A PGP Guide to: The Pittsburgh Penguins

A PGP Guide to: The Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins aesthetic is black and gold, generational centers, Mario Lemieux basically saving the franchise multiple times, Sidney Crosby somehow still being Sidney Crosby, extremely dramatic Pennsylvania hockey, Stanley Cups arriving in pairs, elite Russian sidekicks, questionable goaltending stress, and a fanbase that has spent most of the last forty years being spoiled by having one of the greatest hockey players alive on its roster.

The Penguins are one of the most successful franchises of the NHL’s post-1967 expansion era. They have won five Stanley Cups, produced Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and spent 16 consecutive seasons in the playoffs from 2007 through 2022. They’ve also nearly disappeared more than once because of financial problems, gone bankrupt, faced relocation threats and literally been purchased by one of their own former players to keep the team alive.

The Basics

Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

Conference: Eastern Conference

Division: Metropolitan Division

Home Arena: PPG Paints Arena

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Franchise Founded: 1967

Team Colors: Black, Pittsburgh gold and white

Stanley Cups: 5 – 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, 2017

Biggest Rivals: Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, New York Islanders

The Penguins play at PPG Paints Arena, which opened in 2010 and replaced Pittsburgh Civic Arena, better known as The Igloo. The old arena’s enormous domed roof was actually part of how the Penguins got their name in the first place. Pittsburgh is also one of the six franchises added during the NHL’s massive 1967 expansion, alongside Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Minnesota, St. Louis and California. 

The Origin Story

Pittsburgh had actually hosted NHL hockey before the Penguins existed. The Pittsburgh Pirates played in the NHL from 1925 until 1930 before eventually relocating to Philadelphia and becoming the Quakers. Decades later, when the NHL decided to expand beyond its Original Six, Pittsburgh wanted back in. The city already had a new arena, Pittsburgh Civic Arena, which opened in 1961 and was nicknamed The Igloo because of its enormous retractable dome. When Pittsburgh was awarded one of the NHL’s six new franchises in 1966, that nickname became the inspiration for the team name.

A civic contest was held, but ownership was already leaning toward Penguins because, as co-owner Jack McGregor’s wife reportedly put it, a hockey team playing in an Igloo should obviously be called the Penguins. The team made its NHL debut during the 1967-68 season, but they weren’t exactly a powerhouse.

The Penguins bounced between mediocrity, occasional playoff appearances and genuine financial trouble for much of their first two decades. They had some very good players like Jean Pronovost, Syl Apps Jr., Pierre Larouche, Rick Kehoe, but never found the sustained success that Philadelphia, their fellow Pennsylvania expansion team, found almost immediately. By the early 1980s, Pittsburgh was terrible, but they became terrible at exactly the right time, because the 1984 NHL Draft contained Mario Lemieux.

The Vibe Check

The Pittsburgh Penguins have one of the strangest franchise personalities in hockey because their history repeatedly goes: Everything is falling apart!!! Then: Here is one of the greatest hockey players ever born, problem solved! Like, there’s no other way I can put it.

Mario Lemieux arrives, franchise saved. Mario nearly leaves hockey, franchise struggles financially. Mario buys the franchise, franchise saved. Then Sidney Crosby arrives! Another dynasty! Sounds like a completely normal organizational strategy.

There’s also something distinctly Pittsburgh about the Penguins now. In 1980, they changed from blue and white to black and gold so they would match the Steelers and Pirates, turning Pittsburgh into one of the rare North American sports cities where its major professional teams share the same basic color scheme. Boston initially objected because the Bruins already wore black and gold, but Pittsburgh successfully argued that its earlier NHL team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, had used the colors decades before. So now you get the black and gold, the skating penguin with the Golden Triangle behind him, Five Stanley Cups, and an incredible amount of generational talent.

The History You Need to Know

For the first 17 years of their existence, the Penguins were mostly a struggling hockey team, then came 1984. Pittsburgh finished last in the NHL and earned the first overall pick in a draft containing one of the most hyped prospects in hockey history – Mario Lemieux. The Penguins selected him first overall and everything changed.

Lemieux scored on the first shift of his first NHL game, stealing the puck from Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and scoring… is that rookie out of his mind?? Anyway, he quickly became one of hockey’s biggest stars and, by the late 1980s, was challenging Wayne Gretzky for scoring titles. In 1988-89, Lemieux recorded an absurd 199 points, still the Penguins single season record, but Pittsburgh still needed a team around him, which arrived at the beginning of the 1990s.

The Penguins built around Lemieux with players like Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Paul Coffey, Kevin Stevens, Tom Barrasso and Larry Murphy. In 1991, Pittsburgh reached the Stanley Cup Final against the Minnesota North Stars, the Penguins won in six games, bringing the First Cup in franchise history. Mario Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy this year, too.

Then Pittsburgh did it again. In 1992, the Penguins repeated as champions, sweeping Chicago in the Stanley Cup Final. Lemieux won another Conn Smythe, and Pittsburgh finished that postseason with an NHL-record 11 consecutive playoff victories. It looked like a dynasty might be beginning, but Lemieux’s health became the bigger story. He dealt with severe back problems and in January 1993, he announced that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. Lemieux underwent radiation treatments and on the same day as his final treatment, he flew to Philadelphia and played against the Flyers. Philadelphia fans gave him a standing ovation. Yes… Flyers fans. That tells you how serious the moment was and just what we mean when we say some moments are bigger than hockey. 

Lemieux returned and somehow still won the NHL scoring title that season. He eventually retired in 1997 at only 31 years old.

Meanwhile, the franchise’s finances were falling apart. Pittsburgh declared bankruptcy in 1998, with Lemieux himself owed more than $30 million in deferred salary. So Mario did something almost no superstar athlete has ever done and turned the money the Penguins owed him into ownership equity and led a group that bought the team. Lemieux officially became controlling owner in 1999, helping stabilize the franchise and keep it in Pittsburgh. Then, because apparently this story wasn't ridiculous enough, he came out of retirement in 2000 and became simultaneously a player and owner, eventually retiring for good in 2006.

By then, though, Pittsburgh had already found the next guy. They won the 2005 NHL Draft Lottery and selected Sidney Crosby first overall. They had already drafted Evgeni Malkin second overall in 2004, then Kris Letang arrived, Marc-André Fleury had been drafted first overall in 2003. Suddenly, another dynasty core was forming. The Penguins reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2008, where Detroit beat them in six games, then the exact same teams returned in 2009, but this time, Pittsburgh won Game 7 in Detroit. Max Talbot scored twice and Marc-André Fleury made a last second save on Nicklas Lidstrom. Sidney Crosby became, at the time, the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup and Evgeni Malkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy after leading the playoffs with 36 points. Third Cup!

Crosby's era wasn't done. After several years filled with injuries, playoff disappointment and Crosby’s frightening concussion problems, Pittsburgh changed coaches during the 2015-16 season. Mike Sullivan took over, and the Penguins got fast, really fast. They won the 2016 Stanley Cup, beating San Jose in six games. Then they came back the next season and did it again. Pittsburgh defeated Nashville in six games in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, becoming the first NHL team in nearly two decades to win consecutive championships. Sidney Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy both years.

The Icons

Mario Lemieux

The franchise, literally. There is no Pittsburgh Penguins without Mario Lemieux. He saved the team on the ice, then saved it financially, then owned it. Lemieux scored 690 goals and 1,723 points in only 915 NHL games, despite losing huge portions of his career to injuries and illness. He had ten 100-point seasons, recorded 199 points in 1988-89 and won two Stanley Cups as captain. Then he became owner and watched the Penguins win three more, marking five Cups total as player and owner.

Sidney Crosby

Sid the Kid, except he is now 39 years old somehow. Sidney Crosby was supposed to save the NHL after the 2004-05 lockout and he did. Crosby was drafted first overall in 2005 and has spent his entire career with Pittsburgh. He has won three Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies, two Art Ross Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies, two Olympic gold medals and basically everything else. In 2025-26, Crosby recorded 74 points in only 68 games and extended his NHL record to 21 consecutive point-per-game seasons. He also passed Mario Lemieux to become the Penguins’ all-time points leader during the season. He’s entering his 22nd NHL season, all with Pittsburgh. At this point, he's not just the face of the current Penguins, he’s the connective tissue between multiple generations of hockey fans.

Jaromir Jagr

The other superstar from the first dynasty! The Penguins drafted Jaromir Jagr fifth overall in 1990 and he immediately won two Stanley Cups. He spent the next decade becoming one of the greatest offensive players hockey has ever seen. Jagr recorded 1,079 points in 806 games as a Penguin, won five Art Ross Trophies with Pittsburgh and eventually became the second-highest scorer in NHL history. His relationship with Pittsburgh became complicated after he left, but time heals all wounds.

Evgeni Malkin

The superstar who somehow spent twenty years being slightly overshadowed. Imagine being one of the greatest players of your generation and somehow being the other center on your own team…that's Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh drafted him second overall in 2004, and he joined the Penguins in 2006. He won the Calder Trophy as a rookie, he has two Art Ross Trophies, a Hart Trophy, the 2009 Conn Smythe Trophy, 3 Stanley Cups, and has more than 1,400 career points. In 2025-26, at age 39, Malkin still recorded 61 points in only 56 games. Pittsburgh re-signed him to a one year, $5.5 million contract this summer, meaning he's back for a 21st NHL season. And as of today, he's not even completely ruling out playing after this year, because apparently Geno will decide when Geno is done.

Marc-André Fleury

Flower!!! Pittsburgh drafted Fleury first overall in 2003, before Crosby and Malkin had even arrived. He became the goalie of the first Crosby-era championship and made one of the most important saves in franchise history when he stopped Nicklas Lidstrom in the final seconds of Game 7 in 2009. Fleury won 375 regular-season games as a Penguin, still the franchise record, and was part of all three Crosby-era Cup teams. His personality made him one of the most beloved players not just in franchise history, but in NHL history.

Kris Letang

Kris Letang has been here almost as long as Crosby and Malkin. Pittsburgh drafted him in 2005, and he became the offensive engine of the blue line during all three modern championships. He has survived injuries, strokes, roster changes, coaching changes and multiple generations of teammates. But the soldier that is Kris Letang is still here. The 2026-27 season will be the 21st season Crosby, Malkin and Letang have been teammates, extending their own NHL record for the longest-tenured trio in league history.

Ron Francis

Ron Francis sometimes gets overshadowed by Lemieux and Jagr when people talk about the early-1990s Penguins, and he shouldn't. Pittsburgh acquired Francis from Hartford in 1991, and he became an enormous part of both championship teams. His Cup clinching goal in 1992 remains one of the defining goals of the first dynasty. He eventually finished his career second all-time in NHL assists behind Wayne Gretzky.

The Current Era

The current Penguins are living in two timelines at once. One says that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are still here, so try to win. The other says these men are approximately 400 hockey years old, so maybe prepare for what comes next. Kyle Dubas has been trying to do both.

Pittsburgh missed the playoffs in 2023, 2024 and 2025, ending a remarkable run of 16 consecutive postseason appearances from 2007 through 2022. That streak had been the longest active playoff streak across the four major North American professional sports leagues. After the third straight miss, longtime coach Mike Sullivan and the Penguins parted ways. Pittsburgh hired Dan Muse in June 2025, giving him his first NHL head-coaching job. The organization specifically highlighted his background developing young players while still working effectively with veterans. Somehow, it worked immediately.

The 2025-26 Penguins were expected by a lot of people to be transitioning toward a rebuild. Instead, they finished 41-25-16 with 98 points, placed second in the Metropolitan Division and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Muse became a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year. Pittsburgh faced Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs and lost the first 3 games, they won Games 4 and 5, but Game 6 went into overtime, and Philadelphia won the series. Pittsburgh still hasn't won a playoff round since 2018. Still, last season changed the direction of the organization.

Young players actually contributed. Ben Kindel, selected 11th overall in 2025, made the NHL immediately at 18 and produced 35 points in 77 games. Egor Chinakhov, acquired from Columbus, exploded after arriving in Pittsburgh, scoring 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games. Meanwhile, Erik Karlsson had one of  his best seasons as a Penguin and Crosby remained Crosby. This summer, Pittsburgh took a relatively conservative approach rather than chasing a massive free-agent signing. Anthony Mantha left for New Jersey, Stuart Skinner went to Winnipeg and Noel Acciari signed with Philadelphia. Pittsburgh added Andrei Kuzmenko, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Nicholas Robertson, re-signed Chinakhov and Arturs Silovs, and made one especially interesting long-term bet by signing Ville Koivunen to an eight year, $32 million contract.

The Players You Need to Know

Sidney Crosby

The captain & one of the greatest players ever.

At some point, we're supposed to stop being surprised that Sidney Crosby is still elite. Yet, Crosby played only 68 games in 2025-26 but still finished with 74 points, extending his record to 21 point-per-game seasons. He enters 2026-27 as the Penguins’ all time scoring leader with 1,761 career points. He remains captain and the face of everything, and as long as Sidney Crosby is still playing like Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh is going to have a very difficult time telling him they're rebuilding.

Evgeni Malkin

The ageless superstar.

Malkin turned 40, but he’s still here with 61 points in 56 games last season. He signed a one-year extension in May and when asked a couple weeks ago whether this will definitely be his final NHL season, he basically said we'll see. Geno has always been slightly chaotic, extremely talented and occasionally overlooked because Crosby happens to exist. Don't make that mistake, he’s one of the greatest Penguins ever.

Erik Karlsson

The superstar defenseman who finally looked like himself again.

Pittsburgh acquired Erik Karlsson in 2023 immediately after he had won the Norris Trophy with a 101-point season in San Jose. His first couple seasons with the Penguins were complicated, but last season Karlsson recorded 66 points in 75 games and finished eighth among NHL defensemen in scoring. He was also named Pittsburgh's team MVP!  At 36, he's obviously not part of the long term youth movement, but if Pittsburgh is trying to squeeze another playoff run out of the Crosby era having an elite puck moving defenseman helps.

Bryan Rust

The forever useful Crosby winger.

Bryan Rust is one of those players who somehow went from supporting cast member to essential part of the entire era. Pittsburgh drafted him in the third round in 2010, he won Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, then became a legitimate top six scorer. Although he’s injured to start the season,  Rust has recorded 65 points in each of the last two seasons, and over that span he leads Pittsburgh in even strength goals.

Rickard Rakell

The scorer who keeps scoring.

Rickard Rakell sometimes gets lost because there are approximately twelve Hall of Fame names floating around this roster, but he’s still important! Rakell scored a career-high 35 goals and 70 points in 2024-25, then had another productive year despite being limited to 60 games last season. Over the past four seasons, he's the only NHL player with at least 100 goals, 700 shots and 400 hits. He isn't flashy enough to dominate headlines, but is exactly the kind of player Crosby turns into an extremely annoying problem for opponents.

Egor Chinakhov

The breakout guy.

Pittsburgh acquired Egor Chinakhov from Columbus last season. Chinakhov produced 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games after joining Pittsburgh, finishing the year with career highs of 21 goals and 42 points. He's expected to remain in Pittsburgh's top six and could become one of the most important pieces of the “what happens after the old guys?” conversation.

Ben Kindel

The teenager who skipped the waiting part.

Pittsburgh drafted Ben Kindel 11th overall in 2025. Most teenagers drafted in that range go back to junior hockey, but Kindel simply made the Penguins at 18. He played 77 games, scored 17 goals and finished with 35 points, earning the team's Rookie of the Year award and receiving Calder Trophy votes. He's smart, skilled and capable of playing center which is slightly important considering Pittsburgh currently employs two legendary centers who are not going to remain 39 and 40 forever.

Ville Koivunen

The giant organizational bet.

Ville Koivunen's had 7 points in 39 NHL games but Pittsburgh clearly thinks there's much more coming. Koivunen dominated at the AHL level with 41 points in 34 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, then added nine points during the team's run to the conference final. The Penguins signed the 23 year old to an eight year extension this summer. Kyle Dubas has openly described the contract as a bet on what Koivunen can become, so keep an eye on him and how he fits into the team.

Arturs Silovs

The goalie Pittsburgh hopes can do the job.

Pittsburgh's goalie situation remains one of the least settled parts of the roster. Arturs Silovs played 39 games last season, going 19-12-8. His .888 save percentage wasn't pretty, but the Penguins remain intrigued by the goalie who had previously won Calder Cup playoff MVP with Abbotsford. Stuart Skinner is gone, young Russian goalie Sergei Murashov is also pushing for playing time, so entering the season, Pittsburgh isn't exactly handing one goalie the throne, but our bets are on Silovs to take it.

The Rivalries

Philadelphia Flyers

Penguins/Flyers is the Battle of Pennsylvania, and for long stretches it has been one of the nastiest rivalries in hockey. Philadelphia entered the NHL in the same expansion year as Pittsburgh. For a very long time, the Flyers were much better. At one point, Pittsburgh went nearly 15 years without winning a single road game in Philadelphia. Then Mario Lemieux arrived, then Sidney Crosby arrived, and suddenly Pittsburgh started having its own fun. The teams have met repeatedly in the playoffs, including 1989, 1997, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2018 and 2026. The 2012 series was absolute nonsense producing 56 goals in 6 games, fights, suspensions, coaches screaming at each other, Sidney Crosby saying he didn't like anyone on the Flyers. Philadelphia won, but Pittsburgh eliminated Philadelphia in 2008, 2009 and 2018. Then in 2026, the Flyers got another one, eliminating the Penguins in six games after Pittsburgh nearly came back from a 3-0 series deficit. 

Washington Capitals

For the Crosby-era Penguins, this is arguably the rivalry because it's really Sidney Crosby vs Alex Ovechkin. They entered the NHL in the same season and became the faces of a generation. Crosby was the Canadian playmaking center while Ovechkin was the Russian goal-scoring winger. Pittsburgh vs Washington became appointment viewing and then the playoff matchups made it huge. The Penguins historically tortured Washington. Pittsburgh eliminated the Capitals in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2016 and 2017. When Pittsburgh eliminated Washington in 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016 and 2017, the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup every single time. Washington finally got through Pittsburgh in 2018 and won the Cup. As of 2026, Crosby and Ovechkin have faced each other more than 100 times including the playoffs, giving this rivalry almost two full decades of history attached to two of the greatest players ever.

New York Rangers

Pittsburgh and the Rangers have spent decades sharing divisions, but the rivalry got much stronger during the Crosby/Lundqvist era. The teams repeatedly ran into each other in the playoffs. New York eliminated Pittsburgh in 2014, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit, the Rangers beat them again in 2015, Pittsburgh returned the favor in 2016. Then came 2022 when the Penguins led the first-round series 3-1, and lost. Game 7 went to overtime, Artemi Panarin scored, and New York advanced. That series also became Pittsburgh's final postseason appearance before the three-year playoff drought. There are happier Rangers memories.

New York Islanders

The Islanders have become a surprisingly persistent source of Pittsburgh postseason pain.

The most famous early chapter came in 1993. Pittsburgh had won the previous two Stanley Cups and looked capable of becoming a dynasty. The Islanders came into Pittsburgh for Game 7, David Volek scored in overtime, and the Penguins were eliminated. That remains one of the biggest upsets in NHL playoff history. Then in 2019, the Islanders swept Pittsburgh in the first round, then beat the Penguins again in six games in 2021. For a team whose modern identity involves a lot of playoff success, Islanders matchups have occasionally been a very annoying exception.

The Fanbase

Pittsburgh is one of the NHL’s best examples of a market transforming completely over time. This was once a franchise that struggled financially and nearly relocated, but now Penguins hockey is deeply embedded in Pittsburgh sports culture. A huge part of that is obviously Lemieux, then Crosby arrived just as a new generation of fans needed someone to attach itself to. By the Crosby/Malkin era, Pittsburgh had become one of the NHL's most consistently successful franchises, and an entire generation of Penguins fans grew up assuming playoff hockey happened every spring (16 consecutive postseason appearances will do that).

The black and gold identity is essential because it connects the Penguins visually to the Steelers and Pirates. Pittsburgh is a sports city where the teams actually look like they belong together. The mascot is Iceburgh, a giant penguin who has been around since the early 1990s and whose name is obviously a play on iceberg + Pittsburgh. Penguins crowds have one of the simplest, most effective chants in hockey “LET’S GO PENS!” There’s also the phrase “It’s a great day for hockey,” closely associated with beloved former coach “Badger” Bob Johnson. Pittsburgh has continued using it in team branding and even placed “A GREAT DAY FOR HOCKEY” inside the collar of its 2019 Stadium Series jersey.

And then there's Mario. Even now, Lemieux's presence hangs over basically everything. The arena complex where the team practices is literally the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, his number is everywhere, his ownership saved the team, and even after Pittsburgh changed ownership again in 2026, the new owners publicly said they hoped to keep Lemieux involved with the organization in some capacity. There are franchises with legends, but Pittsburgh has a legend who became the franchise.

The Retired Numbers

The Penguins are surprisingly selective here! They have officially retired only three player numbers.

No. 21 — Michel Brière

This one is tragic. Pittsburgh selected Michel Brière in the 1969 NHL Draft, and he immediately looked like one of the franchise's brightest young players. After his rookie season, Brière was critically injured in a car accident. He remained in a coma for months and died in 1971 at only 21 years old. The Penguins retired his number 21, and the organization’s annual award for its top rookie was later named in his honor.

No. 66 — Mario Lemieux

We have covered this. Player, captain, two-time Cup champion, franchise savior, owner, three more Cups. There may not be another player in NHL history whose identity is this inseparable from one organization.

No. 68 — Jaromir Jagr

Pittsburgh finally retired Jagr's number 68 in 2024, bringing one of the greatest players in franchise history fully back into the Penguins family. Jagr recorded 1,079 points as a Penguin, won two Stanley Cups and five scoring titles in Pittsburgh.

We all know another number is eventually going up there… number 87. Almost certainly number 71 too, and number 58 has a pretty compelling case, but those three will all come at a later time.

The Team Identity

For most of the last forty years, Penguins identity has been built around elite offensive talent down the middle. Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin… so much talent. If you have generational centers, build around them and let everyone else figure it out. The result has been five Stanley Cups, but Pittsburgh is now facing a question the franchise has successfully avoided for two decades: What the FUCK happens after Sidney Crosby?

Kyle Dubas is trying to answer that without disrespecting the years Crosby still has left which is why the roster looks weird. You have Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Karlsson at one end, then Ben Kindel, Ville Koivunen, Egor Chinakhov, Sergei Murashov and other younger pieces at the other. Last year was actually the first proof that the middle path might work. Pittsburgh returned to the playoffs while giving meaningful opportunities to younger players. Kindel became an NHL regular at 18, Chinakhov broke out after arriving from Columbus, Karlsson had a resurgence, Muse almost won Coach of the Year, and Crosby still produced above a point per game.

The organization hasn't pretended this is the same Stanley Cup contender from 2016. Dubas has openly talked about Pittsburgh being in a transitional period, but he's also not dismantling the team while Crosby remains elite. They're trying to rebuild without making Sidney Crosby play for a rebuilding team. Yeah, good luck!

Why You Should Watch Them

You should watch the Pittsburgh Penguins because there may not be another NHL franchise where the history of the team is directly connected to a handful of truly generational players. You get Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-André Fleury, Kris Letang. This is a team with five Stanley Cups, they won back-to-back championships, not once, but twice. This is a franchise that was literally saved from bankruptcy by its greatest player. They have 16 straight playoff appearances, Crosby versus Ovechkin, the Battle of Pennsylvania, and enough playoff history to make approximately half the Metropolitan Division dislike them.

The current team is compelling for a completely different reason. We're watching the end of something. Sidney Crosby is entering his 22nd season, Evgeni Malkin is 40, and Kris Letang is 39. The three of them are entering their 21st season as teammates, something no trio in NHL history has ever done.

Pittsburgh also isn't simply running a retirement tour. They made the playoffs last season because Crosby is still elite, Malkin still scores, Karlsson just had a 66-point season, Ben Kindel looks like a legitimate young NHL player, and Egor Chinakhov might be breaking out. The organization just gave Ville Koivunen eight years because it believes he's part of whatever comes next and Dan Muse's first season behind the bench was much better than anyone reasonably expected. The Penguins exist in this strange little space between nostalgia and transition. They're not the dynasty anymore, but they’re not rebuilding yet.

As long as number 87 keeps showing up and being one of the best players on the ice, nobody in Pittsburgh is particularly interested in waving a white flag. At some point, the Crosby-Malkin-Letang era has to end. Who knows if it’s this year, although it doesn’t seem to be the end just yet, but you should watch them before you miss out on one of the few truly extraordinary relationships in hockey.