Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins are one of two NHL franchises in Pennsylvania; the other being the Philadelphia Flyers. The cities' proximity has led to a rivalry known as the "Battle of Pennsylvania". The club is owned by Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle, who purchased the Penguins in 1999 and brought the club out of bankruptcy. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the
Ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification Ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2006 Winter Olympics was determined through the IIHF World Ranking following the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. The top eight teams in the World Ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, Italy received a berth as the host, while all other teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots in the Olympics through qualifying tournaments. Three round-robins were played from 11 to 14 November 2004. The teams seeded 18th, 19th, and 20th reserved the right to host these tournaments.