in the year to determine legal validity of NHL territorial rights (as Hamilton lies roughly 50 minutes from Buffalo, New York and Toronto). It remains to be seen whether Balsillie will relocate the team to Hamilton or the Kitchener-Waterloo region.
[edit] Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Records as of October 21, 2006. [1] [2]
Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
1967-68 | 74 | 27 | 34 | 13 | — | 67 | 195 | 216 | 554 | 5th, West | Did not qualify |
1968-69 | 76 | 20 | 45 | 11 | — | 51 | 189 | 252 | 677 | 5th, West | Did not qualify |
1969-70 | 76 | 26 | 38 | 12 | — | 64 | 182 | 238 | 1038 | 2nd, West | Won in Quarterfinals, 4-0 (Seals) Lost in Semifinals, 2-4 (Blues) |
1970-71 | 78 | 21 | 37 | 20 | — | 62 | 221 | 240 | 1079 | 6th, West | Did not qualify |
1971-72 | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | — | 66 | 220 | 258 | 978 | 4th, West | Lost in Quarterfinals, 0-4 (Black Hawks) |
1972-73 | 78 | 32 | 37 | 9 | — | 73 | 257 | 265 | 866 | 5th, West | Did not qualify |
1973-74 | 78 | 28 | 41 | 9 | — | 65 | 242 | 273 | 950 | 5th, West | Did not qualify |
1974-75 | 80 | 37 | 28 | 15 | — | 89 | 326 | 289 | 1119 | 3rd, Norris | Won in Preliminary Round, 2-0 (Blues) Lost in Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Islanders) |
1975-76 | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | — | 82 | 339 | 303 | 1004 | 3rd, Norris | Lost in Preliminary Round, 1-2 (Maple Leafs) |
1976-77 | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | — | 81 | 240 | 252 | 669 | 3rd, Norris | Lost in Preliminary Round, 1-2 (Maple Leafs) |
1977-78 | 80 | 25 | 37 | 18 | — | 68 | 254 | 321 | 1300 | 4th, Norris | Did not qualify |
1978-79 | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | — | 85 | 281 | 279 | 1039 | 2nd, Norris | Won in Preliminary Round, 2-1 (Sabres) Lost in Quarterfinals, 0-4 (Bruins) |
1979-80 | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | — | 73 | 251 | 303 | 1038 | 3rd, Norris | Lost in Preliminary Round, 2-3 (Bruins) |
1980-81 | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | — | 73 | 302 | 345 | 1807 | 4th, Norris | Lost in Preliminary Round, 2-3 (Blues) |
1981-82 | 80 | 31 | 36 | 13 | — | 75 | 310 | 337 | 2212 | 4th, Patrick | Lost in Division Semifinals, 2-3 (Islanders) |
1982-83 | 80 | 18 | 53 | 9 | — | 45 | 257 | 394 | 1859 | 6th, Patrick | Did not qualify |
1983-84 | 80 | 16 | 58 | 6 | — | 38 | 254 | 390 | 1695 | 6th, Patrick | Did not qualify |
1984-85 | 80 | 24 | 51 | 5 | — | 53 | 276 | 385 | 1493 | 6th, Patrick | Did not qualify |
1985-86 | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | — | 76 | 313 | 305 | 1538 | 5th, Patrick | Did not qualify |
1986-87 | 80 | 30 | 38 | 12 | — | 72 | 297 | 290 | 1693 | 5th, Patrick | Did not qualify |
1987-88 | 80 | 36 | 35 | 9 | — | 81 | 319 | 316 | 2211 | 6th, Patrick | Did not qualify |
1988-89 | 80 | 40 | 33 | 7 | — | 87 | 347 | 349 | 2670 | 2nd, Patrick | Won in Division Semifinals, 4-0 (Rangers) Lost in Division Finals, 3-4 (Flyers) |
1989-90 | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | — | 72 | 318 | 359 | 2132 | 5th, Patrick | Did not qualify |
1990-91 | 80 | 41 | 33 | 6 | — | 88 | 342 | 305 | 1641 | 1st, Patrick | Won in Division Semifinals, 4-3 (Devils) Won in Division Finals, 4-1 (Capitals) Won in Conference Finals, 4-2 (Bruins) Stanley Cup Champions, 4-2 (North Stars) |
1991-92 | 80 | 39 | 32 | 9 | — | 87 | 343 | 308 | 1907 | 3rd, Patrick | Won in Division Semifinals, 4-3 (Capitals) Won in Division Finals, 4-2 (Rangers) Won in Conference Finals, 4-0 (Bruins) Stanley Cup Champions, 4-0 (Blackhawks) |
1992-93 | 84 | 56 | 21 | 7 | — | 119 | 367 | 268 | 1776 | 1st, Patrick | Won in Division Semifinals, 4-1 (Devils) Lost in Division Finals, 3-4 (Islanders) |
1993-94 | 84 | 44 | 27 | 13 | — | 101 | 299 | 285 | 1624 | 1st, Northeast | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Capitals) |
1994-951 | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | — | 61 | 181 | 158 | 1036 | 2nd, Northeast | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-3 (Capitals) Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1-4 (Devils) |
1995-96 | 82 | 49 | 29 | 4 | — | 102 | 362 | 284 | 1623 | 1st, Northeast | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-2 (Capitals) Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-1 (Rangers) Lost in Conference Finals, 3-4 (Panthers) |
1996-97 | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | — | 84 | 285 | 280 | 1498 | 2nd, Northeast | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 1-4 (Flyers) |
1997-98 | 82 | 40 | 24 | 18 | — | 98 | 228 | 188 | 1225 | 1st, Northeast | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Canadiens) |
1998-99 | 82 | 38 | 30 | 14 | — | 90 | 242 | 225 | 977 | 3rd, Atlantic | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-3 (Devils) Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Maple Leafs) |
1999-00 | 82 | 37 | 31 | 8 | 6 | 88 | 241 | 236 | 1221 | 3rd, Atlantic | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-1 (Capitals) Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Flyers) |
2000-01 | 82 | 42 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 96 | 281 | 256 | 1585 | 3rd, Atlantic | Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4-2 (Capitals) Won in Conference Semifinals, 4-3 (Sabres) Lost in Conference Finals, 1-4 (Devils) |
2001-02 | 82 | 28 | 41 | 8 | 5 | 69 | 198 | 249 | 1248 | 5th, Atlantic | Did not qualify |
2002-03 | 82 | 27 | 44 | 6 | 5 | 65 | 189 | 255 | 1125 | 5th, Atlantic | Did not qualify |
2003-04 | 82 | 23 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 58 | 190 | 303 | 1270 | 5th, Atlantic | Did not qualify |
2004-052 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
2005-063 | 82 | 22 | 46 | — | 14 | 58 | 244 | 316 | 1539 | 5th, Atlantic | Did not qualify |
Totals4 | 3014 | 1221 | 1373 | 383 | 37 | 2862 | 10182 | 10875 | 52916 | — | |
Current NHL season | |||||||||||
2006-07 | 16 | 8 | 6 | — | 2 | 18 | 52 | 51 | 300 | — |
- 1 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.
- 2 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
- 3 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).
- 4 Totals do not include 2006-07 season.
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Current roster
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
29 | Marc-André Fleury | L | 2003 | Sorel, Quebec | |
41 | Jocelyn Thibault | L | 2005 | Montreal, Quebec |
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
2 | Josef Melichar | L | 1997 | České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia | |
3 | Mark Eaton | L | 2006 | Wilmington, Delaware | |
4 | Noah Welch | L | 2001 | Brighton, Massachusetts | |
5 | Rob Scuderi | L | 1998 | Syosset, New York | |
19 | Ryan Whitney | L | 2002 | Boston, Massachusetts | |
33 | Eric Cairns | L | 2006 | Oakville, Ontario | |
44 | Brooks Orpik | L | 2002 | San Francisco, California | |
55 | Sergei Gonchar - A | L | 2005 | Chelyabinsk, U.S.S.R. |
|
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Player | Position | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
7 | Michel Ouellet | RW | R | 2000 | Rimouski, Quebec | |
8 | Mark Recchi - A | RW | L | 2006 | Kamloops, British Columbia | |
10 | John LeClair - A | LW | L | 2005 | St. Albans, Vermont | |
11 | Jordan Staal | C | L | 2006 | Thunder Bay, Ontario | |
12 | Ryan Malone | RW | L | 1999 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
18 | Dominic Moore | C | L | 2006 | Thornhill, Ontario | |
20 | Colby Armstrong | RW | R | 2001 | Lloydminster, Saskatchewan | |
22 | Chris Thorburn | C | R | 2006 | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario | |
25 | Maxime Talbot | C | L | 2002 | LeMoyne, Quebec | |
26 | Ronald Petrovický | RW | R | 2006 | Žilina, Czechoslovakia | |
28 | Nils Ekman | LW | L | 2006 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
36 | André Roy | RW | L | 2005 | Port Chester, New York | |
37 | Jarkko Ruutu | LW | L | 2006 | Helsinki, Finland | |
71 | Evgeni Malkin | C | L | 2004 | Magnitogorsk, U.S.S.R. | |
87 | Sidney Crosby - A | C | L | 2005 | Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia |
[edit] Team captains
- Ab McDonald, 1967-68
- No captain, 1968-73
- Ron Schock, 1973-77
- Jean Pronovost, 1977-78
- Orest Kindrachuk, 1978-81
- Randy Carlyle, 1981-84
- Mike Bullard, 1984-86
- Terry Ruskowski, 1986-87
- Dan Frawley; Mario Lemieux, 1987-88
- Mario Lemieux, 1988-94
- Ron Francis, 1994-95
- Mario Lemieux, 1995-97
- Ron Francis, 1997-98
- Jaromir Jagr, 1998-01
- Mario Lemieux, 2001-06
- No captain [3] 2006- present
[edit] Hall of Famers
- Players
- Andy Bathgate, RW, 1967-68 & 1970-71, inducted 1978
- Paul Coffey, D, 1987-92, inducted 2004
- Mario Lemieux, C, 1984-97 & 2000-06, inducted 1997
- Joe Mullen, RW, 1990-95 & 1996-97, inducted 2000
- Larry Murphy, D, 1990-95, inducted 2004
- Bryan Trottier, C, 1990-92 & 1993-94, inducted 1997
- Builders
- Scotty Bowman, Director of Player Development; Head coach, 1990-93, inducted 1991
- Bob Johnson, Head coach, 1990-91, inducted 1992
- Craig Patrick, General Manager/Head coach, 1989-2006, inducted 2001
- Broadcasters
- Mike Lange, TV/Radio play-by-play, 1975- present, inducted 2001
[edit] Retired numbers
- 21 Michel Brière, C, 1969-70, taken out of circulation following his death (1971) but not officially retired until January 5, 2001
- 66 Mario Lemieux, C, 1984-97 & 2000-06, number retired November 19, 1997; his jersey number was lowered from Mellon Arena rafters and "unretired" when he began his comeback on December 27, 2000; number re-retired October 5, 2006
- 99 Wayne Gretzky, number retired league-wide February 6, 2000
[edit] First-round draft picks
- 1967: Steve Rexe (2nd overall)
- 1968: Gary Swain (4th overall)
- 1969: None
- 1970: Greg Polis (7th overall)
- 1971: None
- 1972: None
- 1973: Blaine Stoughton (7th overall)
- 1974: Pierre Larouche (8th overall)
- 1975: Gordon Laxton (15th overall)
- 1976: Blair Chapman (2nd overall)
- 1977: None
- 1978: None
- 1979: None
- 1980: Mike Bullard (9th overall)
- 1981: None
- 1982: Rich Sutter (10th overall)
- 1983: Bob Errey (15th overall)
- 1984: Mario Lemieux (1st overall), Doug Bodger (9th overall), & Roger Belanger (16th overall)
- 1985: Craig Simpson (2nd overall)
- 1986: Zarley Zalapski (4th overall)
- 1987: Chris Joseph (5th overall)
- 1988: Darrin Shannon (4th overall)
- 1989: Jamie Heward (16th overall)
- 1990: Jaromir Jagr (5th overall)
- 1991: Markus Naslund (16th overall)
- 1992: Martin Straka (16th overall)
- 1993: Stefan Bergkvist (26th overall)
- 1994: Chris Wells (24th overall)
- 1995: Aleksey Morozov (24th overall)
- 1996: Craig Hillier (23rd overall)
- 1997: Robert Dome (17th overall)
- 1998: Milan Kraft (23rd overall)
- 1999: Konstantin Koltsov (18th overall)
- 2000: Brooks Orpik (18th overall)
- 2001: Colby Armstrong (21st overall)
- 2002: Ryan Whitney (5th overall)
- 2003: Marc-Andre Fleury (1st overall)
- 2004: Evgeni Malkin (2nd overall)
- 2005: Sidney Crosby (1st overall)
- 2006: Jordan Staal (2nd overall)
[edit] Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Penguins player
Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | P/G |
Mario Lemieux | C | 915 | 690 | 1033 | 1723 | 1.88 |
Jaromir Jagr | RW | 806 | 439 | 640 | 1079 | 1.34 |
Rick Kehoe | RW | 722 | 312 | 324 | 636 | .88 |
Ron Francis | C | 533 | 144 | 449 | 613 | 1.15 |
Jean Pronovost | RW | 753 | 316 | 287 | 603 | .80 |
Kevin Stevens | LW | 522 | 260 | 295 | 555 | 1.06 |
Syl Apps, Jr. | C | 495 | 151 | 349 | 500 | 1.01 |
Martin Straka | C | 560 | 165 | 277 | 442 | .79 |
Paul Coffey | D | 331 | 108 | 332 | 440 | 1.33 |
Ron Schock | C | 619 | 124 | 280 | 404 | .65 |
[edit] NHL awards and trophies
- Mario Lemieux: 1987-88, 1988-89, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97
- Jaromir Jagr: 1994-95, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01
NHL All-Rookie Team
- 1985: Mario Lemieux, Warren Young
- 1989: Zarley Zalapski
- 1991: Jaromir Jagr
- 1997: Patrick Lalime
- 1998: Aleksey Morozov
- 2003: Sebastien Caron
- 2004: Ryan Malone
- 2006: Sidney Crosby
First Team All-Star
- 1981: Randy Carlyle
- 1988: Mario Lemieux
- 1989: Paul Coffey, Mario Lemieux
- 1992: Kevin Stevens
- 1993: Mario Lemieux
- 1995: Jaromir Jagr
- 1996: Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux
- 1997: Mario Lemieux
- 1998: Jaromir Jagr
- 1999: Jaromir Jagr
- 2000: Jaromir Jagr
- 2001: Jaromir Jagr
Second Team All-Star
- 1986: Mario Lemieux
- 1987: Mario Lemieux
- 1990: Paul Coffey
- 1991: Kevin Stevens
- 1992: Mario Lemieux
- 1993: Tom Barrasso, Larry Murphy, Kevin Stevens
- 1995: Larry Murphy
- 1997: Jaromir Jagr
- 2001: Mario Lemieux
[edit] Franchise individual records
Season
- Most Goals in a season: Mario Lemieux, 85 (1988-89)
- Most Assists in a season: Mario Lemieux, 114 (1988-89)
- Most Points in a season: Mario Lemieux, 199 (1988-89)
- Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Paul Baxter, 409 (1981-82)
- Most Points in a season, defenseman: Paul Coffey, 113 (1988-89)
- Most Points in a season, rookie: Sidney Crosby, 102 (2005-06)
- Most Wins in a season: Tom Barrasso, 43 (1992-93)
Playoffs
- Most Wins in a playoff season: Tom Barrasso, 16 (1991-92)
- Lowest goals against average in a playoff season: Ron Tugnutt, 1.77 (1999-00)
- Highest save percentage in a playoff season: Ron Tugnutt, .945% (1999-00)
- Most shutouts in a playoff season: Tied Tom Barrasso, Johan Hedberg, and Ron Tugnutt, 3
[edit] Miscellaneous
[edit] Broadcasters
- Television
- Paul Steigerwald, Play-by-play
- Bob Errey, Color-commentator
- Radio
- Mike Lange, Play-by-play
- Phil Bourque, Color-commentator
- Bob Grove, Pre & Postgame host
[edit] References
- ^ Hockeydb.com, Pittsburgh Penguins season statistics and records.
- ^ ESPN.com, ESPN.com - NHL - NHL Standings
- ^ Pittsburgh will leave its captain position vacant for 2006-2007 season. Sager, Joe (2006-09-18). Therrien says Penguins will not Award Captaincy this Season (English). Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
[edit] See also
- List of Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Head Coaches of the Pittsburgh Penguins
- 1967 NHL Expansion
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- List of Stanley Cup champions
[edit] External links
- Official website of the Pittsburgh Penguins
- Letsgopens.com -- unofficial fan site
- Pittsburghhockey.net -- unofficial fansite
Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coaches |
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Sullivan • Kelly • Schinkel • Boileau • Wilson• Johnston • Angotti • Berry • Creamer • Ubriaco • Patrick • Johnson • Bowman • Constantine • Brooks • Hlinka • Kehoe • Olczyk • Therrien |
Current teams: Anaheim • Atlanta • Boston • Buffalo • Calgary • Carolina • Chicago • Colorado • Columbus • Dallas • Detroit • Edmonton • Florida • Los Angeles • Minnesota • Montreal • Nashville • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Ottawa • Philadelphia • Phoenix • Pittsburgh • San Jose • St. Louis • Tampa Bay • Toronto • Vancouver • Washington
Trophies and awards: Stanley Cup • Prince of Wales • Clarence S. Campbell • Presidents' Trophy • Adams • Art Ross • Calder • Conn Smythe • Crozier • Hart • Jennings • King Clancy • Lady Byng • Masterton • Norris • Lester Patrick • Lester Pearson • Plus/Minus • Rocket Richard • Frank J. Selke • Vezina
Defunct Teams: Atlanta Flames • California/Oakland Golden Seals • Cleveland Barons • Colorado Rockies • Hamilton Tigers • Hartford Whalers • Kansas City Scouts • Minnesota North Stars • Montreal Maroons • Montreal Wanderers • New York/Brooklyn Americans • Ottawa Senators (original) • Philadelphia Quakers • Pittsburgh Pirates • Quebec Bulldogs • Quebec Nordiques • St. Louis Eagles • Winnipeg Jets