Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (IPA: ) (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ове́чкин; born September 17, 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). In January 2008, he signed a thirteen-year contract extension worth $124 million with the Capitals, the most valuable contract in NHL history.

Ovechkin was the first overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, he began play in the 2005-06 NHL season, in which he won the Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year. During the 2007-08 season, he led the NHL with 65 goals and 112 points to capture the Rocket Richard and Art Ross Trophies. That season he also won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by the NHLPA and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP. He is the first player in NHL history to win all four awards.

Alexander Ovechkin is the son of Mikhail Ovechkin, a former professional football (soccer) player, and Tatyana Ovechkina, who won two Olympic gold medals while competing for the Soviet women's basketball team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

The first signs of Ovechkin's future came when two years old – while in a Soviet toy store, he grabbed a toy hockey stick and helmet and refused to let go. His parents treasure the picture to this day. Whenever he saw a hockey game on TV, he "dropped all his toys" and ran to the TV, protesting strongly if his parents tried to change the channel. His parents say they knew he would be an athlete when he chose to run up the steps to their 10th floor apartment instead of taking the elevator. They also encouraged him to be athletic, sending him out to play at nearby soccer fields and basketball courts.

Sergei, Ovechkin’s older brother, had initially introduced him to hockey, and Alexander enrolled in hockey school at the age of 8. Soon after he began, however, he had to postpone his hockey career because his parents were unable to take him to the rink. But one of Ovechkin's coaches saw Ovechkin's talent and insisted to his parents that he should continue playing hockey. Sergei later died in a car accident when Alexander was only 10. A childhood friend claims this is one of the reasons Ovechkin is so passionate on the ice.

Since he studied at the Military Institute for Border Guards, Ovechkin did not have to go through compulsory military service.

Russian hockey teams begin building their systems from childhood. Ovechkin began playing in the Dynamo Moscow system and the age of 16, made his debut for the team in the Russian Superleague in the 2001-2002 season. In the 2003-2004 season, he won the Superleague award for Best Left Wing and became the youngest Dynamo Moscow player to lead the team in scoring.

In 2004-2005, he missed nearly two months of play because of a shoulder injury sustained in the Gold Medal Game against Canada in the World Junior Championships.

Ovechkin was the first overall draft choice in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Washington Capitals. He had been projected as the first overall pick for nearly two years, and had earned comparison to Mario Lemieux. He was so highly regarded, the Florida Panthers attempted to draft him in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in the 9th round, even though his birthday was two days after the cut-off (September 15th, 1985). Rick Dudley, the general manager of the Panthers, claimed the pick was legitimate, saying that using leap-years Ovechkin was old enough.

Following the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Alexander Ovechkin played his first game with the Capitals on October 5, 2005, scoring two goals in a 3-2 victory over Columbus. In a shootout against Anaheim, Ovechkin scored the winning goal to end the game at 5-4.

On January 13, 2006, in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to help Washington win the game.

On January 16, 2006, Alexander Ovechkin scored a goal that veteran hockey reporter Bill Clement called "one of the greatest goals of all time." Knocked down by Paul Mara, a defenseman for the Phoenix Coyotes, then sliding on his back and facing away from the net, Ovechkin was able to hook the puck with one hand on his stick and slide it into the net past goalie Brian Boucher for his second goal of the night.

On February 1, 2006, Ovechkin was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January 2006 as well as being named Offensive Player of the Month, becoming only the third player in NHL history to earn both honors in a single month.

Ovechkin led 2005-2006 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals, and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring and tied for third in goals. His 425 shots led the league, set an NHL rookie record, and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin’s point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history and his goal total tied for third in franchise history. He was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team, the first rookie to receive the honor in 15 years. After the season ended, Ovechkin received the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best rookie. EA Sports made him one of the cover athletes for NHL 07.

On January 24, 2007 Ovechkin played in his first NHL All-Star game in Dallas, scoring his first All-Star game goal.

After much speculation, Ovechkin signed a 13-year contract extension worth $124 million with the Capitals on January 10, 2008. The contract, which averages $9.5 million per year, is the richest in NHL history. Working without an agent, Ovechkin negotiated directly with Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and general manager George McPhee.

On March 3, 2008, Ovechkin notched his fourth hat trick, against the Boston Bruins. He scored his 50th, 51st, and 52nd goals of the season, the second time he has hit the 50-goal mark in three seasons with the Capitals.

On March 21, 2008, Ovechkin scored his 59th and 60th goals of the season against the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming the first player in the NHL to score 60 goals in a season since Mario Lemieux in 1996. Ovechkin was the 19th player ever to reach the 60 goal plateau. On March 25, Ovechkin scored his 61st goal to hold the Washington Capital's team record for regular season goals previously held by Dennis Maruk. He would break Luc Robitaille's record for most goals by a left winger in one season on April 3, 2008, by scoring two goals, his 64th and 65th of the season.

Following the 2007-2008 NHL season, Ovechkin was awarded his third consecutive Kharlamov Trophy, named after Soviet hockey star Valery Kharlamov and presented by Sovetsky Sport newspaper. The Kharlamov Trophy honors the best Russian NHL player as voted by other Russian NHL players.

Ovechkin finished the 2007-08 NHL season as the leader in points (112) and goals (65), winning the Art Ross Trophy and the Rocket Richard Trophy, respectively. That year, he was also awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by the NHLPA and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, becoming the first player in the history of the NHL to win all four awards, as well as all four awards in a single season.

In his first NHL playoff game, Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal with less than five minutes left.

In late October of the 2008–09 NHL season Ovechkin returned home to Moscow to visit his ailing grandfather, missing only the second game of his entire career, and snapping a consecutive streak of 203 games.

On February 5 2009, Ovechkin scored his 200th goal against the Los Angeles Kings becoming only the fourth player in the NHL to reach the milestone in four seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

At the age of 16, Ovechkin helped lead the Junior National Team to the Gold medal with two hat tricks, one against Switzerland and one against USA, and an assist.

At the age of 17, when he was selected by Russian coach Victor Tikhonov to play in the Ceska Pojistovna Cup Eurotour tournament, Alexander became the youngest skater ever to play for the Russian National Team in the history of Russian hockey. In that tournament he also became the youngest player ever to score for the National Team.

At the age of 18, Alexander Ovechkin was named Captain of the Junior Russian National Team. Russia finished 5th in the tournament.

At the age of 19, Ovechkin was named to the Russian National Team for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He was the youngest player in the tournament.

Also at the age of 19, Alexander Ovechkin was named Captain of the Junior National Team in the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament, lasting from December 25, 2004, to January 4, 2005, was Ovechkin's third and last. At the end of the tournament he had collected 7 goals (tied for tournament lead). His team received the silver medal after losing the gold medal game to Canada on January 4, and Ovechkin was named the Best Forward of the tournament as well as selected to the tournament All-Star Team.

In 2005 Ovechkin played in his first IIHF men's World Championships. He scored five goals and three assists, landing eighth in the top scorers list and sharing third place in goal scoring.

In 2006, Ovechkin played in his very first Winter Olympic Games. Although Russia came away from the games without a medal, Ovechkin scored 5 goals in the tournament, including the game-winner against Canada's Martin Brodeur, eliminating Canada from the tournament. Ovechkin was the only player not on Sweden (Gold) or Finland (Silver) to be named to the all-tournament team.

At the 2006 IIHF World Championships, Ovechkin scored six goals and three assists (nine points) in seven games before losing 4-3 to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. For his efforts, Ovechkin was one of six players selected Media All-Star Team.

At the 2008 IIHF World Championships, Ovechkin helped led Russia to the gold medal by finishing with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in nine games. He was selected to the Media All-Star Team for the second time in five tournament appearances.

The day after he received the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, he was given the key to the city by Washington mayor Adrian M. Fenty for being the first Washington MVP winner in a major sport since Joe Theismann of the Washington Redskins in 1983.

On June 11, 2008, Ovechkin also launched his own line of designer Streetwear with CCM.

Ovechkin had reportedly been involved in a feud with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, who was drafted second behind Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Though the two were reported to be good friends when they roomed together during the 2006 winter Olympics in Turin, this friendship quickly cooled. There is no definitive information on what had caused the feud, but the most popular theory is that it began in August of 2007, when Ovechkin supposedly punched Malkin’s Russian agent, Gennady Ushakov, at a Moscow nightclub. Ovechkin had denied that version of events, while Malkin had confirmed it, although was not certain whether this was the precipitating event to the feud. The feud manifested itself mostly on Ovechkin’s side, who would attempt to check Malkin any time the two were on the ice. The most notorious event took place on January 21, 2008 in Pittsburgh, when Ovechkin took a run at Malkin, which would have seemingly resulted in a devastating hit had Malkin not ducked out of the way just in time. The two would also not make eye contact at the 2008 NHL Awards Ceremony. Despite these incidents, Ovechkin has repeatedly denied having it out for Malkin. Though the feud had raised many concerns as to its effect on the league, and the Russian national team at the upcoming Vancouver Olympics, it apparently dissipated as mysteriously as it had started. On January 24, 2009, during the NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, Malkin assisted Ovechkin in his stunt as part of the Super Skills Breakaway Competition. Malkin handed Ovechkin his props for the stunt as well as handing him his stick and pouring some sports drink down Ovechkin’s throat. Though there is no final word on the nature and status of the feud, considering their past interactions, this incident appears to show that the feud has effectively ended. It has been reported that Atlanta Thrashers forward and Russian teammate Ilya Kovalchuk brokered the peace between the two.

On January 24, 2009, Ovechkin won the Breakaway Competition at the NHL All Star Game for the 2nd consecutive year in Montreal after emerging in the final few seconds wearing a hat bestowed with a Canadian flag and white sunglasses. On January 25, 2009, Ovechkin scored 1 goal and notched 2 assists, as well as scoring the game-ending shootout goal in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game as the Eastern Conference won 12-11.

He also makes a brief cameo appearance in Vlad Topalov's music video for "Perfect Criminal". He appears at 3:50 minutes into the video, apparently playing a convict.

To the top

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America. It is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the North American major professional sports leagues. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league champion at the end of each season.

The league was formed in 1917 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from a predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), founded in 1909. It started with four teams, and through a series of expansions, contractions and relocations, the league is now composed of 30 teams, 24 of which are based in the United States and six in Canada. After a labour dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, the league has staged a successful comeback, including revenue and profit growth.

The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world. Currently, the league has players from about 20 different countries. Canadians have historically constituted a large majority of the players in the NHL because both the sport and the league originated in Canada. In the past 25 years, the percentages of American and European players have increased because of the NHL's continued expansion into the United States, its high standard of play compared to other leagues, and the availability of highly skilled European players.

After a series of disputes in the Canadian National Hockey Association (NHA) between Eddie Livingstone, who was the owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, and other owners, the owners of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and Quebec Bulldogs met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal to talk about the NHA's future. Their discussions eventually led to the creation of the National Hockey League on November 22, 1917. Three former NHA franchises, the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators were founding members of the NHL, along with a new Toronto franchise. Because of the dispute, the Toronto team was given temporarily to the Toronto Arena Corp to operate, and is often referred to as the Arenas, though they operated without a nickname.

On January 18, 1958, a milestone in the NHL's history occurred, as the first black Canadian person ever to play in the NHL stepped onto the ice for the Boston Bruins, Fredericton, New Brunswick-born left wing Willie O'Ree. He would play in 45 games for the Bruins, in the 1957-58 and 1960-61 seasons, scoring six goals and ten assists in his NHL career.

By the mid 1960s, the desire for a network television contract in the U.S., and concerns that the Western Hockey League was planning to declare itself a major league and challenge for the Stanley Cup, spurred the NHL to undertake its first expansion since the 1920s. Six new teams were added to the NHL roster in 1967, and were placed in their own newly-created division. Two teams each were added in California, Pennsylvania, and the Mississippi River valley. The teams were the Los Angeles Kings, Oakland Seals (later folded), Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars (Dallas Stars since 1993), and St. Louis Blues. Three years later, the NHL added the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres.

In 1972, the World Hockey Association (WHA) was formed, the first potential rival to the NHL in decades. Although it was at first publicly dismissed as a threat by the NHL owners, the NHL decided to rush its own expansion plans in 1972 by adding the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames (which became the Calgary Flames in 1980) to forestall WHA franchises in newly constructed arenas in those markets, followed by the addition of the Kansas City Scouts (which became the Colorado Rockies in 1976 before becoming the New Jersey Devils in 1982) and Washington Capitals two years later. The two leagues fought for the rights of players and fans until the WHA folded in 1979 as part of an agreement whereby four of the remaining six WHA teams would enter the NHL as expansion teams: the Hartford Whalers (the Carolina Hurricanes since 1997), Québec Nordiques (the Colorado Avalanche since 1995), Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets (the Phoenix Coyotes since 1996).

With the expansion in 1974, the NHL was aligned into 2 conferences. These conferences, the Clarence Campbell (representing the west) and the Prince of Wales (representing the east) each had 2 divisions. The Campbell's divisions were the Lester Patrick and Conn Smythe; while the Wales' divisions were the Jack Adams and James Norris (The Norris and Patrick divisions switched conferences for the 1981-82 season). This changed in 1993 when the NHL was realigned into geographical conferences (East & West), divided into two divisions--three divisions since 1998-99. The Eastern Conference currently consists of the Atlantic, Southeast, and Northeast while the Western is made up of the Central, Northwest, and Pacific. Reasons for realignment include further expansion into the U.S. and efforts to expand the NHL's breadth of audience.

After a period of stability in the 1980s, the NHL further expanded with nine new franchises in ten years. The San Jose Sharks entered in 1991; a season later the Ottawa Senators would return to the NHL along with the addition of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 1993, the league added two additional teams, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. Next came the Nashville Predators in 1998, the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and then the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000, bringing the total to 30 teams.

There have been three league-wide work stoppages in NHL history, all happening between 1992 and 2005.

The first was a strike by the National Hockey League Players Association in April 1992 which lasted for 10 days, but the strike was settled quickly and all affected games were rescheduled. A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to just 48, with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season. The resulting collective bargaining agreement was set for renegotiation in 1998 and extended to September 15, 2004.

With no new agreement in hand when the existing contract expired on September 15, 2004, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office. The lockout shut down the league for 310 days, the longest in sports history; the NHL was the first professional sports league to lose an entire season. The league vowed to install what it dubbed "cost certainty" for its teams, but the NHL Players Association countered that the move was little more than a euphemism for a salary cap, which the union initially said it would not accept. A new collective bargaining agreement was ratified in July 2005 with a term of six years with an option of extending the collective bargaining agreement for an additional year at the end of the term, allowing the NHL to resume as of the 2005–06 season.

On October 6, 2005, the first post-lockout NHL season took to the ice with 15 games, and consequently all 30 teams. Of those 15 games, 11 were in front of sell-out crowds. The NHL received record attendance in the 2005–06 season. 20,854,169 fans, an average of 16,955 per game, was a 1.2% increase over the previous mark held in the 2001–02 season. Also, the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, and the Vancouver Canucks sold out all of their home games; all six Canadian teams played to 98% capacity or better at every home game. 24 of the 30 clubs finished even or ahead of their 2003–04 mark. The Pittsburgh Penguins had the highest increase at 33%, mainly because of 18-year-old first overall draft pick Sidney Crosby. After losing a season to a labour dispute in 2005, attendance figures for League teams have returned to solid ground; but the League's TV audience has not because of ESPN's decision to drop the sport from its schedule. The NHL League's current agreement with NBC gives the sport a share of revenue from each game's advertising sales, rather than the usual lump sum paid up front for game rights. The NHL is estimated to earn annual revenue of around $2.27 billion.

Each National Hockey League regulation game is an ice hockey game played between two teams and is 60 minutes long. The game is composed of three 20-minute periods with an intermission of either 15½ or 17 minutes (if nationally televised) between periods. Television timeouts are taken at the first stoppage of play after 6, 10, and 14 minutes of elapsed time unless there is a power play or the first stoppage is the result of a goal. In these cases, the timeout will occur at the first stoppage after the penalty expires or the next stoppage after the goal, respectively. A new rule was introduced for the 2007-08 season that if the first stoppage of play is an icing, the TV timeout does not occur. This is to prevent players from getting a break despite not being allowed to change. At the end of the 60-minute regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, overtime ensues. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, four-player on four-player sudden-death period, in which the first team to score a goal wins the game. Until the 2005–06 season, if no team was able to score in the five-minute overtime, the game ended in a tie.

Beginning in the 2005–06 season, if the game is still tied at the end of overtime, the game enters a shootout. Three players for each team in turn take a penalty shot. The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game. If the game is still tied after the three shootout rounds, the shootout continues but becomes sudden death. Whichever team ultimately wins the shootout is awarded a goal in the game score and thus awarded two points in the standings. The losing team in overtime or shootout is awarded only one. Shootout goals and saves are not tracked in hockey statistics; shootout statistics are tracked separately.

Shootouts do not occur during the playoffs. In the playoffs, sudden-death 20-minute five-on-five periods are played until one team scores. While a game could theoretically continue forever, only four games have reached five overtime periods, two have reached six, and none have gone beyond six. There are no television timeouts during playoff overtime periods; the only break is to clean the loose ice at the first stoppage after the period is halfway finished.

National Hockey League games are played on an oblong hockey rink, similar to a rectangle with rounded corners, and surrounded by a wall. It measures 25.91 by 60.92 metres (85 by 200 ft) in the NHL, while international standards call for a rink measuring 29–30 metres by 60–61 metres (95.14–98.43 ft by 196.85–200.13 ft). The center line divides the ice in half, and is used to judge icing violations. There are two blue lines that divide the rink roughly into thirds, which divide the ice into two attacking and one neutral zone. Near the end of both ends of the rink, there is a thin red goal line spanning the width of the ice, which is used to judge goals and icing calls.

Starting in the 2005–2006 season, after testing in the American Hockey League, a trapezoidal area behind each goal net has been introduced. The goaltender can only play the puck within that area or in front of the goal line; if the goaltender plays the puck behind the goal line and not in the trapezoidal area, a 2 minute minor penalty for delay of game is assessed by the referees.

While the National Hockey League follows the general rules of ice hockey, it differs slightly from those used in international games organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) such as the Olympics. Infractions of the rules can lead to either the stoppage of play in the case of offside and icing calls, or a penalty call for more serious infractions.

During the 2004–05 lockout, the league changed some of the rules regarding being offside. First, the league removed the "offside pass" or "two-line pass" rule, which required a stoppage in play if a pass originating from inside a team's defending zone was completed on the offensive side of the center line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player. Furthermore, the league reinstated the "tag-up offside" which allows an attacking player a chance to get back onside by returning to the neutral zone. The changes to the offside rule were one of several rule changes intended to increase overall scoring, which had been in decline since the expansion years of the mid-nineties.

Another rule difference between the NHL and the IIHF rules concerns how icings are called. In the NHL, a linesman stops play due to icing if a defending player (other than the goaltender) touches the puck before an attacking player is able to, in contrast to the IIHF rules where play is stopped the moment the puck crosses the goal line. As a result of the rule changes following the 2004–05 lockout, when a team is guilty of icing the puck they are not allowed to make a line change before the following faceoff.

The NHL and IIHF differ also in penalty rules. The NHL, in addition to the minor and double minor penalties called in IIHF games, calls major penalties which are more dangerous infractions of the rules, such as fighting, and have a duration of five minutes. This is in contrast to the IIHF rule, in which players who fight are ejected from the game. Usually a penalized team cannot replace a player that is penalized on the ice and is thus shorthanded for the duration of the penalty, but if the penalties are coincidental, for example when two players fight, both teams remain at full strength. Also, unlike minor penalties, major penalties must be served to their full completion, regardless of number of goals scored during the power play.

The NHL and the NHLPA created a stringent anti-doping policy in the new CBA of September 2005. The policy provides for a 20-game penalty for a first positive test, 60 games for a second positive test, and a third offence resulting in a permanent ban.

The National Hockey League originated in 1917 with four teams, and through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations currently consists of 30 teams, 24 of which are based in the United States and six in Canada. The Montreal Canadiens are the most successful franchise with 24 Stanley Cup championships; in the four major North American professional sports leagues the Montreal Canadiens are only surpassed in the number of championships by the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, who have two more. The next most successful franchise is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 Stanley Cup championships, but they have not won one since 1967. The Detroit Red Wings, with 11 Stanley Cup championships, is the most successful American franchise. The longest streak of winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years is five, held by the Montreal Canadiens from 1955–56 to 1959–60; the New York Islanders (1980–1983) and the Montreal Canadiens (1976–1979) have four-year championship streaks. The 1977 edition of the Montreal Canadiens, the second of four straight Stanley Cup champions, was named by ESPN as the second greatest sports team of all-time.

Of all the major leagues in North America, the NHL is the only league to field teams that play in two countries' capital cities, Ottawa and Washington, DC.

The current league organization divides the teams into two conferences. Each conference has three divisions, and each division has five teams. The current organization has roots in the 1998–99 season where a league realignment added two divisions to bring the total number of divisions to six; the current team alignment began with the 2000–2001 season when the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league as expansion teams.

The National Hockey League season is divided into an exhibition season (September), a regular season (from the first week in October through early to mid April) and a postseason (the Stanley Cup playoffs). During the regular season, clubs play each other in a predefined schedule. The Stanley Cup playoffs, which goes from April to the beginning of June, is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Stanley Cup champion. Beginning in 2007, the NHL regular season has begun in Europe while teams not involved complete their exhibition schedule. The 2008–2009 season began with the Pittsburgh Penguins facing off against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden and the New York Rangers taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague, Czech Republic.

In the regular season, each team plays 82 games; 41 games at home and 41 on the road. Each team plays 24 games in its division (6 against each divisional opponent), and 40 games against non-divisional intra-conference opponents. That is, 4 games against each team in its conference, but not in its own division. Each team plays every team in the other conference at least once (one game each against 12 teams and two games against the remaining 3 teams). Prior to the 2008-2009 season, teams played 32 games within their division (8 games against each team in the division) and 10 inter-conference games (1 game against each team in two of the three divisions in the opposite conference). The two divisions from the opposite conference which each team plays against were rotated every year, much like interleague play in Major League Baseball. As with the current system, each team played 4 games against the other 10 teams in its conference, but not in its own division.

Points are awarded for each game, where two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation. Among major professional sports leagues, the NHL is the only one to award a team points for losing in overtime.

At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion. The league's overall leader is awarded the Presidents' Trophy. The three division champions along with the five other teams in each conference with the next highest number of points, for a total of 8 teams in each conference, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners are seeded one through three (even if a non-division winner has a higher point total), and the next five teams with the best records in the conference are seeded four through eight. The Stanley Cup playoffs is an elimination tournament, where two teams battle to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The first round of the playoffs, or conference quarterfinals, consists of the first seed playing the eighth seed, the second playing the seventh, third playing the sixth, and the fourth playing the fifth. In the second round, or conference semifinals, the NHL re-seeds the teams, with the top remaining conference seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining conference teams pairing off. In the third round, the conference finals, the two remaining teams in each conference play each other, with the conference champions proceeding to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In each round the higher-ranked team is said to be the team with the home-ice advantage. Four of the seven games are played at this team's home venue — the first and second, and, when necessary, the fifth and seventh games — with the other games played at the lower-ranked team's home venue. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the team with the most points during the regular season is given home-ice advantage, regardless of where each team ranks in their own conference.

The National Hockey League presents a number of trophies each year. The most prestigious team award is the Stanley Cup, which is awarded to the league champion at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team that has the most points in the regular season is awarded the Presidents' Trophy. There are also numerous trophies that are awarded to players based on their statistics during the regular season; they include, among others, the Art Ross Trophy for the league scoring champion (goals and assists), the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy for the goal-scoring leader, and the William M. Jennings Trophy for the goalkeeper(s) for the team with the fewest goals against them. For the 2006–07 season these statistics-based trophies were awarded to Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and, dually, Niklas Bäckström and Manny Fernandez of the Minnesota Wild respectively.

The other player trophies are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association or the team general managers. The most prestigious individual award is the Hart Memorial Trophy which is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player; the voting is conducted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to judge the player who is the most valuable to his team during the regular season. The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the person deemed the best goalkeeper as voted on by the general managers of the teams in the NHL. The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top defenceman, the Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top rookie, and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player deemed to combine the highest degree of skill and sportsmanship; all three of these awards are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

In addition to the regular season awards, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs. Furthermore, the top coach in the league wins the Jack Adams Award as selected by a poll of the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association. The National Hockey League publishes the names of the top three vote getters for all awards, and then names the award winner during the NHL Awards Ceremony.

One interesting aspect for the trophies in the NHL is that the same trophy is reused every year for each of its awards. The Stanley Cup, much like its CFL counterpart, is unique in this aspect, as opposed to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Larry O'Brien Trophy, and Commissioner's Trophy, who have new ones made every year for that year's champion. Despite only one trophy being used, the names of the teams winning and the players are engraved every year on the Stanley Cup. The same can also be said for the other trophies reissued every year.

Players, coaches, officials, and team builders who have had notable careers are eligible to be voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Players cannot enter until three years have passed since their last professional game, the shortest such time period of any major sport. One unique consequence has been Hall of Fame members (specifically, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, and Mario Lemieux) coming out of retirement to play once more. In the past, however, if a player was deemed significant enough, the pending period would be waived; only ten individuals have been honoured in this manner. In 1999, Wayne Gretzky became the last player to have the three-year restriction waived, and after Gretzky's induction, the NHL declared that he would be the last to have the waiting period omitted.

The reigning Hart Trophy winner (given to the league's most valuable player) is Alexander Ovechkin.

The top five point scoring forwards in the 2007–08 season were Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla (all current Hart Trophy nominees), Pavel Datsyuk and Joe Thornton. The top goal scorer was Alexander Ovechkin with 65, followed by Ilya Kovalchuk (52) and Jarome Iginla (50). The top four scoring defencemen were Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Gonchar, Mark Streit, and Brian Campbell and the top goaltenders (by wins) were Evgeni Nabokov (46), Martin Brodeur (44), Miikka Kiprusoff (39), Henrik Lundqvist (37), and Cam Ward (37).

In addition to Canadian and American born and trained players, who have historically composed a large majority of NHL rosters, the NHL also draws players from an expanding pool of other nations where organized and professional hockey is played. Since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, restrictions on the movement of hockey players from this region have lessened and there has been a large influx of European players into the NHL such as Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Miika Kiprusoff, and Jaromir Jagr. European players were drafted and signed by NHL teams in an effort to bring in more "skilled offensive players". Although recently there has been a decline in European players as more American players enter the league. The addition of European players changed the style of play in the NHL and European style hockey has been integrated in to the NHL game. Conversely Canadian coaches and the Canadian style of play have been embraced by many European countries. Because of the continued success of Canadian teams in world tournaments many other countries are trying to model their development programs after Hockey Canada's. In Winter Olympic years, the league voluntarily suspends its season so that NHL players can play in the Winter Olympics, representing their native countries (though this practice may end after the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will be held in an NHL city, Vancouver). Currently the NHL has players from 18 different countries, with the majority (52.0 percent during the 2007–08 NHL season) coming from Canada.

In Canada, National Hockey League games are aired nationally by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and The Sports Network (TSN). Regional games are broadcast by a number of networks including Rogers Sportsnet (RSN). French language games are broadcast by the Réseau des sports (RDS) and Réseau Info-Sports (RIS), but no longer on Radio-Canada (the French-language counterpart of the CBC), a change which has caused controversy in French Canada. The program Hockey Night in Canada, usually aired on Saturday nights on CBC, is a long-standing Canadian tradition dating to 1952, and even prior to that on radio since the 1920s. During the playoffs, the CBC airs all games that involve Canadian teams and the Stanley Cup finals; TSN airs certain other games during the first three rounds.

In the United States NHL games are aired nationally by Versus (previously the "Outdoor Life Network" and "OLN"), and by NBC. NBC replaced the previous over-the-air network, ABC, and has a revenue-sharing agreement with the NHL. Versus replaced ESPN as the cable network; Comcast, which owns Versus, offered a two-year $120 million agreement, while ESPN offered a revenue sharing agreement.

Versus had about 20 million fewer subscribers than ESPN when the NHL started on Versus, but Comcast switched Versus from a digital tier to basic cable to make NHL games available to more cable subscribers. For Versus the NHL coverage was a good addition as Versus' ratings grew by about 275% when it showed an NHL game.

The 2007 Stanley Cup Finals were the lowest rated in the United States in history. As a whole, the television ratings on NBC were down 20% from last year's series, with Game 3's coverage on NBC garnering a mere 1.1 rating (approximately 1,205,600 households), making it the lowest rated prime-time broadcast in the network's history. However, coverage in Canada on CBC pulled in 2,608,000, 2,378,000, and 2,553,000 (for Games 1, 2, and 3 respectively), slightly higher than their numbers for the first three games in 2006. Comparatively, in 1994, when the New York Rangers were involved, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals posted a rating of 5.2.

Although 2007 saw low Stanley Cup Finals ratings, the 2008 series between Detroit and Pittsburgh drew one of the highest Stanley Cup ratings ever with strong 4.4 as the high overnight rating.

XM Satellite Radio is the official satellite radio broadcaster of the NHL, as of July 1, 2007. Between September 2005 and June 2007, the NHL's broadcasting rights were shared with both XM and Sirius Satellite Radio and were broadcast on just Sirius before the NHL lockout. XM used to broadcast more than 80% of NHL games, including all the play-offs and finals. Starting with the 2007–08 season, XM broadcasts every game.

Outside of North America, NHL games are broadcast across Europe on NASN (North American Sports Network) which takes feeds from Versus, FSN, TSN and CBC (including Hockey Night in Canada), and MSG. Games can also be seen in the UK on Five, on Fox Sports in Australia and on Viasat Sport in Russia.

The NHL is considered one of the four major professional sports leagues in the North America, along with Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association. In the US, hockey has the smallest total fan base of the four leagues, the smallest revenue from television, and the least sponsorship. In contrast, hockey is the most popular of these four major sports in Canada. NHL season ticket prices have traditionally been higher (given the number of games per season) than the other sports.

To the top

Pittsburgh Penguins

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 their new arena, the CONSOL Energy Center 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.

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 first 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 Red 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.

Beginning in the mid-seventies, Pittsburgh iced some powerful offensive clubs, led by the likes of the "Century Line" of forwards Syl Apps, Jr., Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost. They came tantalizingly close to reaching the Stanley Cup semifinals in 1975, but were ousted from the playoffs by the New York Islanders in one of only three best-of-seven game series in professional sports history where a team came back from being down three games to none. As the 70s wore on, they brought in other offensive weapons such as Rick Kehoe, Pierre Larouche, and Ron Schock, along with a couple solid blue-liners such as Ron Stackhouse and Dave Burrows. But the Pens' success beyond the regular season was always neutralized by mediocre team defense. Goaltender Denis Herron was a stalwart in goal, later sharing the Vezina Trophy while with the Montreal Canadiens in 1980–81.

In 1975, the Penguins' creditors demanded payment of back debts, forcing the team into bankruptcy. The doors to the team's offices were padlocked, and it looked like the Penguins were headed for contraction. Through the intervention of a group that included Wren Blair, the team was prevented from folding.

Baz Bastien, a former coach and general manager of the AHL Hornets, later became general manager. The Penguins missed the playoffs in 1977–78 when their offense lagged, and Larouche was traded for Pete Mahovlich and Peter Lee. Bastien traded prime draft choices for several players whose best years were already behind them, such as Orest Kindrachuk, Tom Bladon and Rick MacLeish, and the team would suffer in the early 1980s as a result. The decade closed with a playoff appearance in 1979 and a rousing opening series win over Buffalo before a second round sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins.

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.

On the ice, the Penguins began the 1980s with defenseman Randy Carlyle, and prolific scorers Paul Gardner and Mike Bullard, but little else.

During the early part of the decade, the Penguins made a habit of being a tough draw for higher seeded opponents in the playoffs. In 1980, the 13th seeded Penguins took the Bruins to the limit in their first round playoff series. The following season, as the 15th seed, they lost the decisive game of their first round series in overtime to the heavily favored St. Louis Blues. Then, in the 1982 playoffs, the Penguins held a 3-1 lead late in the fifth and final game of their playoff series against the reigning champions, the New York Islanders. However, the Islanders rallied to force overtime and won the series on a goal by John Tonelli. It would be the Pens' final playoff appearance until 1989.

The team had the league's worst record in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons, and with the team suffering financial problems, it again looked as though the Penguins would fold. But the reward for the dismal 1983–84 season was the right to draft French Canadian phenomenon Mario Lemieux. Other teams offered substantial trade packages for the draft choice, but the Penguins kept the pick.

Pittsburgh spent four more years out of the playoffs. In the late 80s, the Penguins finally gave Lemieux a strong supporting cast, trading for superstar defenseman Paul Coffey from the Edmonton Oilers (after the Oilers' 1987 Stanley Cup win), and bringing in young talent such as scorers Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown, and John Cullen from the minors. And they finally acquired a top-flight goaltender with the acquisition of Tom Barrasso from the Buffalo Sabres. The Pens made the playoffs, but lost in the second round to their trans-Pennsylvania rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers. Though amassing 123 points, Lemieux missed 21 games in 1989–90 due to a herniated disk in his back, and the Pens slipped out of the playoff picture.

In 1990–91, the Penguins reached the top of the standings. They drafted Czech right-winger Jaromir Jagr in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, the first player from his country to attend an NHL draft without having to defect, and then paired with Mario Lemieux as the league's biggest one-two scoring threat since Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri on the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. Mark Recchi arrived from the minors, and Bryan Trottier signed as a free agent. Joe Mullen in a minor trade all set up these major trades that brought Larry Murphy, Ron Francis, and Ulf Samuelsson to Pittsburgh. The Penguins finally became the league's best team, defeating the Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup finals in six games. After the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, The Stanley Cup Champions Penguins visited the White House to meet President George H. W. Bush. They were the first NHL team to ever visit the White House. The following season, the team lost coach Bob Johnson to cancer, and Scotty Bowman took over as coach. Under Bowman, they swept the Chicago Blackhawks to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.

Cancer nearly dealt the Penguins a double whammy in 1993. Not only were they reeling from Johnson's death, but Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Only two months after the diagnosis, his comeback was one of the league's great "feel-good" stories of all time, missing 24 out of 84 games, but winning his fourth Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion with 160 points scored, edging out Pat LaFontaine and Adam Oates for the award. Despite the off-ice difficulties, Pittsburgh finished with a 56-21-7 record, winning the franchise's first (and still only) Presidents' Trophy as the team with the most points in the regular season; the 119 points earned that year is still a franchise record. After Lemieux's return, the team played better than it ever had before, winning an NHL-record 17 consecutive games before tying the New Jersey Devils in the final game of the season. Despite all of this success, they were still eliminated in the second round by the New York Islanders in overtime of Game 7.

The Penguins continued to be a formidable team throughout the 1990s. The stars of the Stanley Cup years were followed by the likes of forwards Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka, Aleksey Morozov, Robert Lang and Petr Nedved, and defensemen Sergei Zubov, Darius Kasparaitis and Kevin Hatcher.

Lemieux retired in 1997 and formally passed the torch to Jagr as the league's leading scorer. For the next 4 seasons, Jagr, as the captain, won 4 consecutive Art Ross Trophies. Jagr was clearly the NHL's most dominant player with the absence of Lemieux. Because of Lemieux's legendary status, the Hockey Hall of Fame waived its three-year waiting period and inducted him as an Honored Member in the same year he retired.

Despite a strong on-ice product, the Penguins were in the midst of a battle for their survival. Their free-spending ways earlier in the decade came with a price; owners Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg (who bought the Penguins after their first Cup win) had asked the players to defer their salaries. When they finally came due, combined with other financial pressures, the Penguins were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1998--the second such filing in franchise history. Just when it appeared that the Pens were about to either move or fold, Lemieux stepped forward with an unprecedented proposal. He had become one of the team's principal creditors due to years of deferred salary adding up to millions of dollars. He proposed to recover his deferred salary by converting it into equity and buying the team. The court agreed, and Lemieux assumed control on September 3, 1999. Just as he'd saved the Penguins 15 years earlier, he'd done it again.

He later shocked the hockey world by deciding to come back as a player. He returned to the ice on December 27, 2000, becoming the first player-owner in NHL history. Lemieux helped lead the Penguins deep into the 2001 playoffs, highlighted by an overtime victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of the second round. Kasparaitis scored the series-clinching goal to advance the Penguins to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost in 5 games to the New Jersey Devils.

Still, the Penguins needed to cut costs. They dealt Jagr and Frantisek Kucera to the Washington Capitals for prospects Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk, and $4.9 million in the summer of 2001. The absence of Jagr proved devastating to the Penguins, and in 2002 they missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. Further financial difficulties saw them trade fan favorite Alexei Kovalev to the New York Rangers the next season, quickly followed by the departure of Lang in free agency. Unfortunately for the franchise, none of the prospects acquired for the stars' salary dumps materialized into NHL stars. Thus, the Penguins spent the next several seasons in the NHL's basement.

2003 was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Penguins, with first overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and new head coach (and former Penguin and commentator) Eddie Olczyk. Cost restrictions made the signing of Fleury rather tense, but he later showed his resolve with excellent goaltending for a last-place club. Lemieux suffered a hip injury early in the season, and he sat out the rest of the season to recover. The Pens then traded Straka away to the Los Angeles Kings and sent Fleury back to his junior team due to further money problems. The Penguins finished with the worst NHL record having won just 23 games, but lost the lottery for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft to the Washington Capitals. Despite missing the playoffs for a third year in a row, the Penguins did come on after the All-Star break after a very slow first half of the season and finished undefeated in the month of April.

The Penguins have suffered small-market syndrome for most of their existence, and cost-cutting prevented another collapse into insolvency. Financially, the team was one of the better-managed NHL franchises between its 1998 bankruptcy and the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Thanks to significant post-season runs, the Penguins broke even in 2000 and turned a small profit in 2001. Failure to make the playoffs in the next three seasons hurt the team's bottom line, but the shedding of contracts (such as Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka) kept the team afloat as other franchises, like the Ottawa Senators, faced significant losses or declared bankruptcy. In the 2003–04 season, they had the lowest average attendance of just 11,877 fans per game.

However, by 2005, the Penguins had paid off all of their creditors, both secured and unsecured. In fact, the court approved Lemieux' plan largely because it was intended to pay everyone the team owed.

With the 2004–05 NHL season canceled due to the NHL lockout, several Penguins signed with the club's American Hockey League affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, while experienced players like Aleksey Morozov and Milan Kraft honed their talents in the elite European leagues. Morozov and Kraft would stay in the elite European leagues after the 2004–05 NHL lockout.

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.

With a new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed by the owners and players to end the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the Penguins began rebuilding the team under a salary cap. They signed big-name free agents Sergei Gonchar, John LeClair, and Zigmund Palffy, and traded for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault.

The team began the season with a long winless skid that resulted in a coaching change from Olczyk to Michel Therrien. Palffy announced his retirement due to a lingering shoulder injury while the team's second-leading scorer. Then on January 24, 2006, Lemieux announced his second retirement, this time for good, after developing an irregular heart beat. He finished as the NHL's seventh all-time scorer (1,723), eighth in goals (690) and tenth in assists (1,033), but also with the second highest career points per game average (1.88), which is second to Wayne Gretzky's 1.92.

It was now, for all intents and purposes, Crosby's team, and on April 17, Crosby became the youngest rookie in history to score 100 points. And on the Penguins' final game of the season, Crosby scored a goal and an assist to break Lemieux's record and became the top scoring rookie in team history with 102 points, despite losing the rookie scoring race to Alexander Ovechkin. Despite a decent finish, the Penguins posted the worst record of the Eastern Conference and the highest goals-against in the league.

The team announced on April 20 that the contract for General Manager Craig Patrick would not be renewed. Patrick had been GM since December 1989, and the Penguins won five division titles and back-to-back Stanley Cups during his tenure. On May 25, Ray Shero signed a five-year contract as General Manager.

On October 18, 2006, young Russian superstar Evgeni Malkin scored a goal in his first NHL game, and went on to set the modern NHL record with a goal in each of his first six games. Also contributing early to the 2006–07 season was Jordan Staal, the third of four Staal brothers in hockey, who was the Penguins' first pick (second overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. On February 27, 2007, the Penguins acquired Gary Roberts from Florida and Georges Laraque from Phoenix.

The Penguins earned points in sixteen straight games of 14 wins and only 2 overtime losses in early 2007. The streak ended on February 19 with a last-minute loss to the New York Islanders. It was the second longest point streak in club history.

The Penguins finished the 2006–07 season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 47-24-11, totaling 105 points, only two points behind the division winner, New Jersey Devils. It was the franchise's first 100-point season in 11 years, and represented a healthy 47-point leap from the previous season. Sidney Crosby won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer with 120 points, amassing 36 goals and 84 assists, beating San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton by six points (Crosby's victory in the scoring race marked the twelfth time in the past nineteen seasons that a Penguin has won the Art Ross Trophy). In the first round of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Penguins were defeated four games to one, by the eventual Stanley Cup finalists, the Ottawa Senators. At the season's end, Crosby, in addition to winning the Art Ross, also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's most outstanding player. In addition, rookies Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal were finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year in which Malkin won.

After the conclusion of the Penguins' season, the team announced that Sidney Crosby would become the team's captain. This honor made him the youngest full team captain in NHL history at only 19 years old (in January 1984, Brian Bellows of the Minnesota North Stars was made captain at 5 months younger than Crosby, but he only served the latter half of the 1983–84 season replacing injured captain Craig Hartsburg). He had been offered the position during the course of the season, but Crosby deferred stating that he did not want to mess with the chemistry of the team while they were in the playoff hunt.

After a kind-of sort-of start to the 2007–08 season, the Penguins caught fire in January, and would fall no lower than the third seed in the East from that point onward. Despite captain Crosby missing 28 games with a high right ankle sprain and starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury missing 27 games due to the same injury, the Penguins flourished due in large part to the stellar play of center Evgeni Malkin and backup goaltender Ty Conklin. On February 26, the Penguins would trade for Atlanta star right winger Marian Hossa as well as forward Pascal Dupuis at the NHL trade deadline in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, and a first round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins also acquired defensemen Hal Gill from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a second round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and a fifth round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

On April 2, 2008, the Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division title--their first division title in 10 years--with a 4-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. However, they closed the season with a loss to the Flyers on the next night, relegating them to the second seed in the East behind the Montreal Canadiens. The Pens had spent most of the second half going back and forth with the Habs for first place in the East and the second-best record in the league. Star center Evgeni Malkin would finish the season with 106 points for second place in the league just behind Washington's Alexander Ovechkin and become a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, the second time in as many seasons that a Penguin has been a finalist for the award. The team then proceeded to oust the Ottawa Senators, who had beaten them in the 2007 playoff series, in a four game sweep. They then defeated the New York Rangers in five games, and also defeated Philadelphia in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals clinching the Prince of Wales Trophy. Pittsburgh went on to lose the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals to the Detroit Red Wings in six games, finishing the playoffs with a 14-6 record.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had their tradition and success on the ice tempered with a shaky ownership group from time to time. As early as the mid 1970s the ownership group experienced cash flow issues and sought to sell the team, even if it meant relocation. In the mid 1980s, only a decade later, a similar financial situation faced the team. As recently as the 2006–07 seasons the franchise ownership sought alternatives that would provide a return on their investment. Various prospective owners sought to buy the team; however, the Lemieux group eventually decided to keep ownership rather than move the team to the highest bidder, thus resulting in the Pittsburgh Penguins to remain in Pittsburgh for at least 30 more years. As in the mid 70s and 80s, the fanbase and local government officials were successful in persuading the ownership that Pittsburgh and its region were capable of meeting the needs of a modern NHL team. Possible relocation sites were speculated ad discussed including moving the team to Kansas City and Oklahoma City. This decision proved favorable as the Penguins enjoyed franchise record home sellouts throughout the 2007–08 NHL season and 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs; in some cases their home playoff games were sold out in less than 15 minutes.

On March 13, 2007, in a joint announcement by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Allegheny County Chief Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, and Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins ownership group, it was made public that an agreement had been reached between the parties. A new state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena, the Consol Energy Center, will be built, guaranteeing that the Penguins will remain in Pittsburgh. Following the announcement of this plan, the Lemieux ownership group announced that they no longer have plans to sell the team.

On June 8, 2007, a $325 million bond was issued and the Penguins signed a 30-year lease, binding the Penguins to the city of Pittsburgh for the next 30 years, and the lease agreement was signed on September 19. On May 6, 2008, the Pittsburgh planning commission unanimously approved the final design. The arena will include a glass atrium overlooking downtown Pittsburgh and rooftop lights shining into the sky. The new $290 million dollar arena is expected to open in time for the 2010–11 NHL season. On August 14, 2008, the ground breaking ceremony for the new arena was held, thus officially beginning construction on the new facility. On December 15, 2008, it was announced by the Penguins they had entered into an agreement with Consol Energy on a 21 year deal for naming rights to the new arena.

Pittsburgh's current logo; the Penguins logo from the 1972-1992 period, now with a Vegas gold triangle as opposed to yellow.

Pittsburgh's alternate logo 2001-2007; the Penguins logo from 1992-2001 period, now with a Vegas gold triangle as opposed to yellow.

With the exception of the 1992-2001 period, the Penguins have used a variation of the "skating penguin" logo since the team's inception. For their inaugural season, the logo featured a hefty-looking skating penguin wearing a scarf, on a yellow triangle inside a circle reading "Pittsburgh Penguins". The yellow triangle is a reference to the Golden Triangle in the city of Pittsburgh. General manager Jack Riley felt the team's name and logo were ridiculous, and refused to have either appear on the team's uniforms, , which featured only the word "PITTSBURGH" diagonally. A refined version of the logo appeared on a redesigned uniform in the second season, which removed the scarf and gave the penguin a sleeker, "meaner" look. The circle encompassing the logo was removed mid-season in 1971–72.

After Mario Lemieux (a personal fan of the "skating penguin" logo) purchased the team from bankruptcy court in 1999, he announced plans to bring back the "skating penguin" logo. This occurred for the 2000–01 season, when the team revived the logo (albeit with a "Vegas gold" triangle instead of yellow) on the chest of the team's new alternate jerseys. The following season, the logo became the primary logo, and the "flying penguin" logo (also with a "Vegas gold" triangle instead of yellow) was relegated to secondary status, and only on the shoulders of the team's jerseys, until it was quietly retired in 2007 when the team introduced their version of the Rbk Edge uniforms.

The team's colors were originally powder blue, navy blue and white. The powder blue was changed to royal blue in 1974, but returned in 1977. The team adopted the current black and gold color scheme in January 1980 (the announcement was made at halftime of Super Bowl XIV) to unify the colors of the city's professional sports teams, although like the Pirates and Steelers, the shade of gold more closely resembled yellow. The shade of gold was changed to Vegas gold in 2001.

The uniforms themselves have changed several times over the years. The original jerseys from the team's first season had diagonal text reading "Pittsburgh". Currently, only images of these uniforms survive. The uniforms themselves were discovered nearly thirty years later in a garbage bag by a Civic Arena employee at the arena. Due to the years of neglect in the bag, the uniforms were damaged beyond repair. The following season, a revised version of the logo was used on a completely redesigned uniform. Player names were first added in 1970.

Until 1977, the team had some minor striping patterns on the jerseys change every few years. But in 1977, the team basically adopted their longest-lasting uniform style to date and a style they would wear for the next 16 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup twice in the process. When the colors were swapped from blue and white to black and gold in 1980, the uniform patterns themselves remained unchanged. This was likely due to the fact that the change was made in the middle of the season. From the 1981–82 season to the 1984–85 season, the team had a gold "Sunday" jersey, called as such because the team only worn them on Sundays. This was a rare example of an NHL team having a third jersey before the rule allowing such jerseys was officially implemented in 1995.

After winning their second Stanley Cup in 1992, the team completely redesigned their uniforms and introduced the "flying penguin" logo. The team's away uniforms were somewhat of a throwback to the team's first season, as they revived the diagonal "Pittsburgh" script. In 1995, the team introduced their second alternate jersey, which was a black Penguins jersey with the team's logo and had blue accents, an obvious throwback to the original team colors. This jersey would prove to be so popular that the team adopted it as their away jersey in 1997.

In 2000, the team unveiled yet another alternate jersey, the aforementioned black jersey featuring the revival of the "skating penguin" logo. This would later prove to be a test to see how the revived logo would do with fans, and the following season became the team's away uniform with a white version as the team's home jersey. When the Rbk Edge jerseys were unveiled for the 2007–08 season leaguewide, the Penguins made some major striping pattern changes and quietly removed the "flying penguin" logo from the shoulders. They also added a "Pittsburgh 250" gold circular patch to the shoulders to commemorate the 250th birthday of the city of Pittsburgh.

While the Penguins, as with the rest of the NHL, have worn their dark jerseys at home since the league made the initiative to do so starting with the 2003–04 NHL season, the team wore their white jerseys in some home games during the 2007–08 NHL season, as well as wearing their powder blue, 1968-72 throwbacks against the Buffalo Sabres in the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic. On November 5, 2008, this jersey was introduced as the current third jersey. This will be worn for select home games during the 2008–09 season.

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Penguins.

Records as of April 7, 2007.

Updated February 27, 2009.

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

To the top

Sidney Crosby

Sidney Patrick Crosby ONS (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "The Next One", he was one of the most highly regarded draft picks in hockey history, leading many to refer to the 2005 Draft Lottery as the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes".

In his first season, he finished sixth in scoring with 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists). By his second season, he led the NHL with 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists) to capture the Art Ross Trophy, becoming the youngest player and the only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American sports league. That same season, Crosby won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player as determined by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most valuable player as determined by the NHL Players Association. He is the seventh player in NHL history to earn all three awards.

Sidney Crosby began playing hockey on his own in his basement at two years old, where he badly damaged the family's clothes dryer by constantly shooting pucks at it. He learned to skate at three. At the age of seven, he gave his first newspaper interview. At thirteen, the Nova Scotia Minor Hockey Council refused to allow him to play Midget hockey, alongside seventeen year olds. His family sued and lost. At fourteen, he appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Hockey Day in Canada, and scored 217 regular season points to lead his Midget AAA team, the Dartmouth Subways, to second place in the Air Canada Cup. He won both the MVP Award and the Top Scorer Award after scoring 18 points in five games. Sidney attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's Boarding School in Minnesota for the 2002–2003 hockey season. While there, he led the Sabres to the U.S. National Championship.

Crosby was selected first overall in the midget draft by the Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL. In his first exhibition game he scored eight points, leading his teammates to nickname him "Darryl" (in reference to Darryl Sittler and his ten point game). In his first game in the QMJHL, he scored one goal and added two assists. He was named Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks at the start of the season, and won the honour four more times as the season progressed. He was named Player of the Month three times, and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Week three times. By the end of the season, he had been named Player of the Year, Top Rookie, and Top Scorer — the first QMJHL player to earn all three honours at once. He led the QMJHL with 54 goals and 81 assists in 59 regular season games.

In August 2004, Crosby turned down $7.5 million over three years to play for the Hamilton franchise of the World Hockey Association, claiming that he was not ready to leave the junior league yet.

In 2004–05, the Oceanic, led by their top line of Crosby, Marc Pouliot, and Dany Roussin dominated the QMJHL, setting the record for the longest undefeated streak (28 games) and losing only two games in the entire playoffs. The team went to the Memorial Cup finals, but fell in the last game to the London Knights. Despite the physical wear of the tournament, and the certainty of his first overall selection, Crosby attended the NHL prospect combine and impressed scouts, particularly with his personality and self-assurance.

During his amateur years, Crosby caught the attention of several journalists and other players, including Wayne Gretzky. When Gretzky was asked if he thought anyone could break his records, he answered that Sidney Crosby could, and added that Crosby was the best player he had seen since Mario Lemieux.

Crosby is the fifth player to represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships as a sixteen year old (in 2003). This feat was previously accomplished by Jay Bouwmeester, Jason Spezza, Eric Lindros, and Wayne Gretzky. Crosby stated that his most memorable hockey moment was winning the 2005 World Junior Championship.

Sidney Crosby was selected first overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 30, 2005. Due to the labour stoppage in the previous season, the 2005 draft was conducted via a weighted lottery based on each team's playoff appearances and draft lottery victories in the last four years. This lottery system led to the draft being popularly referred to as the Sidney Crosby Lottery or the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes.

Crosby finished his rookie season with the franchise record in assists (63) and points (102) for a rookie, both of which had been previously held by Mario Lemieux. Crosby is the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a single season, and only the seventh rookie ever to hit the benchmark. Overall, Crosby finished sixth in the NHL scoring race and seventh in the NHL in assists. Among Canadian NHL players, he trailed only Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. While both Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals had solid rookie campaigns, Crosby finished second behind Ovechkin for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Through his first season, Crosby was accused by opposing players and coaches of taking dives and complaining to officials, which has been attributed to his youth. He became the first rookie to earn 100 penalty minutes and 100 points in the same season, which magnified his reputation for complaining to NHL officials. Hockey analyst Kelly Hrudey compared Crosby to Gretzky, who had a similar reputation as a "whiner" in his youth, and suggested that as Crosby matured, he would mellow out and his reputation would fade.

In his second NHL season, Crosby built on his rookie success. On October 28, 2006, Crosby scored his first NHL hat trick in an 8–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. His success against the Flyers continued as just over six weeks later, on December 13, he recorded his first six point game of his career (one goal, five assists). After that game, he led the NHL in scoring for the remainder of the season, becoming the first teenager to lead the NHL in scoring since Wayne Gretzky in 1980. Crosby finished the 2006–07 NHL season with 36 goals and 84 assists in 79 games. Being only nineteen years old at the time, he became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Art Ross Trophy and the youngest scoring champion in any major North American professional sport.

At the NHL's annual awards show in June 2007, Crosby completed a rare off-season hat trick, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award in addition to his previously awarded Art Ross Trophy. He became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Lester B. Pearson, and only the second youngest player ever to win the Hart (after Gretzky). Crosby also became the youngest player ever to be named to the NHL's First All-Star Team. Crosby signed a five-year $43.5 million dollar contract extension with the Penguins on July 10, 2007, ensuring he will stay with the Penguins through the 2012–13 season.

Crosby recorded his first Gordie Howe hat trick on December 20, 2007 in a game against the Boston Bruins. His first assist came 55 seconds into the first period. At 8:26 of the same period, Crosby scored to give the Penguins a 2–0 lead. Five minutes and nine seconds into the second period, Crosby fought Andrew Ference to complete the hat trick.

On January 18, 2008, he suffered a high ankle sprain crashing leg-first into the boards in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He missed the 2008 All-Star Game. After missing 21 games, he returned on March 4 against the Lightning and earned an assist. He also played in the two games following the win over the Lightning. After these games, he felt his ankle was not up to shape and decided that he needed more time for it to heal. Crosby sat out of the Penguins' next seven games and returned on March 27, 2008 to help the Penguins defeat the New York Islanders 3–1. In the 2008 playoffs, the Penguins reached the final round for the first time since 1992, but lost in six games to the Detroit Red Wings. Crosby finished the playoffs with 27 points (6g, 21a in 20 games), tying Henrik Zetterberg (13g, 14a in 22 games) for first place.

On October 18, 2008, Crosby scored one goal in addition to three assists to surpass benchmarks of 100 goals, 200 assists, and 300 total points for his career.

Playing in major junior, Crosby competed in two World Junior Championships with Team Canada's under-20 team. As a sixteen-year-old, he was selected to compete in the 2004 World Junior Championships in Helsinki. He became the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the tournament at 16 years, 4 months, and 21 days when he scored against Switzerland in a 7–2 win. Crosby finished the tournament with 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 games, helping Canada to a silver medal finish. The following year, he returned for Team Canada at the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks. He improved to 6 goals and 3 assists as Canada earned gold.

After completing his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Crosby competed in the 2006 World Championships as an alternate captain for Team Canada. Tallying a tournament-best 8 goals and 8 assists in 9 games, he became the youngest player ever to win a World Championship scoring title. Despite his performance, Canada failed to medal, being shutout by Finland 5–0 in the bronze medal game. Crosby was named the tournament's top forward and to the competition's all-star team.

Crosby's 87 Pittsburgh Penguins jersey was the top seller on the NHL's website from September 2005 to February 2008. In January 2005, an Air Canada baggage handler in Montreal stole Crosby's red Canada jersey from the World Junior Hockey Championship. It was recovered later in a mailbox. His white jersey from the tournament was temporarily delisted from an auction while the red one was missing. It eventually sold for $22,100, which went to youth hockey charities and 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake relief.

Less than a year later, one of Crosby's game-worn sweaters went missing. The jersey he wore in his first NHL game, played against the New Jersey Devils, went missing from his father's luggage during a flight from Pittsburgh to Buffalo. The jersey was later found at the Pittsburgh International Airport between a piece of equipment and a stairwell. Crosby's jersey from his third NHL game was the highest-selling NHL jersey in an auction for Hurricane Katrina relief – it sold for $21,010.

During an online auction held by the NHL and the NHL Players Association to benefit Hockey Fights Cancer, Crosby's game-worn jersey from the first period of the 2007 All-Star Game earned the most money. Crosby's sold for $47,520, more than eight times the next highest price—$5,681 for the jersey worn by Brendan Shanahan of the New York Rangers.

Sidney Crosby was born in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia in 1987 to Troy Crosby and Trina Forbes-Crosby. He has a younger sister, Taylor. During the season, Crosby lives with the Lemieux family in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2006 he bought his first house in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His father was a goaltender who played for the Verdun Junior Canadiens in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and in the 1985 Memorial Cup. Troy was drafted 240th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1984, but never played at the NHL level. Growing up, Sidney admired Steve Yzerman and, like his father, was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby's number (87) and 2007 contract signing ($8.7 million per year) reflect his birthdate (8/7/87).

From age twelve to fifteen, Crosby attended Astral Drive Junior High School. He was a straight-A student and, according to the vice-principal, "an amazing role model who was really kind to students in the learning centre and to special needs kids." When he was fifteen, Crosby transferred to Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota.

In time for Crosby's first season, Gare Joyce issued a biography, Sidney Crosby: Taking the Game by Storm. The November 2005 edition of GQ Magazine featured him in a series of shirt-less photos. In 2007, Crosby was nominated for Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list. Crosby holds an endorsement deal with Reebok and designed a fashion line in 2007.

In 2008, Crosby appeared in the documentary film Pond Hockey, where he discusses his experiences of playing pond hockey.

To the top

Ilya Kovalchuk

Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (Russian: Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук, Il'ja Valer'jevič Kovalčuk; born April 15, 1983, in Kalinin, Tver Oblast, Russian SFSR now Tver, Russia) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger, who is currently the captain for the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Kovalchuk played for Russian Super League club HC Spartak Moscow for two seasons before entering the NHL. Drafted by the Thrashers first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, he became the first Russian ice hockey player to be drafted first overall in the NHL's history. In club-level competition, Kovalchuk wore the number 17 as a tribute to Valeri Kharlamov, a Soviet superstar in the 1970s. When Kovalchuk played for his national team he wore number 71.

Kovalchuk finished second to teammate Dany Heatley in the voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2002. Both were named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. In the 2003-04 NHL Season Kovalchuk scored 41 goals, making him a co-winner of the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy after tying for the league lead in goals along with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash. He also added 46 assists for 87 points, tied with Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche for second in the league that season, behind Martin St. Louis. Kovalchuk also participated in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game. After the lockout, Kovalchuk scored 52 times, tying him with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for third in the league in scoring (behind Jonathan Cheechoo (56), and Jaromír Jágr (54)). He also tied his career-high of 46 assists for a career-high 98 points, finishing 8th overall in scoring and leading the Thrashers in scoring for the second consecutive season. He also became the first Thrashers player to score 50 goals in a season. In the 2006-07 NHL season, Kovalchuk's point production dropped for the first time in his career. He finished with 42 goals and 34 assists for 76 points. Despite his drop in production, Kovalchuk and the Thrashers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time. The team lost to the New York Rangers in four games, but Kovalchuk scored one goal and one assist in the series.

In 2006, Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz said Kovalchuk "always plays with an illegal stick." The NHL has subsequently, as of the 2006–07 season, changed the rules on stick curvature to allow for a much more curved stick than was previously allowed. Kovalchuk, under the new rules, claims to play only with a legal stick.

On November 1, 2007 and November 3, 2007, Kovalchuk scored two consecutive hat-tricks despite a loss to the Ottawa Senators and the win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had a goal in the next game but lost the chance to score a hat-trick due to being injured midway through. It would have been an NHL record had he scored a third consecutive hat-trick.

On January 23, 2008 Kovalchuk was suspended for one game by the NHL for a hit from behind on New York Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival in a game a day prior.

On January 11, 2009 Kovalchuk was named captain of the Thrashers during the 9th Annual Thrashers Casino Night.

In 2006 Kovalchuk played in the Olympics as a member of the Russian men's hockey team, and had a four-goal game on February 19 in a 9–2 win over Latvia, but returned to Atlanta without a medal. In 2008 Kovalchuk played in the IIHF World Championship that was held in Quebec City, Canada where he scored just twice. However, he scored the tying goal in the final game for the Gold medal to bring the game to overtime, followed by the game winning goal to give Russia its long-awaited gold medal. On February 18, 2009, he was named the Russian national team's captain for the 2010 Olympics.

To the top