MARIO LEMIEUX AND RON BURKLE IN 2017 CHAMPIONSHIP PARADE | PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO In a move that many hockey fans may have seen coming a mile away, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Fenway Sports Group announced Monday that they’ve entered into an agreement that will allow Fenway Sports Group to acquire a controlling interest in the team. Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle purchased the Penguins for $107 million in 1999, when the team was on the verge of bankruptcy. They played a large role in securing PPG Paints Arena, thus deterring talks of relocating the team, and the Penguins have won three Stanley ..read more

Embed from Getty Images Pittsburgh sports legend Mike Lange announced on Monday that he’ll be stepping away from the broadcaster’s booth and retiring from play-by-play duties. He spent 46 years calling games in the Steel City and will still remain a part of the Penguins Radio Network. “Mike is a broadcasting legend, not just in Pittsburgh, but in all of sports,” Penguins president and CEO David Morehouse said in a press release. “He is respected and admired by all, including our ownership, players and management and executive team … Although he is stepping away from the booth, he remains a hug ..read more

Photos courtesy 2013 Pittsburgh Penguins     At 19, Olli Maatta’s journey to the NHL has been rapid — especially considering he decided he wanted to play hockey for a living about five years ago. The native of Finland also grew up playing soccer and didn’t fully commit to organized hockey — which he admits is his first love — until he was 14. Two years later, he was the youngest player ever to suit up for Finland in the World Junior Championships. Another two years passed, and Maatta was leading Ontario Hockey League rookie defensemen in scoring — and was selected 22nd overall by th ..read more

Photos courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins     Before this interview with 21-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins winger Beau Bennett kicks off, James Neal has some things he would like to say about his new linemate and locker-room neighbor. A glint of big-brother trollishness flickers in his eyes. He’s clearly delighted that we’re here to talk to Bennett.   All right, James. Describe Beau Bennett to someone who doesn’t care about hockey, like my grandmother. Neal: We call him Drizzy because he listens to a lot of [hip-hop artist] Drake. His musical taste is … I dunno. He put his iPod ..read more

Photos © 2013 Pittsburgh Penguins     The hockey goaltender has always been a mercurial figure — personified by the black-and-white LIFE magazine photos of ’50s-era ’tenders posing dourly without masks, their faces stitched up like baseball leather. Or, at best, trivialized as goonish lugnuts like Slap Shot’s iconic Denis Lemieux (“You go to the box … you feel shame … and then you get free.”). A goalie is supposed to be either a brooding loner (Tom Barrasso; Patrick Roy) or an unpredictable powderkeg (Dominik Hasek; Ron Hextall). And considering the kind of intestinal fortitude it t ..read more

Photo © 2013 Pittsburgh Penguins   The Pittsburgh Penguins have never played as much hockey as they are now. Forty-eight games in 99 days. That’s what a lockout-shortened season amounts to — a grueling dash to play a decent number of hockey games and determine the competition for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s slightly less than a game every other day, if you’re doing the math. In a normal NHL season, the Penguins would play six or eight fewer games in their first 99 days. The elite Robert Morris University Colonials took the ice 20 times over the opening 99 days of their 2012-13 season ..read more

Photo © 2012 Pittsburgh Penguins/Joe Sargent     Mario Lemieux is wearing a hard hat. It’s a late autumn morning, and outside the enormous glass window overlooking Pittsburgh’s East End, the sun is wading lazily in a rolling ocean of red-orange foliage. Lemieux doesn’t give the dramatic scene a second look. Inside, he’s surrounded by possibility — his own curious sandbox. The new Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers at UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Center is still a construction zone. Exposed I-beams hang above Lemieux’s head, electrical wires cover the floor like spilled spaghetti, and ..read more

PHOTO: NHL It’s an announcement few saw coming. Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford announced Wednesday that he was stepping down, citing personal reasons. Patrik Allvin, the Penguins’ assistant general manager, has been promoted to interim GM, and the search for a new GM will begin immediately, the team announced. (L-R) JIM RUTHERFORD AND PATRIK ALLVIN | PHOTO PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Rutherford has a storied career with the team, making the playoffs every year since assuming the GM position in 2014 and leading the Pens to back-t0-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 ..read more

 The National Hockey League will not start its new season until January, at the earliest, because of the pandemic. In addition to no games in December, there also were no opportunities for the players to take part in the team’s annual holiday video. The 2020 Holiday E-Card (above) is a look back at snippets from previous holiday-themed videos parodying a classic Christmas movie. Below are the full-length versions from 2014 through 2019. Take a trip down memory lane then let us know which one of these is your favorite. ⇓   Categories: Penguins, The 412 The post Which Is Your Favo ..read more

GENERAL MANAGER JIM RUTHERFORD AND THE PENGUINS’ SCOUTING STAFF DRAFTED FIVE PLAYERS ON DAY TWO OF THE 2020 NHL DRAFT | PHOTO: PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Hot on the heels of the Stanley Cup’s hoisting inside the NHL’s chilly bubble, the league began its annual draft, selecting top prospects from around the world. During a dramatic draft, which included the departure of Cup-winning goalie Matt Murray, the Pittsburgh Penguins made five picks: Two goaltenders and a trio of forwards. I’m not here to tell you about them. Their records and achievements are readily available, and I’m certainly no hockey ..read more