During the 1988-89 season, Pittsburgh Penguins adopted a tougher identity and led the league with 2656 penalties-in-minutes (PIM) which stands as the second-most ever recorded in a season and remains the franchise record to this day.
The Penguins were penalized on average for 33.4 minutes per game, and interestingly enough opponents were penalized on average of 33.8 minutes, which probably explains why Pittsburgh was able to gain as much success as they did, finishing 6th overall in the NHL standings.
Pittsburgh had 15 players with 100 or more PIM during the regular season, including Mario Lemieux, who collected 100 PIM.