As Pittsburgh takes on Tampa Bay in the NHL Eastern Conference Final series, the Penguins will do so in their retro black and “Pittsburgh gold” uniforms. The Pens will be celebrating their 50th anniversary next year and it’s been widely speculated that this look will become permanent going forward.
Three Stanley Cup championships removed from their expansion roots, it’s a good time to reflect upon the team’s first look, a decidedly Rangers-like set of home and road sweaters that simply read “Pittsburgh,” diagonally displayed in two shades of blue. The New York-centric approach could well have been the brainchild of coach George “Red” Sullivan who coached the Broadway Blueshirts just prior to being named as Pittsburgh’s first coach.