Primary Owner:
Mario Lemieux (Lemieux Group)

General Manager:
Craig Patrick

Head Coaches:
Ed Olczyk &
Michel Therrien

Captain:
Mario Lemieux

Rookie of the Year:
Sidney Crosby

Player's Player:
John LeClair

Most Valuable Player:
Sidney Crosby

Booster Club:
Sidney Crosby

Masterton Nominee:
John LeClair

Baz Bastien Good Guy:
Sidney Crosby

Edward J. DeBartolo:
Ryan Malone, Colby Armstrong, Ryan Whitney & Marc Andre Fleury

Bob Johnson Memorial:
No winner

August 10
Obtained Jocelyn Thibault from Chicago for a 4th-round pick in 2006 draft.

September 9
Sent Kris Beech to Nashville for a conditional draft pick.

December 9
Acquired forward Eric Boguniecki from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenseman Steve Poapst.

January 18
Eric Cairns from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a sixth round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft

January 26
Acquired Cory Cross and Jani Rita from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Dick Tarnstrom.

March 9
Acquired Petr Taticek from the Florida Panthers for Ric Jackman.

Traded Cory Cross to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2007.

Traded Mark Recchi to the Carolina Hurricanes for Niklas Nordgren, Krys Kolanos and a second-round pick in 2007.

Claimed center Andy Hilbert off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks.

2005-06


Click on Media Guide to see other seasons

2005-06 Pittsburgh Penguins Season Capsule
(22-46-14) Finished 5th in Atlantic Division
Front row: Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik, Ryan Malone, Josef Melichar, Sergei Gonchar, Mario Lemieux (Chairman /CEO), Sidney Crosby, John LeClair, Lyle Odelein, Jocelyn Thibault & Sebastien Caron

Middle row: Paul DeFazio (Equip. Staff), Paul Flati (Asst. Equip. Manager), Steve Latin (Equip. Manager), Tomas Surovy, Ed Johnston (Asst. General Manager), Craig Patrick (General Manager), Ken Sawyer (President), Michel Therrien (Head Coach), Mike Yeo (Asst. Coach), Gilles Meloche (Goaltending Coach), Konstantin Koltsov, Scott Johnson (Trainer), Stephane Dube (Strength and Conditioning), Dave Sampson (Message Therapist) & Mark Mortland (Trainer)

Back row: Eric Boguniecki, Michel Ouellet, Jani Rita, Alain Nasreddine, Andre Roy, Eric Cairns, Ryan Whitney, Rob Scuderi, Niklas Nordgren, Colby Armstrong & Andy Hilbert
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• On November 19, two native Pittsburghers squared off on Mellon Arena ice for the first time ever. Philadelphia's R.J. Umberger's had an assist on his first visit to Pittsburgh as an NHL player. The Penguins' Ryan Malone is the other player born in Pittsburgh.

• Coach Ed Olczyk is replaced by Michel Therrien on December 15

• Mario Lemieux plays in his final NHL game on December 16 against the Buffalo Sabres.

• The Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4, on January 3. All of the Penguins goals were scored by rookies. (Crosby-2, Ouellet-2, Talbot, Endicott).

• The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pens, 1-0, on a penalty shot goal on March 19. The first time in 70 years a game was won 1-0 on a penalty shot.

• John LeClair scores his 400th NHL goal on March 29 against the Florida Panthers.

• On April 17th Sidney Crosby becomes the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points.

• Crosby finished the season with 102 points, breaking the teams rookie record held by Mario Lemieux.

• The Penguins led the NHL in increased attendance - up 33% from 2003-04. Playing to an average 93% capacity at the Mellon Arena.

• Craig Patrick is fired as General Manager on April 20.

• The Penguins name Ray Shero General Manager on May 25.

• Group led by Sam Fingold signs 'Letter of Intent' to buy Penguins on July 26.

• On July 22, the #12 ball was drawn to indicate the Penguins won the rights to the first pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

• The Penguins selected Sidney Crosby in the Entry Draft on July 2005.

• The Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes participate in the first shootout for both teams on October 7. The Hurricanes would defeat the Pens.

•Sidney Crosby scores his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins goaltender Hannu Toivonen on October 8.

• Sidney Crosby scores on the final shot of the shootout - the first ever at Mellon Arena - to give the Penguins a win over the Montreal Candiens on November 10.

See Caron's Save on Philadelphia's Brian Savage...

UNIFORM NUMBERS & SEASON STATISTICS
REGULAR SEASON
PLAYOFFS
#
Player
GP
G
A
PTS
PIM
GP
G
A
PTS
PIM
87
Sidney Crosby
81
39
63
102
110
-
-
-
-
-
55
Sergei Gonchar
75
12
46
58
100
-
-
-
-
-
8
Mark Recchi
63
24
33
57
56
-
-
-
-
-
10
John LeClair
73
22
29
51
61
-
-
-
-
-
12
Ryan Malone
77
22
22
44
63
-
-
-
-
-
33
Zigmund Palffy
42
11
31
42
12
-
-
-
-
-
20
Colby Armstrong
47
16
24
40
58
-
-
-
-
-
6, 19
Ryan Whitney
68
6
32
38
85
-
-
-
-
-
7
Michel Ouelett
50
16
16
32
16
-
-
-
-
-
22
Ric Jackman
49
6
22
28
46
-
-
-
-
-
9
Andy Hilbert
19
7
11
18
16
-
-
-
-
-
43
Tomas Surovy
53
12
13
25
45
-
-
-
-
-
66
Mario Lemieux
26
7
15
22
16
-
-
-
-
-
18, 23
Eric Boguniecki
38
5
6
11
29
-
-
-
-
-
2
Josef Melichar
72
3
12
15
66
-
-
-
-
-
16
Erik Christensen
33
6
7
13
34
-
-
-
-
-
28
Jani Rita
30
3
4
7
4
-
-
-
-
-
32
Dick Tarnstrom
33
5
5
10
52
-
-
-
-
-
71
Konstantin Koltzov
60
3
6
9
20
-
-
-
-
-
44
Brooks Orpik
64
2
7
9
124
-
-
-
-
-
25
Maxime Talbot
48
5
3
8
59
-
-
-
-
-
11
Lasse Pirejeta
25
4
3
7
18
-
-
-
-
-
15
Niklas Nordgren
15
0
0
0
4
-
-
-
-
-
17
Matt Murley
41
1
5
6
24
-
-
-
-
-
4
Noah Welch
5
1
3
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
3
Steve Poapst
21
0
4
4
10
-
-
-
-
-
5
Rob Scuderi
57
0
4
4
36
-
-
-
-
-
36
Andre Roy
42
2
1
3
116
-
-
-
-
-
14, 23
Shane Endicott
41
1
1
2
43
-
-
-
-
-
33
Eric Cairns
27
1
0
1
87
-
-
-
-
-
37
Ryan VandenBussche
20
1
0
1
42
-
-
-
-
-
4
Cory Cross
6
0
1
1
6
-
-
-
-
-
8
Matt Hussey
13
0
1
1
0
-
-
-
-
-
24
Lyle Odelein
27
0
1
1
50
-
-