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Edward J. DeBartolo |
We've won two Stanley cups and survived two bankruptcies. They've been honored at the White House and had their doors padlocked by the IRS. The best player in Penguin history, Mario Lemieux, rang up 613 goals and 881 assists, six scoring titles, and three MVP's in twelve seasons before retiring at the age of 31 in 1997. Two years later he led the team out of bankruptcy becoming the first ex-player to own a NHL team in the modern era. Then marking an amazing comeback as a player he scored a point 33 second into his first shift and rung up 76 points in 43 games becoming the first NHL owner to play for his own team. |
| The second best player in Penguin history, Jaromir Jagr, played eleven seasons here helped win two Stanley cups and five division championships and eleven straight playoff berths and won five individual NHL scoring titles, the last four in a row. Then in July asked to be traded to the Washington Capitals. The Penguins entered the NHL in 1967 as part of a massive expansion effort. They played their first game October, 11 1967 at the Civic Arena, losing to the Montreal Canadians 2-1 in front of a crowd of 9,307. They qualified for the playoffs the first time in 1969-70 sweeping Oakland in the first round before falling to their rival St. Louis in the Stanley Cup semifinals. The Penguins best season of the "early years" came in 1974-75, when despite some off ice financial woes they went 37-28-15 for 89 points. Led by Jean Pronovost, Syl Apps, Ron Schock, and a rookie named Pierre Larouche. |
David Burrows |
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Rick Kehoe |
The Penguins whipped the Blues in the first round of the playoffs. Then led the New York Islanders, three games-none the Penguins become only the second club in NHL history to fritter away a 3-0 lead. Then the Islanders' came back and them four straight games. The Penguins declared bankruptcy for the first time that Summer, and the arena doors were padlocked by the IRS. An ownership group, led by Ohio business man named Al Savill, rescued the team for several seasons before giving way to Edward J. DeBartolo of nearby Youngstown. DeBartolo purchased a 1\3 of the club 1977and became owner on April,5 1978. The Penguins finished last in overall standings in both 1982-83 and 1983-84. It wasn't until they selected a lanky 18-year old from Quebec with the first pick of the 1984 draft that the outlook began to brighten |
| Young Mario Lemieux scored 100 points as a teen-aged rookie in 1984-85 and showed tantalizing flashes of pure brilliance to come. He won his first NHL scoring championship and his first MVP award in 1990-91 leading the Pens to their first Stanley cup. The team had a cast of shimmering stars- Ron Francis, Paul Coffey, Tom Barrasso, Kevin Stevens, Mark Rechi, Joey Mullen, Ulf Samuelson, Larry Murphy, Bryan Trottier, and Jarmior Jagr. It was prodded to excellence of legendary coach "Badger Bob" Johnson. Heartbreak followed when Johnson was stricken with brain cancer over the summer and died in November 1991. But the Penguins went on honoring his memory by claiming a second Stanley cup under another legendary coach, Scotty Bowman, in 1991-92. Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophye as MVP of the playoffs for the second straight year. In addition Howard Baldwin's ownership group purchased the team from the DeBartolo family. Lemieux and company absolutely dominated the league during the next regular season,1992-93, setting club records for wins and points for going 52-21-7 for 119 points and finishing first in overall standings. Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodkins disease in January and missed six weeks while under going radiation treatments, but he stormed back to win the scoring championship. |
Joey Mullen |
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Syl Apps |
Late in the regular season, the Penguins set a NHL record with seventeen consecutive victories. While on their way to their third straight cup the upstate New York Islanders upset the Penguins in the seventh games in the second round of the playoffs, recording a decisive victory on an overtime goal by David Volek at the Civic arena. The Penguins have reached the playoffs ever since then- 11 consecutive seasons in all, the second longest current streak in the NHL. Lemieux retired after the 1996-97 season and Francis was lost to free agency in the 1997-98 campaign, but the Penguins have continued to be the league's most competitive teams. Not even the uncertainty of the bankruptcy during the 1998-99 season could interrupt the string of the playoff berths. And when Lemieux steeped forward to lead the new ownership group in September 1999 the club had a new positive out look for the future. Know in the season of 2001-02 the Penguins are trailing and don't look like they'll be going into the playoffs this year for the first time since 1989. |
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