The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) 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 in the Eastern Conference. The team has played its home games at PPG Paints Arena since 2010, and has previously played at the Civic Arena, which was better known 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.
Founded during the 1967 expansion, the Penguins have qualified for six Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup five times – in 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, and 2017. Along with the Edmonton Oilers, the Penguins are tied for the most Stanley Cup championships among the non-Original Six teams and sixth overall. With their Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins became the first back-to-back champions in the salary cap era. Several of the team's former members have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, including co-owner Mario Lemieux, who purchased the Penguins in 1999 and brought the club out of bankruptcy. Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin have won the Hart Memorial Trophy while playing for the franchise.
History
Early years (1967–1984)
thumb|Ab McDonald (pictured in the original blue uniforms) was the first captain of the Penguins in the first season of the franchise in 1967; he played 74 games before he was traded the following season
Prior to the arrival of the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates from 1925 to 1930 and of the American Hockey League's Pittsburgh Hornets franchise from 1936 to 1967 (with a short break from 1956 to 1961). In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, Pennsylvania, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of local investors that included H. J. Heinz Company heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers' owner Art Rooney and the Mellon family's Richard Mellon Scaife. The projected league expansion depended on securing votes from the then-current NHL owners; to ensure Pittsburgh would be selected as one of the expansion cities, McGregor enlisted Rooney to petition votes from James D. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks and his brother Bruce Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The effort was successful, and on February 8, 1966, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million ($ million today) for their entry and $750,000 ($ million today) more for start-up costs. The Civic Arena's capacity was boosted from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion. The Penguins also paid an indemnification bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings, which owned the Pittsburgh Hornets franchise. The investor group named McGregor president and chief executive officer, and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL's Board of Governors.
left|thumb|alt= Photograph of the Civic Arena | The [[Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)|Civic Arena's capacity was increased to meet NHL requirements for a franchise. The arena served as the Penguins' home arena from 1967 to 2010.]]
A contest was held where 700 of 26,000 entries picked "Penguins" as the team's nickname, sharing its nickname with the athletic department of the newly named Youngstown State University in nearby Youngstown, Ohio; Youngstown is part of the Penguins' territorial rights to this day, though they did briefly share them with the Cleveland Barons in the mid-1970s. Mark Peters had the winning entry, which was inspired because the team was to play in the "Igloo", the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the "Golden Triangle" of downtown Pittsburgh. The Penguins' first general manager, Jack Riley, opened the first pre-season camp for the franchise in Brantford, Ontario, on September 13, 1967, playing the franchise's first exhibition match in Brantford against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 23, 1967. Restrictive rules which kept most major talent with the existing "Original Six" teams hampered the Penguins, along with the rest of the expansion teams. Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate, all-star defenseman Leo Boivin (who had begun his professional career with the Hornets) and New York Rangers' veteran Earl Ingarfield, a cast of former minor leaguers largely manned the first Penguins' team. Several players played for the Hornets the previous season: Bathgate, wingers Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald, and goaltenders Hank Bassen and Joe Daley. George Sullivan was named the head coach for the club's first two seasons, and McDonald was named the team's first captain.
On October 11, 1967, league president Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins' opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens. Around the same time, rumors began circulating that the Penguins and the California Golden Seals were to be relocated to Seattle and Denver respectively, the two cities that were to have been the sites of an expansion for the 1976–77 season. Through the intervention of a group that included former Minnesota North Stars head coach Wren Blair, the team was prevented from folding and remained in Pittsburgh, eventually being bought by shopping mall magnate Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr.
Playoff runs and a uniform change (1974–1982)
thumb|upright=0.7|left|alt=Photograph of Lowell MacDonald holding his hockey stick on the ice |During the mid-1970s, [[Lowell MacDonald was paired with Syl Apps Jr. and Jean Pronovost, forming the "Century Line". MacDonald played with the Penguins from 1970 to 1978.]]
Beginning in the mid-1970s, Pittsburgh iced some powerful offensive clubs, led by the likes of the "Century Line" of Syl Apps, Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost. They nearly reached the semifinals in 1975, but were ousted from the playoffs by the New York Islanders in one of the only four best-of-seven-game series in NHL history where a team came back from being down three games to none. As the 1970s wore on, a mediocre team defense neutralized the Penguins' success beyond the regular season. Baz Bastien, a former coach and general manager of the AHL's Hornets, later became general manager. The Penguins missed the playoffs in 1977–78. Bastien traded prime draft picks for several players whose best years were already behind them, and the team would suffer in the early 1980s as a result. The decade closed with a playoff appearance in 1979 and a rousing opening series win over the Buffalo Sabres before a second-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins. On the ice, the Penguins began the 1980s with defenseman Randy Carlyle, and prolific scorers Paul Gardner and Mike Bullard but little else.
During the early part of the decade, the Penguins made a habit of being a tough draw for higher-seeded opponents in the playoffs. In 1980, the 13th-seeded Penguins took the Bruins to the limit in their first-round playoff series. The following season, as the 15th seed, they lost the decisive game of their first-round series in overtime to the heavily favored St. Louis Blues. Then, in the 1982 playoffs, the Penguins held a 3–1 lead late in the fifth and final game of their playoff series against the reigning champions, the New York Islanders. However, the Islanders rallied to force overtime and won the series on a goal by John Tonelli, who had tied the game before. It would be the Penguins' final playoff appearance until 1989.
Lemieux–Jagr era (1984–2005)
thumb|upright=0.85|alt=Photograph of Mario Lemieux holding a stick and skating |[[Mario Lemieux played for the Penguins in two stints (1984–1997, 2000–2006).]]
The team had the league's worst record in both the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons. With the team suffering financial problems, it seemed the Penguins would either fold or relocate. Mario Lemieux, one of the most highly touted NHL draft picks in history, was due to be drafted in the 1984 NHL entry draft. Heading towards the end of the season ahead of the New Jersey Devils, who were placed last, the Penguins made several questionable moves that appeared to weaken the team in the short term. They posted three six-game winless streaks in the last 21 games of the season and earned the right to draft Lemieux amidst protests from Devils' management. Pittsburgh head coach Lou Angotti later admitted that a conscious decision was made to finish the season as the team with the worst record, saying in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that a mid-season lunch prompted the plan, because there was a high chance of the franchise folding if Lemieux was not drafted. Other teams offered substantial trade packages for the draft choice, but the Penguins kept the pick and drafted Lemieux first overall. Lemieux paid dividends right away, scoring on his first-ever shot of his first-ever NHL shift in his first NHL game. However, the team spent four more years out of the playoffs after his arrival. In the late 1980s, the Penguins finally gave Lemieux a strong supporting cast, trading for superstar defenseman Paul Coffey from the Edmonton Oilers (after the Oilers' 1987 Stanley Cup win) and bringing in young talent like scorers Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown and John Cullen from the minors. The team finally acquired a top-flight goaltender with the acquisition of Tom Barrasso from Buffalo. All this talent had an immediate impact in helping Lemieux lead the Penguins; but the team struggled to make the playoffs. In 1985–86, the Penguins missed the playoffs on the final day of the season by one game. In 1986–87, they missed the playoffs by just two games and saw four teams with equal or worse records qualify. In 1987–88, for the second time in a row, the Penguins missed the playoffs by one game. The following season, the team lost coach Bob Johnson to cancer, and Scotty Bowman took over as coach. Under Bowman, they swept the Chicago Blackhawks to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 1991–92. Reducing revenue on top of the previous bankruptcy necessitated salary shedding. The biggest salary move was the trading of superstar Jaromir Jagr to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2001. The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years in 2002, finishing in a tie for third-to-last in their conference. The following season they finished second-last. In the 2003 NHL entry draft, the Penguins selected goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with the first overall pick.
The 2003–04 season was an ordeal with Lemieux missing all but 24 regular season games with a hip injury, and attendance dipping to an average of 11,877 (the lowest average of any NHL team), with just one sellout.
By this point, the Penguins had collapsed financially since the Stanley Cup-winning years of the early 1990s. Their home venue, the Civic Arena, had become the oldest arena in the NHL, and Lemieux had tried unsuccessfully to cut a deal with the city for a new facility. With Pittsburgh uninterested in building a new hockey arena for the struggling Penguins, Lemieux began looking into the possibilities of selling or relocating the team to Kansas City, Missouri. A lockout prompted the cancellation of the 2004–05 NHL season. One of the many reasons for the lockout included disagreements on resolving the financial struggles of teams like the Penguins and the Ottawa Senators, which had filed for bankruptcy protection. During the lockout, the Penguins' players dispersed between the club's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and to European leagues. Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) superstar Sidney Crosby (who had been training with Lemieux over the summer)
Despite the team's struggles, Crosby established himself as a star in the league, amassing 102 points in his debut season and finishing second to Alexander Ovechkin for the Calder Memorial Trophy awarded each year to the league's top rookie. In the Penguins' final game of the season, Crosby tallied a goal and an assist to become the top-scoring rookie in Penguin history (eclipsing Lemieux). The Penguins again posted the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the highest goals-against total in the League. They received the second overall draft pick, their fourth top-two pick in four years, in the 2006 NHL entry draft, and selected touted two-way forward Jordan Staal. The team announced on April 20 they would not renew the contract for general manager Craig Patrick, who had been the general manager since December 1989. On May 25, Ray Shero signed a five-year contract as general manager.
Resurgence and third Stanley Cup title (2006–2010)
thumb|upright=0.75|alt=Photograph of Evgeni Malkin holding a hockey stick on the ice|[[Evgeni Malkin made an immediate impact, driving the Penguins to their first playoff appearance in six years.]]
Change came for the Penguins on October 18, 2006, when Evgeni Malkin made his NHL debut. He set the modern NHL record with a goal in each of his first six games. Malkin would record points in 16 consecutive games. The Penguins finished the 2006–07 season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 47–24–11, totaling 105 points, only two points behind the Atlantic Division winners, the New Jersey Devils. It was the franchise's first 100-point season in 11 years and represented an enormous 47-point leap from the previous season. In the first round of the 2007 playoffs the eventual Stanley Cup runners-up, the Ottawa Senators, defeated the Penguins 4–1. At the season's end, rookies Malkin and Jordan Staal were finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the Rookie of the Year, which Malkin won.
On March 13, 2007, Pennsylvania's governor Ed Rendell, Allegheny County chief executive Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh's mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Mario Lemieux of the Penguins ownership group announced an agreement had been reached among the parties to build the long-sought arena. The completion of Consol Energy Center guaranteed that the Penguins would remain in Pittsburgh. Following the announcement of the plan, the Lemieux ownership group announced they no longer had plans to sell the team. On June 8, 2007, a $325 million bond was issued, and the Penguins signed a 30-year lease on September 19, binding them to the city of Pittsburgh through 2040.
After a mediocre start to the 2007–08 season, Crosby and starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury were both injured long-term due to high right ankle sprains. In their absence, the team flourished because of the play and leadership of Malkin. On April 2, 2008, the Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division title – their first division title in 10 years – with a 4–2 win against rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. Malkin finished the season with 106 points for second place in the league and finished as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. The team launched into their first extended playoff run in many years, beating Ottawa 4–0, defeating the New York Rangers 4–1 and then defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 to clinch the Prince of Wales Trophy. Pittsburgh lost the 2008 Stanley Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings in six games, finishing the playoffs with a 14–6 record. Crosby finished the playoffs with 27 points (6 goals and 21 assists in 20 games), tying Conn Smythe Trophy-winner Henrik Zetterberg (13 goals and 14 assists in 22 games) for the playoff scoring lead.
thumb|left|alt=Photograph if Crosy, Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz talking on ice during a game |Crosby, [[Bill Guerin, and Chris Kunitz during the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in series, earning their third Stanley Cup title.]]
In the 2008–09 season, Malkin won the Art Ross and was again a candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Crosby finished third in League scoring with 33 goals and 70 assists for 103 points, despite missing five games. The Penguins' record dipped mid-season but lifted after Dan Bylsma replaced head coach Therrien. The effect was almost instantaneous, and the Penguins recovered enough to secure home-ice advantage in their first-round match up against the Philadelphia Flyers, whom the Penguins defeated in six games. It took seven games for the Penguins to win the next series against Washington, sending them to the conference finals, where they eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in a four-game sweep. After defeating the Hurricanes, the Penguins earned their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings, to whom they lost the previous year. After losing games 1 and 2 in Detroit, like the previous years, the Penguins won games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh. Each team won on home ice in games 5 and 6. In game 7 in Detroit, Maxime Talbot scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Penguins won 2–1 to win their third Stanley Cup title. Malkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.
New arena and injuries (2010–2015)
thumb|alt=Photograph of the exterior of the Console Energy Center|Outside of [[PPG Paints Arena|Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena) in March 2010 before it officially opened.]]
thumb|left|alt= Photograph of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals on the ice before the 2011 NHL Winter Classic in Pittsburgh at Heinz Field |The Penguins hosted the [[Washington Capitals at Heinz Field during the 2011 Winter Classic.]]
In 2010–11, the Penguins played their first game in Consol Energy Center. On February 11, 2011, the Pittsburgh Penguins–New York Islanders brawl took place. A season-ending concussion suffered by Crosby and a knee injury to Malkin marred the season. The team left early in the playoffs, blowing a 3–1 series lead to Tampa Bay Lightning, with Fleury's goaltending called into question. With Crosby still sidelined with post-concussion syndrome, at the start of the 2011–12 season, Malkin led the Penguins' top line and dominated league scoring. He finished with 50 goals and 109 points as the Penguins earned 51 wins on the season. With Malkin's Art Ross-winning performance, and Crosby's late-season return from injury, the Penguins headed into the 2012 playoffs with high hopes of making a significant Stanley Cup run. However, their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, defeated the highly favored Penguins in six games. Malkin was later awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson award. Following the Penguins' disappointing playoff exit, general manager Ray Shero made changes to the team at the 2012 NHL entry draft for the upcoming 2012–13 season.
During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, the Penguins again fought through serious injury. At the end of the regular season, they finished atop the Eastern Conference, matching up against the New York Islanders in round one. The Penguins defeated the Islanders in six games, with Fleury struggling once again. The team then dispatched the Ottawa Senators in five games before being swept in the conference finals by the Boston Bruins, scoring just two goals in the entire four-game sweep. On June 13, 2013, Malkin signed an eight-year contract extension worth an annual average of $9.5 million.
thumb|alt=Photograph of Phil Kessel |On July 1, 2015, the Penguins acquired right-winger [[Phil Kessel in a multi-player deal.]]
In the 2013–14 season, the Penguins suffered numerous injuries throughout the campaign. Despite the adversity, the Penguins won the realigned, eight-team Metropolitan Division, though the club struggled in the playoffs, requiring six games to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, then losing to the New York Rangers in seven games despite leading the series 3–1 after four games. This collapse prompted Penguins ownership to fire general manager Shero, replacing him on June 6 with Jim Rutherford, the former general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. Rutherford's first action as general manager was to fire head coach Dan Bylsma, and on June 25, he announced that Mike Johnston was hired as Bylsma's replacement. In the 2014–15 season, the Penguins led the Metropolitan Division for the first half of the season. However, after losing players to injuries and illnesses, including the mumps, the team fell to fourth in the division. The Penguins lost in five games to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. In the off-season, Rutherford traded several players and picks to acquire star winger Phil Kessel.
Back-to-back Stanley Cups and 50th anniversary (2015–2017)
After acquiring Kessel, the Penguins had high expectations for the 2015–16 season. However, by December 12, 2015, the team was barely managing a winning season, posting a 15–10–3 record. The organization fired head coach Mike Johnston, and replaced him with Mike Sullivan, who had previously served as the head coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. This move was followed by a series of trades by Jim Rutherford.
thumb|left|alt=Crosby with the Stanley Cup during the Penguins' victory parade. |Crosby with the Stanley Cup during the Penguins' victory parade. The team won their fourth Stanley Cup championship in [[2016 Stanley Cup Final|2016.]]
The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. They earned second place in the Metropolitan Division with 104 points. In the playoffs, the Penguins defeated the Rangers in a 4–1 series, the Capitals 4–2 and the Lightning 4–3 to win the Eastern Conference championship, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final against the San Jose Sharks. On June 12, 2016, the Penguins defeated the Sharks in a 4–2 series to win their fourth Stanley Cup title. Captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.
The Penguins opened their 50th anniversary season in the NHL as defending Stanley Cup champions, raising their commemorative banner on October 13, 2016, in a shootout victory over Washington. The Penguins faced the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round of the 2017 playoffs, defeating them in five games. In the second round, they played against their divisional rival, Washington, and faced them for the second-straight year in the same round, winning a seven-game series. In the conference finals, the Penguins eliminated the Ottawa Senators in seven games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where they faced the Nashville Predators. The Penguins won the first two games of the series and then lost the next two matchups before dominating the fifth and the sixth games of the series to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year. By defending their title, the Penguins became the first team since the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings to defend their title and the first to do so in the salary cap era. Nevertheless, the Penguins again qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs with the second division playoff spot, finishing the regular season with 100 points. They defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round in six games, but were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in six games. In the next season, the Penguins clinched a playoff berth, but were swept by the New York Islanders in the first round. In the following season, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team advanced to the 2020 playoffs, but were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in the qualifying round. On February 9, 2021, the Penguins named Ron Hextall as their new general manager, after Jim Rutherford resigned from his post on January 27, because of personal reasons. Brian Burke was hired as president of hockey operations. On February 21, Crosby became the first player to reach 1,000 NHL games for the team. The Penguins won the East Division title, extending their playoff streak to 15 seasons. This became the longest active streak in North American sports as a result of the San Antonio Spurs missing the 2020 NBA playoffs. The 2020–21 season came to an end in game 6 of the first round of the 2021 playoffs against the New York Islanders.
On November 29, 2021, Fenway Sports Group announced its intent to purchase a controlling stake in the Penguins. On December 31, 2021, they officially took over as majority owners of the Penguins. In the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Penguins lost in seven games to the New York Rangers despite having a 3–1 series lead. The game 7 loss marked the first time the Penguins lost a game 7 on the road in franchise history after going 6–0 the previous six instances.
The 2022–23 season was marked with two milestones for the Penguins. On November 23, 2022, Evgeni Malkin played his 1,000th NHL game, becoming the second player in franchise history to play his 1,000th game in a Penguins uniform. This would be followed up only months later, when teammate Kris Letang would play his 1,000th game as well, on April 2, 2023, despite missing 18 games during the season. However, despite being in a playoff position midway in the season, the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since Crosby's rookie season in 2005–06, ending a 16-season playoff streak and resulting in dismissals of Burke and Hextall.
Dubas era and decline (2023–present)
On June 1, 2023, Kyle Dubas was named the team's new president of hockey operations. On August 6, the Penguins traded for Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson in a three-team deal also involving the Montreal Canadiens. On February 18, 2024, the Penguins retired the no. 68 of franchise legend Jaromir Jagr in a pregame celebration, with Jagr becoming just the third Penguin to receive the honor. prior to the NHL trade deadline, the Penguins parted ways with longtime and fan favorite forward Jake Guentzel, trading him to the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite the trades, and a late season playoff push, the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive year on the penultimate night of the season when the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Canadiens in overtime while the Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, clinching the final spot as the second wild card.
On September 16, 2024, Sidney Crosby signed a two-year $17.4 million extension to remain with the Penguins. The 2024–25 season was marked with many milestones by the Penguins' longtime dynastic duo. On October 10, Malkin recorded his 800th career assist on a goal by Erik Karlsson in a 6–3 win over the Detroit Red Wings, becoming the 34th player in league history to reach the mark. Two days later, Malkin recorded his 1,300th NHL point with an assist on a goal by Rickard Rakell, becoming the 37th player in league history to reach the mark. On October 16, Malkin scored his 500th career goal in a 6–5 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres, to become the 48th player in league history to reach the mark and 24th player to do so with one franchise. On November 23, Crosby scored his 600th NHL goal against the Utah Hockey Club, becoming the 21st player in league history and second player in Penguins history to achieve the feat. On April 6, 2025, the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season following a 3–1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. This was the Penguins' first season finishing with a losing record since the 2005–06 season.
On April 28, head coach Sullivan and the Penguins agreed to mutual contract termination, concluding his 10-season tenure with the team. Sullivan went on to be hired as the head coach of the New York Rangers, while Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse subsequently became the Penguins' head coach on June 4, 2025.
Team information
Crest and sweater design
When the Penguins made their NHL debut in 1967, the team wore the colors dark blue, light blue and white. The uniforms had the word "Pittsburgh" written diagonally down the front of the sweater with three dark blue stripes around the sleeves and bottom. The logo featured a hockey-playing penguin in a scarf over an inverted triangle, symbolizing the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. A refined version of the logo appeared on a redesigned uniform in the second season, which removed the scarf and gave the penguin a sleeker look. The circle encompassing the logo was later removed.
The team's colors were originally powder blue, navy blue, and white. The powder blue was changed to royal blue in 1973 but returned in 1977. The team adopted the current black and gold color scheme in 1980 to unify the colors of the city's professional sports teams although, like the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Steelers, the shade of gold more closely resembled yellow. The change was not without controversy, as the Boston Bruins protested by claiming to own the rights to the black and gold colors. However, the Penguins cited the colors worn by the now-defunct NHL team the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1920s, as well as black and gold being the official colors of the City of Pittsburgh and its namesake, and obtained permission to use the black and gold colors. The NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates used old Pittsburgh Police uniforms, beginning the black and gold color tradition in the city. The team's away uniforms were a throwback to the team's first season, as they revived the diagonal "Pittsburgh" script. In 1995, the team introduced their second alternate jersey, featuring different stripe designs on each sleeve. This jersey proved to be so popular that the team adopted it as their away jersey in 1997. In 2000, the Penguins brought back the "skating penguin" logo, but with a "Vegas gold" shade, upon releasing its new alternate uniform. After 2002, the "skating penguin" was readopted as the primary, though the "flying penguin" remained the alternate. A corresponding white version of the "Vegas gold" uniforms was introduced, and the 1995–2002 black uniform was retired. When the new jerseys were unveiled for the 2007–08 season league wide, the Penguins made major striping pattern changes and removed the "flying penguin" logo from the shoulders. For the 2011–12 season, the 2011 Winter Classic jersey was the team's official third uniform, with the 2008 Winter Classic uniform having been retired. Called the "Blue Jerseys of Doom" by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the alternate jerseys were worn when Sidney Crosby sustained a broken jaw and when he suffered a concussion in the 2011 Winter Classic. Evgeni Malkin was also concussed during a game when the Penguins donned the alternate uniforms.
In 2014, the Penguins released their new alternate uniforms. The new black uniforms are throwbacks to the early part of Lemieux's playing career, emulating the uniforms worn by the Penguins' 1991 and 1992 Cup-winning teams. The new alternate uniform featured "Pittsburgh gold", the particular shade of gold which had been retired when the Penguins switched to the metallic gold full-time in 2002. The Penguins eventually brought back a white version of the black "Pittsburgh gold" alternates, thus retiring the "Vegas gold" uniforms they wore from 2000 to 2016. A commemorative patch was added to the uniforms throughout the 2016–17 season to celebrate the team's 50th anniversary. During the 2017 Stadium Series against the archrival Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins wore a special gold uniform featuring military-inspired lettering, a "City of Champions" patch and a variation of the "skating penguin" logo. This design served as the basis for the team's third uniform, which was unveiled in the 2018–19 season and was also partly inspired by the early 1980s gold uniforms. The Penguins wore monochrome black uniforms minus the white elements when they faced the Flyers again in the 2019 Stadium Series.
In 2021, the Penguins wore white "Reverse Retro" uniforms based on the 1992–97 uniforms. This set replaced the "flying penguin" with the alternate "skating penguin" logo minus the gold triangle on the shoulders. A black version served as the replacement for the gold alternate uniforms starting in the 2021–22 season. In the 2022–23 season, the Penguins unveiled their second "Reverse Retro" uniform, this time featuring a black version of the white "flying penguin" uniform they wore from 1992 to 2002.
For the 2023 Winter Classic, the Penguins went with a vintage white uniform with black stripes, and added a gold "P" logo as a nod to the NHL Pirates of the late 1920s.
On their home opener of the 2025–26 season, the Penguins donned a new alternate uniform, returning to a gold base with the "skating penguin" minus the triangle and a bottom black stripe. The three black stripes on the sleeves represent the "Three Rivers" of Pittsburgh: the Allegheny River, the Monongahela River, and the Ohio River. The "Three Rivers" symbolism was also carried over into the black triangle shoulder patch, which contained three gold waves and an igloo as a nod to Civic Arena. Letters and number fonts were based on Pittsburgh's historic trolley system.
Arenas
The Penguins called Civic Arena home for over 45 seasons from their inception in 1967. In September 2010, they completed the move to Consol Energy Center (now named PPG Paints Arena). The Penguins also played two "home" games in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio, in 1992 and 1993 at the Richfield Coliseum (this is not unlike the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA playing an annual pre-season game in Pittsburgh; the Philadelphia 76ers used the Civic Arena as a second home in the early 1970s).
thumb|left|alt=See caption |The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex under construction in [[Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania|Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, in April 2015. The complex opened in August 2015, and is used by the Penguins as their practice facility.]]
From 1995 to 2015, the IceoPlex at Southpointe in the South Hills suburbs served as the team's practice facility. Robert Morris University's 84 Lumber Arena has served as a secondary practice facility for the team. During the franchise's first pre-season training camp and pre-season exhibition games, the Brantford Civic Centre in Brantford, Ontario, served as its home, and by the 1970s and continuing through the 1980s, the team was using the suburban Rostraver Ice Garden for training.
In August 2015, the Penguins and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) opened the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, combining a new team practice and training facility with a UPMC Sports Medicine treatment and research complex, in suburban Cranberry Township near the interchange between Interstate 79 and Pennsylvania Route 228. The twin rink facility replaced both the IceoPlex at Southpointe and the 84 Lumber Arena as the Penguins' regular practice facility, freeing up Consol Energy Center for other events on days the Penguins are not scheduled to play.
As with most other NHL arenas, the Penguins make use of a goal horn whenever the team scores a goal at home. It is also played just before the beginning of a home game, and after a Penguins victory. Their current goal horn made by Nathan Manufacturing, Inc. and introduced in 2005 to coincide with Sidney Crosby joining the team, was used at both the Civic Arena and Consol Energy Center.
Minor league affiliates
The Penguins have two minor league affiliates assigned to their team. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, their AHL affiliate, have played in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, since 1999. The Penguins also have a secondary affiliate in the ECHL, the Wheeling Nailers, which they have been associated with since the start of the 2000–01 ECHL season.
Fanbase
thumb|left|Iceburgh, the mascot of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Despite Pittsburgh's long history with hockey and a small but loyal fanbase, the Penguins struggled with fan support early on in its history, at times averaging only 6,000 fans per game when Civic Arena had a seating capacity of over 16,000. Fan support was so low by the team's first bankruptcy that the NHL had no problem with the team being moved, something that would change decades later when the team faced another relocation threat.
While the drafting of Mario Lemieux piqued interest in hockey locally, fans remained skeptical. John Steigerwald, brother of former Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald, noted in his autobiography that upon his arrival at KDKA-TV from WTAE-TV in 1985, the station cared more about the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League than the Penguins. However, Lemieux's play steadily grew the fanbase in the area, which would only be reassured upon the arrival of Sidney Crosby after the team struggled both on the ice and in attendance following the Jaromir Jagr trade.
Today, the Penguins are one of the NHL's most popular teams, especially among American non-Original Six franchises, and are considered second behind the Steelers among Pittsburgh's three major professional sports teams, taking advantage of both its success and the Pittsburgh Pirates struggles both on and off the field. Especially notable was a 2007 survey done of the four major sports leagues' 122 teams. The Penguins surprised observers by being ranked 20th overall and third among NHL teams, while the Steelers were ranked number one and the Pirates (before the arrival of Andrew McCutchen and that team's turnaround) ranked much lower on the list than its peers. The Penguins' popularity has at times rivaled that of the Steelers at the local level.
In the community
The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation conducts numerous community activities to support both youth and families through hockey education and charity assistance.
Season-by-season record
thumb|right|alt=Photograph of Sidney Crosby with Marc-Andre Fleury holding the Stanley Cup in 2009. |[[Sidney Crosby with Marc-Andre Fleury (left) and the Stanley Cup during the Penguins' victory parade in 2009.]]
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Penguins.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:#ddd;"
| Season || GP || W || L || OTL || Pts || GF || GA || Finish || Playoffs
|-
| 2021–22 || 82 || 46 || 25 || 11 || 103 || 272 || 229 || 3rd, Metropolitan || Lost in first round, 3–4 (Rangers)
|- style="background:#eee;"
| 2022–23 || 82 || 40 || 31 || 11 || 91 || 262 || 264 || 5th, Metropolitan || Did not qualify
|-
| 2023–24 || 82 || 38 || 32 || 12 || 88 || 255 || 251 || 5th, Metropolitan || Did not qualify
|- style="background:#eee;"
| 2024–25 || 82 || 34 || 36 || 12 || 80 || 243 || 293 || 7th, Metropolitan || Did not qualify
|-
| 2025–26 || 82 || 41 || 25 || 16 || 98 || 293 || 268 || 2nd, Metropolitan || Lost in first round, 2–4 (Flyers)
|}
Players and personnel
Current roster
Honored members
Retired numbers
thumb|alt=See caption |The banners of numbers retired by the Penguins franchise (pictured prior to the retirement of Jagr's jersey) hang in the rafters of [[PPG Paints Arena; prior to the Jagr ceremony, the banners were replaced with new ones that had Lemieux with gold numbers on a black background while Briere was given a blue background.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#000000 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 5px solid;" | Pittsburgh Penguins retired numbers
|-
! width="40" |No.
! width="130" |Player
! width="40" |Position
! width="150" |Career
! width="150" |Date Of Retirement
|-
| 21 || Michel Briere || C || 1969–1970 || January 5, 2001
|-
| 66 || Mario Lemieux || C || 1984–1997<br />2000–2006 || November 19, 1997
|-
| 68 || Jaromir Jagr || RW || 1990–2001 || February 18, 2024
|}
The NHL retired Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Pittsburgh Penguins presently acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Inductees affiliated with the Penguins include 15 former players and five builders of the sport.