Founded during the 1967 National Hockey League (NHL) expansion, the Penguins took their name from the igloolike appearance of Mellon Arena, where the team has played every season since its inception. After finding moderate success in the 1970s and then struggling throughout the early 1980s, the Penguins drafted Mario Lemieux (Lemieux, Mario) in 1984, who was an instant offensive force on the ice and would become one of the greatest players in the history of the game. As the club drafted and traded for other standout players, the Penguins became a regular presence in the play-offs in the late 1980s. After the addition of right-winger Jaromir Jagr (Jagr, Jaromir), they won both the 1990–91 and 1991–92 Stanley Cup championships.

In 1993 team captain Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin disease; however, he overcame the disease and not only returned to the team after a year off but also led the league in goals during the 1995–96 season. Following Lemieux's initial retirement in 1997, Jagr became team captain and won the league scoring title four years in a row (from 1997–98 to 2000–01).

The Penguins' franchise struggled financially, and the team filed for bankruptcy in 1998. The following year Lemieux converted years of unpaid salary to equity and became a part owner of the team. In 2000 he left retirement and became the first player-owner in the history of the NHL before retiring again midway through the 2005–06 season.

In 2005 a new Penguins' era began with the drafting of Sidney Crosby (Crosby, Sidney), who in 2006–07 was the NHL's leading scorer and, at age 19, became the youngest team captain in NHL history. In the 2007–08 season Crosby and second-year star Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals, which they lost to the Detroit Red Wings.