Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins: Five-time Stanley Cup champions and the first back-to-back winners in the salary cap era.

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 Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Quick Facts

Key era: Late 2000s - Early 2010s

Lore & Background

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.

Did You Know?

The Penguins' nickname was chosen from 26,000 entries in a contest; the winning entry was inspired because the team was to play in the 'Igloo', the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.
Michel Briere, selected 26th in the 1969 draft, led Pittsburgh to its first NHL playoff berth since 1928 and scored the series-clinching overtime goal against the Oakland Seals in 1970.