2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The Pittsburgh Penguins 2006–07 season was ripe with potential, as the team featured one of the largest groups of young stars in the National Hockey League. Evgeni Malkin, the second overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, came to the United States from Russia prior to the season and joined the team. He promptly became the first NHL rookie since 1917 to score goals in each of his first six games. Malkin and second-year phenom Sidney Crosby were joined by 18-year-old Jordan Staal, who made the jump directly from the Ontario Hockey League to the Penguins roster after being drafted second overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins also brought back Mark Recchi via free agency, giving Recchi his third stint with the team.
The season was clouded with uncertainty, however, about the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh. After Jim Balsillie had agreed to purchase the franchise for $175 million and to keep it in Pittsburgh, the situation seemed settled. Balsillie's deal fell through, however, in December. Isle of Capri Casinos was next to make a bid to keep the team in Pittsburgh, but their deal was nixed as well. On January 3, 2007, Penguins officials, including Mario Lemieux and other members of the team's ownership group, visited Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss potentials of relocating the team there. Other cities which reportedly have expressed interest in the franchise include Houston, Winnipeg, Portland and Oklahoma City.
On March 14, 2007, in a joint announcement by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Mario Lemieux, it was made public that an agreement had been reached between the parties. A new state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena will be built. This agreement will keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh for another 30 years. Following the announcement of this plan, the Lemieux ownership group announced that they no longer have plans to sell the team.
On January 9, 2007, the NHL announced that Sidney Crosby had been voted by the fans to start at forward in the 2007 All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas. Malkin, Staal and defenseman Ryan Whitney were all invited to All-Star Weekend to play in the YoungStars game.
Regular season
The Penguins finished the regular season having scored 94 power-play goals, the most in the NHL. They also had the most power-play opportunities, with 463.Season standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
The Pittsburgh Penguins ended the 2006–07 regular season as the Eastern Conference's fifth seed. They lost to the Ottawa Senators in five games, in the conference quarter-finals. They would sweep the Senators in the playoffs the following season.- Green background indicates win.
- Red indicates loss.
Player statistics
;Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Team only.
Transactions
The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 2006–07 season:Trades
| July 19, 2006 | To Nashville Predators ---- 2007 3rd round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Libor Pivko rights to Dominic Moore |
| July 20, 2006 | To San Jose Sharks ---- 2007 2nd round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Patrick Ehelechner Nils Ekman |
| December 19, 2006 | To Boston Bruins ---- Future considerations | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Wade Brookbank |
| February 27, 2007 | To Florida Panthers ---- Noah Welch 2007 4th round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Gary Roberts Joel Kwiatkowski |
| February 27, 2007 | To Phoenix Coyotes ---- Daniel Carcillo 2008 3rd round pick (Tomas Kundratek | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Georges Laraque |
| February 27, 2007 | To San Jose Sharks ---- 2007 7th round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- Nolan Schaefer |
| February 27, 2007 | To Minnesota Wild ---- Dominic Moore | To Pittsburgh Penguins ---- 2007 3rd round pick |
Free agents acquired
Free agents lost
Claimed via waivers
Lost via waivers
Player signings
Other
Roster
Draft picks
Pittsburgh's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver. The Penguins had the second overall draft pick, making the fourth consecutive draft the team had a pick in the top two: they had the first overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, the second overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and the first overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 2 | Jordan Staal | Center | Canada | Peterborough Petes |
| 2 | 32 | Carl Sneep | Defence | United States | Brainerd High School |
| 3 | 65 | Brian Strait | Defence | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program |
| 5 | 125 | Chad Johnson | Goaltender | Canada | University of Alaska Fairbanks |
| 7 | 185 | Timo Seppanen | Defence | HIFK |
;Draft notes
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' fourth-round pick went to the Chicago Blackhawks as the result of an August 10, 2005 trade that sent Jocelyn Thibault to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' sixth-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a January 18, 2006 trade that sent Eric Cairns to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
Farm teams