The Pittsburgh Penguins

It’s a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh!

by Chris Marcenelle
There are very few professional sports franchises that can boast that less than a decade
after having discussions of trading the team to another city for lack of talent and attendance, that
the team reached the major championship of the sport two straight years. The Pittsburgh
Penguins have had a very interesting history dating back to 1967 when they were founded. The
team has dealt with all the highs and lows that a team can face, including Hall of Fame players
and coaches, multiple Championships, consecutive losing seasons, trading away players for
funding, as well as relocation.

They are in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey
League. They have won three Stanley Cups in the history of the team in the 1991, 1992, and
2009 Championships. The Penguins currently have 14 Hall of Fame players and coaches, as well
as 23 playoff appearances. Another interesting fact about the Penguins is that Pittsburgh is the
only city in the United States that three professional sports teams all wear the same color in their
uniforms.

Leading up to the foundation of the Penguins, there had been two major hockey teams in
Pittsburgh. The first of which was the Pittsburgh Pirates who played in the NHL (1925-1930),
and the second being the Pittsburgh Hornets who played in the AHL (1930-1967). There has
always been a presence of hockey in Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t until 1967 when the. Penguins
were founded that there was a major following.

In 1965, state senator, Jack McGregor, formed a group of investors that were interested in
creating a professional hockey team in Pittsburgh. The group included H. J. Heinz Company
heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney, and the Mellon family's Richard
Mellon Scaife. These investors had to raise around $2.5 million dollars in start up costs for the
project. Several changes had to be made to accommodate the approval of their bid, including
increasing the size of the Civic Arena, changing the name from the hornets, as well as finding
funding for the team. The team was named the “Penguins” because the Civic Arena was
nicknamed the “Igloo”.

The Pittsburgh Penguins franchise joined the NHL in 1967 during the league’s first
expansion from six to twelve teams. On October 21, 1967 they became the first expansion
franchise to beat an original six team as they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. The team’s
nickname was inspired by the fact that their home arena was originally to be the Pittsburgh Civic
Arena aka - the Igloo and their logo which is a penguin in front of a triangle, symbolizes the
Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh.
 Within three years of being founded, the Penguins reached the playoffs in 1970 and 1972
seasons. The team, off to a great start for a franchise, began to feel their rhythm in the league
and began to gain some attention. However, in early 1975, the team was faced with some
financial struggles and began dealing with trade rumors. After funding from an investment
group, the team’s immediate future was safe. The Penguins finally found their stride after
the 75 season, reaching the playoffs in 7 out of the 8 next seasons until 1982.

The Penguins had the worst record in the league in the 1983 and 1984 seasons, which
caused even more trade rumors. This could have been a blessing in disguise for the Penguins,
because they received the first round draft pick in the 1984 draft because of this. With this pick,
they selected highly regarded Mario Lemiuex from Quebec. This picked looked to be an
immediate good choice when Lemiuex scored a goal on his first shot, on his first shift, in his first
game. However, the Penguins struggled to make the playoffs until 1989, although the team was
just a few games short of the playoffs in those seasons.

Although not making the playoffs in the 19988-1989 season, Mario Lemiuex received the
league’s Most-Valuable Player award for the third time. This would set up the prime years for
the Pens. With new coach Bob Johnson, the team was skating on thin ice after Lemiuex got
injured and was sidelined for all but 26 games. The rest of the team stood up when called upon,
leading the team to the playoffs. The Pens made it all the way to the Stanley Cup facing
opponent Minnesota North Stars. The series lasted six games, which in the final game the
Penguins blew out the Stars 8-0.

Stanley Cup winning Coach Bob Johnson was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly after
the 1990 season and was taken over by Scotty Bowman. The Penguins would go on to finish in
third place with a record of 39-32-9 as Mario Lemieux won the scoring title despite missing 16
games due to injury. The team made it through the playoffs ending up in the Stanley Cup facing
off against the Chicago Black Hawks. They ended up sweeping the Black Hawks in the series, all
while Lemiuex became the second player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy two years in a row.

They have been through a major rollercoaster ride throughout the history of the team.
Although they were having success on the ice during the 1990s winning two Stanley Cups, the
Penguins had some trouble off the ice in the early 2000s. The Penguins were in desperate need
of a new arena to replace the Mellon Arena in order to keep fans in the stands and increase profit
to pay player’s salaries. In the 2001-02 season, the Pens began to struggle financially as they
were forced to start trading off their leading scorer Jamomir Jagr because his salary was too
great. With Jagr gone and Lemiuex sidelined for the majority of the season with a hip injury, the
team fell into a slump and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in eleven years. As
history shows us, this turned out to have a snowball effect, as the losing season created even
more financial problems, forcing them to trade off another leading goal scorer, Alexi Kovalev.
This was actually a blessing in disguise for the Penguins, because with their losing seasons, they
began to get some very talented young players from the draft. In 2003, they acquired the first
overall pick in the draft Marc-Andre Fleury, only the second goalie in history to be picked first.

Hopes were down as the National Hockey League entered a lockout as players demanded
higher salaries. Play resumed in the following season, and the Penguins were still encountering
money issues struggling to fund their new arena. The NHL had new hope with the two new
prospects Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh
Penguins. These two continue to be a force in the NHL, and have lived up to their expectations
if not exceeded them.

The Penguins got even more talent the next year with the addition of Russian prospect
Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. Finally on March 13th, 2007 at a joint announcement by
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, and Mario Lemiuex of the Pittsburgh Penguins ownership group, it was
made public that an agreement had been reached between the parties. A new state-of-the-art
multi-purpose arena will be built. This agreement will keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh for
another thirty years. Following the announcement of this plan, the Lemiuex ownership group
announced that they no longer have plans to sell the team.

The Penguins had a lot of chemistry with all the young talent, finally making it back into
the playoffs in the 07 season, losing in the first round. The next year, they made it all the way to
the Stanley Cup, losing to the Detroit Red Wings. This led to a rejuvenated sense of pride in the
city of Pittsburgh, as thousands rallied outside of the arena to cheer on the Pens. This helped
strike a spark, as the Penguins made it all the way back to the Stanley Cup, this time defeating
the Red Wings. As young star Evgeni Malkin won the Con Smythe Trophy for being the most
valuable player in the playoffs. This also was historical as Sidney Crosby was the youngest
captain in history to hoist the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins hopes continue to grow with the emergence the arena, the Consol Energy
Center, which is start to open at the start of the 2010 season with all of the young talent
returning. With the Penguins being consistent playoff contenders, as well as having arguably the
strongest momentum in the league over the past few years, it will be very exciting to see how the
team fares in the near future.

Borden, Timothy. "Lemiuex, Mario." Notable Sports Figures. Ed. Dana R. Barnes. Vol. 2.
Detroit: Gale, 2004. 913-917. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 11 Feb. 2010.
Hockey chronicles : an insider history of National Hockey League teams
Duhatschek, Eric.
Sandomir, Richard. "Lemiuex Can Keep Penguins in Pittsburgh." New York Times June 25,
1999: Print.
Flemmings, Frank. "Historical Moments". ©MMIX Tank Productions.. February 12, 2010
<http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/pittsburgh/penguins.html>.
"The Official Site- Pittsburgh Penguins". Lemiuex Group, LP. February 12, 2010
<http://penguins.nhl.com/>.
"STEEL CITY LEGEND: Sen. Jack McGregor ." Pittsburgh Hockey. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr
2010. <http://www.pittsburghhockey.net/PensPages/66-69ERA/67Expansion.html>.

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