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The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The franchise was founded in 1967 as an expansion team during the league's original expansion from six to twelve teams. The Penguins have played in Mellon Arena since their first season, and will move into a new arena in time for the 2010-11 NHL season. They have won two Stanley Cup championships in their history, in 1991 and 1992.Before the Penguins, Pittsburgh was the home of the early NHL incarnation of the Pirates during the 1920s and the successful Hornets (AHL) franchise from the 1930s through the 1960s. When the NHL doubled in size for the start of 1967-68, Pittsburgh was one of six cities awarded an expansion team .After deciding on the "Penguin" nickname (which was inspired by the fact that the team was going 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 was Jack Riley. His team (along with the other expansion teams) was hampered by restrictive rules that kept most major talent with the "Original Six." Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate and tough defenseman Leo Boivin, the first Penguins team was manned by a cast of former minor-leaguers. The club missed the playoffs, but were a mere six points out of 1st place in the close-fought West Division. But there was a great moment in their first season which came on October 21, 1967 when they became the first team from the expansion class to beat an original six team as they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.Though Bathgate led the team in scoring, both he and Boivin were soon gone. Former player George Sullivan was the head coach for the club's first two seasons, until being replaced by Hockey Hall of Famer Leo Kelly. Despite a handful of decent players such as Ken Schinkel, Keith McCreary, agitator Bryan Watson, and goaltender Les Binkley, talent was otherwise thin. The Penguins missed the playoffs in five of their first seven seasons.Tragedy struck the Penguins in 1970 when promising rookie center Michel Briere, who finished third in scoring on the team, was injured in a car crash. Briere died after spending a year in the hospital, and his jersey, number 21, was the first to be retired by the franchise. The Penguins would reach the playoffs for the first time in 1970, advancing to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the St. Louis Blues. Pittsburgh managed a playoff berth in 1972 but not much beyond that. With the Penguins battling the California Golden Seals near the division cellar in 1973-74, Jack Riley was fired as general manager and replaced with Jack Button. Button traded for Steve Durbano, Ab Demarco Jr., Bob "Battleship" Kelly, and Bob Paradise. The personnel moves proved successful, as the team's play improved. The Penguins just barely missed the playoffs in 1974.The Penguins began the decade by changing their team colors. In January 1980, the team went from blue & white to their present-day black & gold to honor Pittsburgh's other sports teams, the Pirates and the Steelers, as well as the Flag of Pittsburgh. Both the Pirates and Steelers had worn black and gold for decades, and both were fresh off world championship seasons at that time. The Boston Bruins protested this color change, claiming a monopoly on black and gold. The Penguins defended their choice stating that an early hockey club in Pittsburgh also used black and gold as their team colors. They also argued that black and gold were Pittsburgh's traditional sporting colors. The NHL agreed, and Pittsburgh was allowed to use black and gold, a color scheme since adopted as well by the Anaheim Ducks when that team changed their uniforms in 2006.With the first overall pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft Pittsburgh selected Quebec Major Junior Hockey League superstar Mario Lemieux. He paid dividends right away, scoring on the first shot of his first shift in his first NHL game. Some criticized Lemieux for neglecting his defensive responsibilities, but Pittsburgh was looking for offense.The Penguins won an unprecedented draft lottery on July 22, 2005, in which all thirty teams had weighted chances to win the first overall pick of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins chose junior league superstar Sidney Crosby from the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.