The Penguins have experienced plenty of changes in their history and their uniforms are no exception.
When the Penguins made their NHL debut at the Civic Arena on October 11, 1967, the team wore the colors light blue, dark blue and white. Both the home (light blue) and road (white) uniforms simply had the word “PITTSBURGH” written diagonally down the front of the sweater with five white stripes with six thin navy blue stripes around the sleeves and bottom (home) and five dark blue stripes with six thin, white stripes around the sleeves and bottom (road). The logo, although not on the sweater, featured a hockey-playing penguin in a scarf over an inverted triangle, symbolizing the golden triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. The penguin and triangle were set inside a circle bearing the team name.
When the Penguins made their NHL debut at the Civic Arena on October 11, 1967, the team wore the colors light blue, dark blue and white. Both the home (light blue) and road (white) uniforms simply had the word “PITTSBURGH” written diagonally down the front of the sweater with five white stripes with six thin navy blue stripes around the sleeves and bottom (home) and five dark blue stripes with six thin, white stripes around the sleeves and bottom (road). The logo, although not on the sweater, featured a hockey-playing penguin in a scarf over an inverted triangle, symbolizing the golden triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. The penguin and triangle were set inside a circle bearing the team name.
The following season (1968-69), the uniforms were changed so that the logo appeared on the front of the game sweaters. The logo remained essentially the same, although the penguin was no longer wearing a scarf. The home (light blue) uniforms had a wide band of white trimmed in dark blue around each sleeve and the bottom, while the road (white) sweaters had bands of light blue trimmed in dark blue. The home (light blue) sweaters had white shoulder yokes and the road (white) sweaters had light blue shoulder yokes.
In the 1970-71 season the Penguins began wearing white at home and light blue on the road. The Penguins became one of the first teams in NHL history to wear nameplates featuring a player’s last name above the number on the back of the jersey. The nameplates were only added to the home (white) jerseys in 1970-71.
The uniforms themselves were essentially unchanged from 1968-69 to 1971-72, until the circle around the logo was removed, leaving only a penguin and a triangle, midway through the 1971-72 season.
Beginning in 1972-73, the Penguins replaced the light blue with a bolder, royal blue color. During the Penguins’ first seven years in the league, both home and road jerseys featured a lace-up collar at the base of the neck. The lace-up collars were also a thing of the past moving into the 1974-75 season.
Chevrons were used as the sleeve stripes for the 1974-75 season. Shaped in the form of an inverted V, the sleeve stripes were royal blue and white with navy blue cuffs on the home (white) jerseys. The road (royal blue) jerseys had white and navy blue sleeve stripes with white cuffs forming the chevrons. The waist striping also changed to match the chevrons with royal blue, white and navy blue moving down the home (white) uniforms and white, navy blue and white moving down the road (royal blue) uniforms.
The chevrons road (royal blue) uniform was done to the hem striping. From top to bottom, the hem striping was white, royal blue and navy blue. The home (white) uniforms reverted back to the 1972-73 and 1973-74 designs, but did not have the lace-up collar from those prior seasons. The collar was now a solid navy blue color.
For the 1977-78 season the uniforms were tri-colored with the Penguins doing away with the royal blue and bringing back the light blue the team wore in its first five seasons in the NHL. The home (white) uniforms featured navy blue sleeves with white and navy blue striping capped by light blue cuffs. The road (navy blue) uniforms featured white sleeves with light blue and white striping capped by navy blue cuffs. The front hem striping was light blue, white, navy blue and light blue on both the home (white) and road (navy blue) uniforms.
On Jan. 30, 1980 the Penguins wore black and gold for the first time. With the Steelers winning the Super Bowl and the Pirates capturing the World Series title in the same year, the Penguins hoped to gain fan support with aligning their colors with the other teams in the “City of Champions.” Boston protested the color change to the NHL, arguing that black and gold had always been exclusively associated with the Bruins. However, the Penguins prevailed by virtue of a precedent set by the Pittsburgh Pirates hockey club of the late 1920s, which sported the colors.
The Penguins’ new uniforms were the same design as the previous ones, with black replacing dark blue and gold replacing light blue. A third sleeve stripe was also added to both the home and road jerseys. The player numbers that were formerly on the sleeves were moved to the top of each shoulder. From 1980-81 through the 1984-85 season, the team alternated wearing gold sweaters with white at home, which also featured the tri-color sleeve striping.
On March 15, 1983, Baz Bastien, the Penguins general manager at the time, died tragically in a car accident as he returned home from a dinner honoring him. For the remainder of the 1982-83 season the Penguins added a black armband on the left sleeve of their home (white) jerseys.
For the 1988-89 season, the player numbers were moved from the shoulders to the sleeves as they were prior to the Penguins adopting the black and gold color scheme.
The NHL All-Star Game made its first appearance in Pittsburgh on January 21, 1990. The Penguins wore a 41st NHL All-Star patch on the left shoulder of their jerseys in 1989-90 and the beginning of 1990-91. During the same time frame, the NHL shield logo appeared on the back right hem of every jersey worn in the NHL.
Advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in team history, the Penguins honored this achievement by wearing the 1991 Stanley Cup Final patch on their home and road jerseys during every game of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final vs. Minnesota.
The 1991-92 season marked the NHL’s 75th anniversary. The Penguins added the NHL 75th Anniversary logo to the right chest of their jerseys that season. In addition, the Penguins were also celebrating their 25th anniversary after joining the league in 1967-68. The Penguins added their own anniversary patch to the right shoulder of the jerseys.
Head coach “Badger” Bob Johnson passed away on November 26, 1991. The following night, the Penguins honored the memory of Johnson with a candlelight ceremony and placed a “Badger” memorial patch on the left shoulder of their jerseys. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season, the Penguins proudly donned their second Stanley Cup Final patch in as many years. This time, the Final patch was sewn onto a piece of white (home) or black (road) material and then the material swatch was sewn over the NHL 75th Anniversary patch on the right chest of the jersey.
The black and gold uniforms remained virtually unchanged until 1992-93, when the triangle and penguin logo was modernized. The home (white) sweaters featured the new logo on the front and gold shoulder inserts. The road (black) sweaters had the city’s name diagonally down the front, much like the original team uniforms, with the new logo on each shoulder. Also in 1992-93, the Stanley Cup turned 100 years old and was honored by each team by having a commemorative patch added to their jerseys during the season. The Penguins wore the patch on the right chest of their home (white) jerseys and did not wear the patch on their road (black) jerseys due to the lack of an appropriate place to put the patch with the new “PITTSBURGH” diagonal jerseys with the new logos on each shoulder.
During the 1995-96 season, the Penguins were one of five NHL teams to introduce a third jersey. The Penguins’ new uniform, which made its debut on Jan. 27, 1996 vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, featured a black background with a new, modernized midsection, shoulder and sleeve design that included innovative striping and a blend of team colors. The alternate uniform replaced the “PITTSBURGH” road jersey as the team’s away uniform for 1997-98 season.
In 1999-00, the NHL commemorated the league’s advance into the new millennium with an NHL2000 patch that was placed on the right chest of each team’s jerseys in team colors. The Penguins’ NHL2000 patch was black with silver lettering.
Traveling to Japan for the first two games of the 2000-01 season to face the Nashville Predators, the Penguins wore a commemorative GameOne/Japan patch on the right chest of their home (white) and black (road) jerseys.
On Oct. 28, 2000 the Penguins hosted the New Jersey Devils and introduced a new third jersey. The black sweater featured the popular “skating penguin” logo, which the team wore during its 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup championship seasons, and the newest color addition, Vegas gold. This black jersey served as the Penguins’ third jersey for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
In 2002-03, the Penguins introduced a white counterpart to the black “skating penguin” and Vegas gold colored jerseys. These “skating penguin” uniforms served as the Penguins home and road jerseys from 2002-03 to 2006-07.
On Jan. 22, 2007 during the NHL All-Star break, the NHL and Reebok unveiled the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System. The Penguins’ jerseys featured thicker Vegas gold side sections, while the black and white body portions of the jersey go all the way to the bottom hem. The cuffs and underarms were black on the white-based jerseys and were white on the black-based uniforms. Additional Vegas gold inserts appeared on the sleeves just below the numbers. The NHL shield also has moved from the back right hem to the base of the front neckline.
The Penguins wore retro jerseys when they battled the Sabres at the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Penguins wore powder blue jerseys patterned after the 1968-69 uniforms. The jersey featured the Penguins logo inside a circle. There was a wide band of white trimmed in dark blue around each sleeve and the bottom with white shoulder yokes. The jersey became the club’s official alternate third jersey.
In 2010-11 the Penguins opened the brand-new CONSOL Energy Center. To commemorate the event, the team wore a special patch at all home games featuring the team logo and outline of the new arena’s spine.
The Penguins released a new Winter Classic uniform for their showdown with the Washington Capitals Jan. 1, 2011 at Heinz Field. Predominantly navy blue with light blue striped accents on the elbows and bottom, the jersey served as another alternate uniform for the season. The jerseys featured the team’s inaugural skating penguin logo (which hadn’t previously been worn on the jersey) on the crest and lace-up collar at the base of the neck.
For their third outdoor game on March 1, 2014 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series, the Penguins wore a unique uniform that utilized secondary colors within the team’s existing color palates. It featured a chrome-treated Penguins logo design inspired from the chrome details of the NHL shield, a dynamic and modern look to conventional team identity. Numbering on the back of the jerseys was enlarged and sleeve numbers were angled to improve visibility in outdoor venues.
The Penguins went back to the future during the 2014-15 season, unveiling ‘Pittsburgh Gold’ third jerseys reminiscent of the sweaters the Penguins wore during their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship seasons of 1991 and ‘92.
At the outset of the team’s 50th season in 2016-17, the Penguins announced that they would be returning full-time to a ‘Pittsburgh Gold’ color scheme, eliminating Vegas gold. The third jersey from the ‘14-15 and ‘15-16 seasons became the full-time home jersey, with an accompanying white version added for road contests.
The Penguins wore full “Pittsburgh gold” for their Stadium Series Game against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 25, 2017. The jersey featured the skating Penguin sans the traditional triangle behind it. In addition to a Stadium Series patch, the Pens also wore a “City of Champions” heritage patch on the left sleeve.
Chevrons were used as the sleeve stripes for the 1974-75 season. Shaped in the form of an inverted V, the sleeve stripes were royal blue and white with navy blue cuffs on the home (white) jerseys. The road (royal blue) jerseys had white and navy blue sleeve stripes with white cuffs forming the chevrons. The waist striping also changed to match the chevrons with royal blue, white and navy blue moving down the home (white) uniforms and white, navy blue and white moving down the road (royal blue) uniforms.
The chevrons road (royal blue) uniform was done to the hem striping. From top to bottom, the hem striping was white, royal blue and navy blue. The home (white) uniforms reverted back to the 1972-73 and 1973-74 designs, but did not have the lace-up collar from those prior seasons. The collar was now a solid navy blue color.
For the 1977-78 season the uniforms were tri-colored with the Penguins doing away with the royal blue and bringing back the light blue the team wore in its first five seasons in the NHL. The home (white) uniforms featured navy blue sleeves with white and navy blue striping capped by light blue cuffs. The road (navy blue) uniforms featured white sleeves with light blue and white striping capped by navy blue cuffs. The front hem striping was light blue, white, navy blue and light blue on both the home (white) and road (navy blue) uniforms.
On Jan. 30, 1980 the Penguins wore black and gold for the first time. With the Steelers winning the Super Bowl and the Pirates capturing the World Series title in the same year, the Penguins hoped to gain fan support with aligning their colors with the other teams in the “City of Champions.” Boston protested the color change to the NHL, arguing that black and gold had always been exclusively associated with the Bruins. However, the Penguins prevailed by virtue of a precedent set by the Pittsburgh Pirates hockey club of the late 1920s, which sported the colors.
The Penguins’ new uniforms were the same design as the previous ones, with black replacing dark blue and gold replacing light blue. A third sleeve stripe was also added to both the home and road jerseys. The player numbers that were formerly on the sleeves were moved to the top of each shoulder. From 1980-81 through the 1984-85 season, the team alternated wearing gold sweaters with white at home, which also featured the tri-color sleeve striping.
On March 15, 1983, Baz Bastien, the Penguins general manager at the time, died tragically in a car accident as he returned home from a dinner honoring him. For the remainder of the 1982-83 season the Penguins added a black armband on the left sleeve of their home (white) jerseys.
For the 1988-89 season, the player numbers were moved from the shoulders to the sleeves as they were prior to the Penguins adopting the black and gold color scheme.
The NHL All-Star Game made its first appearance in Pittsburgh on January 21, 1990. The Penguins wore a 41st NHL All-Star patch on the left shoulder of their jerseys in 1989-90 and the beginning of 1990-91. During the same time frame, the NHL shield logo appeared on the back right hem of every jersey worn in the NHL.
Advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in team history, the Penguins honored this achievement by wearing the 1991 Stanley Cup Final patch on their home and road jerseys during every game of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final vs. Minnesota.
The 1991-92 season marked the NHL’s 75th anniversary. The Penguins added the NHL 75th Anniversary logo to the right chest of their jerseys that season. In addition, the Penguins were also celebrating their 25th anniversary after joining the league in 1967-68. The Penguins added their own anniversary patch to the right shoulder of the jerseys.
Head coach “Badger” Bob Johnson passed away on November 26, 1991. The following night, the Penguins honored the memory of Johnson with a candlelight ceremony and placed a “Badger” memorial patch on the left shoulder of their jerseys. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season, the Penguins proudly donned their second Stanley Cup Final patch in as many years. This time, the Final patch was sewn onto a piece of white (home) or black (road) material and then the material swatch was sewn over the NHL 75th Anniversary patch on the right chest of the jersey.
The black and gold uniforms remained virtually unchanged until 1992-93, when the triangle and penguin logo was modernized. The home (white) sweaters featured the new logo on the front and gold shoulder inserts. The road (black) sweaters had the city’s name diagonally down the front, much like the original team uniforms, with the new logo on each shoulder. Also in 1992-93, the Stanley Cup turned 100 years old and was honored by each team by having a commemorative patch added to their jerseys during the season. The Penguins wore the patch on the right chest of their home (white) jerseys and did not wear the patch on their road (black) jerseys due to the lack of an appropriate place to put the patch with the new “PITTSBURGH” diagonal jerseys with the new logos on each shoulder.
During the 1995-96 season, the Penguins were one of five NHL teams to introduce a third jersey. The Penguins’ new uniform, which made its debut on Jan. 27, 1996 vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, featured a black background with a new, modernized midsection, shoulder and sleeve design that included innovative striping and a blend of team colors. The alternate uniform replaced the “PITTSBURGH” road jersey as the team’s away uniform for 1997-98 season.
In 1999-00, the NHL commemorated the league’s advance into the new millennium with an NHL2000 patch that was placed on the right chest of each team’s jerseys in team colors. The Penguins’ NHL2000 patch was black with silver lettering.
Traveling to Japan for the first two games of the 2000-01 season to face the Nashville Predators, the Penguins wore a commemorative GameOne/Japan patch on the right chest of their home (white) and black (road) jerseys.
On Oct. 28, 2000 the Penguins hosted the New Jersey Devils and introduced a new third jersey. The black sweater featured the popular “skating penguin” logo, which the team wore during its 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup championship seasons, and the newest color addition, Vegas gold. This black jersey served as the Penguins’ third jersey for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
In 2002-03, the Penguins introduced a white counterpart to the black “skating penguin” and Vegas gold colored jerseys. These “skating penguin” uniforms served as the Penguins home and road jerseys from 2002-03 to 2006-07.
On Jan. 22, 2007 during the NHL All-Star break, the NHL and Reebok unveiled the new Rbk EDGE Uniform System. The Penguins’ jerseys featured thicker Vegas gold side sections, while the black and white body portions of the jersey go all the way to the bottom hem. The cuffs and underarms were black on the white-based jerseys and were white on the black-based uniforms. Additional Vegas gold inserts appeared on the sleeves just below the numbers. The NHL shield also has moved from the back right hem to the base of the front neckline.
The Penguins wore retro jerseys when they battled the Sabres at the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Penguins wore powder blue jerseys patterned after the 1968-69 uniforms. The jersey featured the Penguins logo inside a circle. There was a wide band of white trimmed in dark blue around each sleeve and the bottom with white shoulder yokes. The jersey became the club’s official alternate third jersey.
In 2010-11 the Penguins opened the brand-new CONSOL Energy Center. To commemorate the event, the team wore a special patch at all home games featuring the team logo and outline of the new arena’s spine.
The Penguins released a new Winter Classic uniform for their showdown with the Washington Capitals Jan. 1, 2011 at Heinz Field. Predominantly navy blue with light blue striped accents on the elbows and bottom, the jersey served as another alternate uniform for the season. The jerseys featured the team’s inaugural skating penguin logo (which hadn’t previously been worn on the jersey) on the crest and lace-up collar at the base of the neck.
For their third outdoor game on March 1, 2014 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series, the Penguins wore a unique uniform that utilized secondary colors within the team’s existing color palates. It featured a chrome-treated Penguins logo design inspired from the chrome details of the NHL shield, a dynamic and modern look to conventional team identity. Numbering on the back of the jerseys was enlarged and sleeve numbers were angled to improve visibility in outdoor venues.
The Penguins went back to the future during the 2014-15 season, unveiling ‘Pittsburgh Gold’ third jerseys reminiscent of the sweaters the Penguins wore during their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship seasons of 1991 and ‘92.
At the outset of the team’s 50th season in 2016-17, the Penguins announced that they would be returning full-time to a ‘Pittsburgh Gold’ color scheme, eliminating Vegas gold. The third jersey from the ‘14-15 and ‘15-16 seasons became the full-time home jersey, with an accompanying white version added for road contests.
The Penguins wore full “Pittsburgh gold” for their Stadium Series Game against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 25, 2017. The jersey featured the skating Penguin sans the traditional triangle behind it. In addition to a Stadium Series patch, the Pens also wore a “City of Champions” heritage patch on the left sleeve.
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