Suites already sold out in Consol Energy Center.

The Consol Energy Center does not open until 2010, but all the suites are already sold out for the Pens first season in the new arena across the street from Mellon Arena. The Pens will play their 2010-11 season in the new arena and with the success of the team, it looks like the sell outs will keep coming.
"The Penguins also have sold out all 32 loge boxes – a new premium product that is being introduced in the new arena. Accordingly, the team has established a waiting list for suites and loge boxes– similar to the popular season ticket waiting list."

The Pens have 118 consecutive sell outs going into this last season at Mellon Arena. With the season ticket waiting list still growing, it shows that the future of Pens hockey is something that many people are excited for. Really, who isn't?

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=457828

Barrasso named to U.S Hockey Hall of Fame.

Former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso has been named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He is part of the 2009 class that was named this past week which also included former Pittsburgh Penguin John LeClair.
Others named were Tony Amonte, Frank Zamboni and the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=457764

Stanley Cup to visit Crosby on his birthday.

Sidney Crosby's 22nd birthday will be like no other he has had in the past. He will celebrate turning 22 with Lord Stanley's Cup this year. Crosby will bring the Cup to his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia where a parade is reportedly scheduled, among many other things planned.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=285998

Dates for Ticket Sales.

Tickets for the Penguins’ two home pre-season games will go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 10 a.m. The two home pre-season games are Friday, Sept. 18 vs. Toronto and Friday, Sept. 25 vs. Columbus.

Regular season mini-plans will go on sale exclusively to members of the Penguins’ season ticket waiting list on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 10 a.m.

Individual game tickets for the 2009-10 regular season will go on sale Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. This is a national on-sale date for all NHL teams.

-pittsburghpenguins.com
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=457718

Date Change for Pens vs. Carolina game.

The NHL announced today that the game between the Pens and the Carolina Hurricanes that was originally scheduled on Thursday, October 15 has been changed to Wednesday, October 14.

The date was changed because Oct. 15 is the opening day of the North Carolina State Fair, which will be held at the State Fairgrounds, adjacent to the RBC Center.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=451072

Pens sign goaltender Brent Johnson.

Today, the Pens signed 32 year old goaltender Brent Johnson to a one-year deal. This past season, Johnson played 21 games with the Washington Capitals and compiled a 12-6-2 record. Johnson will provide a veteran leadership in goaltending for the Pens.



http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=451047

Thrashers re-sign Colby Armstrong.

Colby Armstrong has singed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Thrashers rumored to be worth $2.4 million. Apparently, there are rumors that the Pens were a team that was interested in Colby, but Atlanta wanted a lot in return. I was a big fan of Colby's when he was a Pen and am still a fan of his.
Armstrong had a career year this past season in Atlanta recording 22 goals and 18 assists. Hopefully he continues his success down in Atlanta and for his sake, let's hope they are a better team this year.

Crosby wins ESPY.

Sidney Crosby once again won the ESPY for best NHL player. He has won the award the past two years, this year making it 3. Teammate Evgeni Malkin was also up for this award. But this is ESPN and for those people who voted and are not familiar with hockey, they are going to go with a name they may know in hockey and Sidney Crosby is the one most have heard.
Dan Bylsma was up for Best Coach and the entire Pens team was up for Best team. Of course, this is ESPN and hockey is far down the list when dealing with ESPN. Which is a shame, because hockey is the most entertaining sport to watch. I guess that is a matter of opinion, but hockey deserves more recognition on ESPN. To me, no other sport compares to hockey, which means that a lot of people in the U.S. are just simply not aware of one of the greatest sports out there.

Pens sign Lovejoy and Wallace.

The Penguins have signed Defenseman Ben Lovejoy to a one year contract and forward Tim Wallace to a two year contract it was announced today. It is believed that Wallace's contract is a 2-way deal.
With the loss of some defensemen from our roster and limited cap space, members who played most of last season with the Baby Pens are going to be battling for spots in the upcoming training camp.


http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=442676

Season Tickets capped at 14,000 again.

Once again, the Pens are capping their season ticket numbers at 14,000 in Mellon Arena where there are 16,940 seats. This gives fans the opportunity to purchase mini-plans and buy individual tickets as well. The Pens have a season ticket waiting list that has grown to over 3,000 names and were able to offer a few people on the top of the list a chance at season tickets next season because 98% renewed their tickets. In this economy, I believe that is not bad at all.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=442751

2009-10 Pens Season Schedule Released.

While there has been no hockey for about a month now and the draft being over and free agency slowing down, there has been a lull. Today though, the schedules were released to get the fans excited for next season. Every Pens fan has now circled October 2nd on their calenders because it is the first game of the season and the home opener. It will be even more special this year with the Pens hanging their 2009 Stanley Cup Champions banner on that evening. The Pens will play the New York Rangers. Also, another reason why this game will be special, as if people needed another reason, is that it will be the last home opener at Mellon Arena. This next season will be the final season in Mellon Arena before the Pens move into the Consol Energy Center right across the street.

For the Complete schedule:
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=442749&page=NewsPage&service=page

Pens Prospect Conditioning Camp.

The Pens' Prospect conditioning camp is set for July 20-26. Among those players scheduled to attend are Eric Tangradi and the Penguins’ first-round selection in the recent NHL Entry Draft, Simon Despres.
The complete schedule will be released at a later date.

For all the info:
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=442501

Pens sign new defenseman Jay McKee

The Pens signed defenseman Jay McKee to a one year contract last week. The deal is for $800,000. Last season McKee was a member of the St. Louis Blues recording eight points (one goal, seven assists) along with 44 penalty minutes in 69 games.
The 6-4, 203-pound defenseman has played parts of 13 seasons in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo Sabres.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=436745

Pre-Season schedule.

Home games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets highlight the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2009 pre-season schedule.

The Stanley Cup champions will open the pre-season against Toronto on Friday, Sept. 18 at Mellon Arena (7:30 p.m.).
The Penguins also will play host to Columbus on Friday, Sept. 25 at Mellon Arena (7:30 p.m.)

The six-game schedule includes home-and-home matchups with Toronto and Columbus, as well as road games at Montreal and Detroit.

The Penguins’ 2009 pre-season schedule:
Friday, Sept. 18, TORONTO AT PITTSBURGH, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 21, Pittsburgh at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 22, Pittsburgh at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 24, Pittsburgh at Columbus, 7:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 25, COLUMBUS AT PITTSBURGH, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 27, Pittsburgh at Detroit, 5:00 p.m.

-pittsburghpenguins.com
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=436624

Pens Championship DVD goes on sale today.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Championship DVD goes on sale today. The DVD takes the fans back through the road it took to becoming the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions. It takes us back through each playoff series right down to the exciting game 7 in Detroit.

Talbot undergoes shoulder surgery.

Max Talbot had successful surgery today on his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum. The recovery is expected to take 4-5 months. Meaning that Talbot will miss training camp and likely the beginning of the season. Talbot has been playing with it injured for quite some time and both he and the team agreed that it would be best to have the surgery at this time.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=436381

Pens rank #3 in "Fan Relations" out of all sports.

Out of 122 Professional Sport teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins claim the Number 3 spot in Fan Relations, according to an ESPN Magazine survey. The Pens also claimed the Number 4 spot for Ownership.
In the overall standings the Pens took number 8, up from 24 last year.
The lowest number the Pens received was 103 in Stadium Experience. Playing in the oldest arena in the NHL can do that, but with the new arena for the 2010-2011 season, the Pens are sure to move up in that category as well.

For more Pens results visit pittsburghpenguins. com
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=433518

Pens sign Fedotenko.

The Penguins and Ruslan Fedotenko agreed to a one year deal. Fedotenko was a priority of the Pens and he was interested in returning to the Pens. Fedotenko is happy to be back with the Pens and says that he believes the Pens have another chance of raising the Stanley Cup next season but he knows also that nothing comes easy. It will be a team effort once again.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=433422

The Pens also signed forward Chris Connor and have worked out a deal with defenseman Chris Lee.
For more information on the players:
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=433492

Scuderi signs with L.A.

Rob Scuderi has made his decision and it is to leave the Penguins for the L.A. Kings. Scuderi signed a deal today that is supposedly a 3 year deal with an annual salary of about $3.4 million.
It is sad to see him go, especially since he performed pretty well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and made some key saves in the Final against Detroit, but it was his decision and the Pens could not match what he was being offered. I wish Scuderi all the best with the Kings.

Team Canada releases Olympic Camp Roster.

Soon after the USA Hockey group released their roster for the 2010 Olympic Camp, Team Canada has done the same. It is no surprise that Sidney Crosby is invited. He will be joined by teammates Marc Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal who were also invited to the camp. 46 players were invited and that list will need to be cut down to 23 by the end of December.

Those invited:
Goaltenders: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh; Roberto Luongo, Vancouver; Steve Mason, Columbus; Cam Ward, Carolina

Defensemen: Francois Beauchemin, UFA; Jay Bouwmeester, Calgary; Dan Boyle, San Jose; Brent Burns, Minnesota; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles; Mike Green, Washington; Dan Hamhuis, Nashville; Duncan Keith, Chicago; Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary; Chris Pronger, Philadelphia; Robyn Regehr, Calgary; Stephane Robidas, Dallas; Brent Seabrook, Chicago; Marc Staal, New York Rangers; Shea Weber, Nashville

Forwards: Jeff Carter, Philadelphia; Dan Cleary, Detroit; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; Shane Doan, Phoenix; Simon Gagne, Philadelphia; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim; Dany Heatley, Ottawa; Jarome Iginla, Calgary; Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay; Milan Lucic, Boston; Patrick Marleau, San Jose; Andy McDonald, St. Louis; Brenden Morrow, Dallas; Rick Nash, Columbus; Corey Perry, Anaheim; Mike Richards, Philadelphia; Derek Roy, Buffalo; Joe Sakic, Colorado; Patrick Sharp, Chicago; Ryan Smyth, Colorado; Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay; Eric Staal, Carolina; Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh; Joe Thornton, San Jose; Jonathan Toews, Chicago

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=433240

Gill Gone, Pens sign Mike Rupp.

Free Agency has heated up and now Hal Gill has signed with the Montreal Canadiens for 2 years worth $4.5 million.
On the Pens side of things, we have signed Forward Mike Rupp to a two year deal.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=433061

Also, Marian Hossa signed with the Chicago Blackhawks for 12 years and $62.4 million. I am guessing he thinks they have a great chance to win the Stanley Cup the next 12 years. All joking aside though, this may present some trouble for the Blackhawks next year when they have contracts to work out with their young stars. We will have to see how it plays out in the future.