For their 50th season in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins will proudly don the black and “Pittsburgh Gold.”
Ever since the 2002 season, the Penguins had used what they called “Las Vegas Gold” as the team’s dominant uniform color. Over the past two seasons, the organization threw it back and flirted with the Pittsburgh gold. That color was used as the team’s alternate uniform, which was worn for every game at Consol Energy Center during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Ask and you shall receive. Pittsburgh Gold is here to stay! More info: https://t.co/sOxwkZzCdM pic.twitter.com/atbMZYMQxS
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 24, 2016
The uniform for the 2016-17 season, which was unveiled today, will bring back memories of the Penguins’ teams in the 1980s, who first wore that bright gold on the ice. Amusingly, when the Penguins first started in the NHL, there was no gold to be found — the original uniforms were actually blue, and it took 23 years for that to change.
But, in 1980, Pittsburgh looked to capitalize on the fan support of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had just won the World Series and the Super Bowl, respectively. The Boston Bruins protested the color change, saying that black and gold were colors associated with their team. But because Pittsburgh’s hockey team in the 1920s, the Pittsburgh Pirates, wore the colors way back when, the Penguins were allowed to go ahead the color change.
The new jerseys go along with the logo that was unveiled especially for the 50th anniversary season. It features the skating Penguin and the team’s Stanley Cups (which, at the time of the logo’s release, was just three).
While the home jerseys are already available for purchase, home jerseys featuring the Pittsburgh gold will be available to buy later this summer.
You can see what all the Penguins’ uniforms used to look like here:
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Image credit: Penguins.NHL.com
