2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 39th season in the National Hockey League. It was the rookie season for first-overall draft pick Sidney Crosby.

Pre-season

Regular season

Sidney Crosby with the Penguins.

The Penguins struggled defensively, finishing 30th overall in goals allowed, with 310 (excluding 6 shootout goals allowed).^[2][3]

Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby was selected first overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 30, 2005. Due to the labour stoppage in the previous season, the 2005 draft was conducted via a weighted lottery based on each team's playoff appearances and draft lottery victories in the last four years. This lottery system led to the draft being popularly referred to as the "Sidney Crosby Lottery" or the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes."^[4]

On December 16, 2005, Michel Therrien named Crosby as an alternate captain for the Penguins. The move drew criticism from some hockey pundits, including Don Cherry, who claimed that Crosby had done nothing to earn the position.^[5]

Crosby finished his rookie season with the franchise record in assists (63) and points (102) for a rookie, both of which had been previously held by Mario Lemieux. Crosby is the youngest player in the history of the NHL to score 100 points in a single season, and only the seventh rookie ever to hit the benchmark.^[6] Overall, Crosby finished sixth in the NHL scoring race and seventh in the NHL in assists. Among Canadian NHL players, he trailed only Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. While both Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals had solid rookie campaigns, Crosby finished second behind Ovechkin for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Through his first season, Crosby was accused by opposing players and coaches of taking dives and complaining to officials, which has been attributed to his youth.^[7] During his rookie campaign, he led both his team and all NHL rookies in penalty minutes, and this magnified his reputation for complaining to NHL officials.^[8] Hockey analyst Kelly Hrudey compared Crosby to Gretzky, who had a similar reputation as a "whiner" in his youth, and suggested that as Crosby matured, he would mellow out and his reputation would fade.^[8]

Mario Lemieux

After the lockout concluded, Lemieux returned to the ice for the 2005–2006 season. Hopes for the Penguins were high due to the salary cap and revenue sharing, which enabled the team to compete in the market for several star players. Another reason for optimism was the Penguins winning the lottery for the first draft pick, enabling them to select Sidney Crosby. Lemieux opened up his home to Crosby to help the rookie settle in Pittsburgh and Lemieux also served as Crosby's mentor.

On January 24, 2006, Mario Lemieux announced his second and permanent retirement from professional hockey at the age of 40. This followed a half-season in which he struggled not only with the increased speed of the "new NHL" but also with yet another threatening physical ailment, a heart condition called atrial fibrillation that caused him to experience irregular heartbeats.

Although he had put up points at a pace that most NHL forwards would be perfectly content with (22 points in 26 games) in his last season, Lemieux still remarked that "I can no longer play at a level I was accustomed to in the past."

Season standings

^[9]

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z- Clinched Conference; Y- Clinched Division; X- Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

Playoffs

The Penguins did not qualify for the playoffs.

Player statistics

Skaters

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 Penguins only.

Awards and records

• October 2005 – Sidney Crosby, NHL Rookie of the Month.
• Sidney Crosby, NHL All-Rookie Team.

Milestones

• Sidney Crosby played his first professional NHL game on October 5, 2005, against the New Jersey Devils, and registered an assist on the team's first goal of the season, scored by Mark Recchi in a 5–1 loss.^[13]
• November 11, 2005 – Sidney Crosby beat Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens to win his first career shootout.
• November 11, 2005- Mario Lemieux scores his seventh goal of the season, and the last of his career.
• November 22, 2005 – Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin face each other for the first time.
• March 12, 2006 – Marc-Andre Fleury gets a shutout by stopping 22 shots against the Philadelphia Flyers.
• March 29, 2006 – John LeClair scores the 400th goal of his career.
• January 24, 2006 – Mario Lemieux announces his retirement.
• April 13, 2006 – Sidney Crosby scores four points in one game, including his 90th point of the season.
• April 17, 2006 – Sidney Crosby becomes the youngest player to score 100 points in one season.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 2005–06 season:^[14]

Trades

Player signings

Other

Roster

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	NHL Draft	Birthplace
20	CAN !	Armstrong, ColbyColby Armstrong	7.0 !RW	R	23	2001	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
18/23	USA !	Boguniecki, EricEric Boguniecki	4.0 !C	R	31	1993	New Haven, Connecticut
33	CAN !	Cairns, EricEric Cairns	2.0 !D	L	31	1992	Oakville, Ontario
31	CAN !	Caron, SebastienSebastien Caron	1.0 !G	L	25	1999	Amqui, Quebec
16	CAN !	Christensen, ErikErik Christensen	4.0 !C	L	22	2002	Edmonton, Alberta
87	CAN !	Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby	4.0 !C	L	18	2005	Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
14/23	CAN !	Endicott, ShaneShane Endicott	4.0 !C	L	24	2000	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
29	CAN !	Fleury, Marc-AndreMarc-Andre Fleury	1.0 !G	L	21	2003	Sorel, Quebec
55	RUS !	Gonchar, SergeiSergei Gonchar	2.0 !D	L	32	1992	Chelyabinsk, Russia
9	USA !	Hilbert, AndyAndy Hilbert	6.0 !LW	L	25	2000	Howell, Michigan
7/28	USA !	Hussey, MattMatt Hussey	4.0 !C	L	27	1998	New Haven, Connecticut
71	BLR !	Koltsov, KonstantinKonstantin Koltsov	6.0 !LW	L	25	1999	Minsk, Belarus
10	USA !	LeClair, JohnJohn LeClair	6.0 !LW	L	36	1987	St. Albans, Vermont
11	CAN !	Lefebvre, GuillaumeGuillaume Lefebvre	6.0 !LW	L	25	2000	Amos, Quebec
66	CAN !	Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux	4.0 !C	R	40	1984	Montreal, Quebec
12	USA !	Malone, RyanRyan Malone	6.0 !LW	L	26	1999	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2	CZE !	Melichar, JosefJosef Melichar	2.0 !D	L	27	1997	Ceské Budějovice, Czech Republic
17	USA !	Murley, MattMatt Murley	6.0 !LW	L	26	1999	Troy, New York
32	CAN !	Nasreddine, AlainAlain Nasreddine	2.0 !D	L	30	1993	Montreal, Quebec
15	SWE !	Nordgren, NiklasNiklas Nordgren	6.0 !LW	R	26	1997	Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
24	CAN !	Odelein, LyleLyle Odelein	2.0 !D	L	37	1986	Quill Lake, Saskatchewan
44	USA !	Orpik, BrooksBrooks Orpik	2.0 !D	L	25	2000	San Francisco, California
7/59	CAN !	Ouellet, MichelMichel Ouellet	7.0 !RW	R	24	2000	Rimouski, Quebec
33	SVK !	Palffy, ZiggyZiggy Palffy	7.0 !RW	L	34	1991	Skalica, Slovakia
11	FIN !	Pirjeta, LasseLasse Pirjeta	6.0 !LW	L	32	2002	Oulu, Finland
28	FIN !	Rita, JaniJani Rita	6.0 !LW	R	24	1999	Helsinki, Finland
36	USA !	Roy, AndreAndre Roy	7.0 !RW	L	31	1994	Port Chester, New York
30	CAN !	Sabourin, DanyDany Sabourin	1.0 !G	L	25	1998	Val D'or, Quebec
5	USA !	Scuderi, RobRob Scuderi	2.0 !D	L	27	1998	Syosset, New York
43	SVK !	Surovy, TomasTomas Surovy	6.0 !LW	L	24	2001	Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
25	CAN !	Talbot, MaxMax Talbot	4.0 !C	L	22	2002	LeMoyne, Quebec
41	CAN !	Thibault, JocelynJocelyn Thibault	1.0 !G	L	31	1993	Montreal, Quebec
37	CAN !	Vandenbussche, RyanRyan Vandenbussche	7.0 !RW	R	33	1992	Simcoe, Ontario
4	USA !	Welch, NoahNoah Welch	2.0 !D	L	23	2001	Brighton, Massachusetts
6/19	USA !	Whitney, RyanRyan Whitney	2.0 !D	L	23	2002	Boston, Massachusetts

Draft picks

NHL draft

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	1	Sidney Crosby	Center	Canada	Rimouski (QMJHL)
2	61	Michael Gergen	Forward	United States	Shattuck-St. Mary's (USHSW)
3	62	Kris Letang	Defense	Canada	Val d'Or (QMJHL)
4	125	Tommi Leinonen	Defense	Finland	Karpat Jr. (FIN JR.)
5	126	Tim Crowder	Right Wing	Canada	South Surrey (BCHL)
6	194	Jean-Philippe Paquet	Defense	Canada	Shawinigan (QMJHL)
7	195	Joe Vitale	Center	United States	Sioux Falls (USHL)

References

• Player stats on Hockey Database
• Penguins game log on Database Hockey

1. ↑ "2005–2006 NHL Attendance – National Hockey League – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved February 18, 2013. 
2. ↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2006.html
3. ↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2006_games.html
4. ↑ "2005 Year in Review". CBC. 2005-12-20. Retrieved 2006-11-17. 
5. ↑ "Crosby doesn't deserve 'A': Cherry". Canadian Press. 2005-12-17. Retrieved 2006-11-17. 
6. ↑ Campigotto, Jess (2006-09-27). "The education of Sidney Crosby". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2006-11-17. 
7. ↑ Basu, Arpon (2006-03-22). "Don't forget, Sid's still a Kid". thefourthperiod.com. Retrieved 2006-12-24. 
8. 1 2 Campigotto, Jesse (2006-09-27). "The education of Sidney Crosby". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2006-12-24. 
9. ↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2009). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2010. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 162. 
10. ↑ "2005–2006 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012. 
11. ↑ "2005–2006 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL. 
12. ↑ "2005–2006 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL. 
13. ↑ "Crosby nets first point in loss to Devils". TSN. 2005-10-05. Retrieved 2006-11-17. 
14. ↑ "Hockey Transactions Search Results". ProSportsTransactions. Retrieved September 22, 2012. 
15. ↑ "Gonchar signs five-year, $25M deal". ESPN – Associated Press. August 3, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012. 
16. ↑ "Demitra signing can't keep Palffy in L.A.". ESPN – Associated Press. August 7, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012. 
17. ↑ "Penguins sign another veteran, defenseman Odelein". ESPN – SportsTicker. September 2, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012. 
18. ↑ "Thrashers claim winger Fata from Penguins". ESPN – SportsTicker. January 31, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012. 
19. ↑ "Penguins sign free-agent winger LeClair". ESPN.com news services. August 16, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012. 
20. ↑ "Penguins agree to give Tarnstrom $1.6M salary". ESPN – Associated Press. August 29, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012. 
21. ↑ "Crosby signs $850,000 contract with Penguins". ESPN – Associated Press. September 9, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012. 
22. 1 2 3 Hradek, E.J. (December 15, 2005). "Eddie O-ver and out". ESPN Insider. Retrieved September 22, 2012. 
23. ↑ "Penguins fire Olczyk; Therrien takes over". ESPN – Associated Press. December 15, 2005. Retrieved September 22, 2012. 
24. ↑ "Palffy retires; reportedly because of shoulder injury". ESPN – Associated Press. January 19, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012. 
25. ↑ "Lemieux announces retirement". ESPN.com news services. January 25, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012. 
26. ↑ "Penguins not bringing back GM Patrick". ESPN – Associated Press. April 20, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012. 
27. ↑ "Shero hired by Pens after talks with Bruins lapse". ESPN – Associated Press. May 25, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012.