2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins season

2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division 5th Atlantic
Conference 15th Eastern
2005–06 record 22–46–14
Home record 12–21–8
Road record 10–25–6
Goals for 244
Goals against 316
Team information
General Manager Craig Patrick
Coach Ed Olczyk
Captain Mario Lemieux (Oct-Jan)
Vacant (Jan-Apr)
Alternate captains Sidney Crosby
Sergei Gonchar
John LeClair
Mark Recchi
Arena Mellon Arena
Average attendance 15,804[1]
Team leaders
Goals Sidney Crosby (39)
Assists Sidney Crosby (63)
Points Sidney Crosby (102)
Penalties in minutes Brooks Orpik (124)
Plus/minus Colby Armstrong (15)
Wins Marc-Andre Fleury (13)
Goals against average Marc-Andre Fleury (3.25)
<2004–05 2006–07>

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

Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 3 New Jersey Devils 82 46 27 9 242 229 101
2 5 Philadelphia Flyers 82 45 26 11 267 259 101
3 6 New York Rangers 82 44 26 12 257 215 100
4 12 New York Islanders 82 36 40 6 230 278 78
5 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 22 46 14 244 316 58

[9]

Eastern Conference[10]
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 Z- Ottawa Senators NE 82 52 21 9 314 211 113
2 Y- Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 52 22 8 294 260 112
3 Y - New Jersey Devils AT 82 46 27 8 242 229 101
4 X- Buffalo Sabres NE 82 52 24 6 242 239 110
5 X-Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 45 26 11 267 259 101
6 X– New York Rangers AT 82 44 26 12 257 215 100
7 X-Montreal Canadiens NE 82 42 31 9 243 247 93
8 X- Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 43 33 6 252 260 92
8.5
9 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 41 33 8 257 270 90
10 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 41 33 8 281 275 90
11 Florida Panthers SE 82 37 34 11 240 257 85
12 New York Islanders AT 82 36 40 6 230 278 78
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 29 37 16 230 266 74
14 Washington Capitals SE 82 29 41 12 237 306 70
15 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 22 46 14 244 316 58

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

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

Schedule and results

2005–2006 Schedule
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = OT/SO Loss

Playoffs

The Penguins did not qualify for the playoffs.

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season
Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby 81 39 63 102 –1 110
Gonchar, SergeiSergei Gonchar 75 12 46 58 –13 100
Recchi, MarkMark Recchi 63 24 33 57 –28 56
LeClair, JohnJohn LeClair 73 22 29 51 –24 61
Malone, RyanRyan Malone 77 22 22 44 –22 63
Palffy, ZiggyZiggy Palffy 42 11 31 42 5 12
Armstrong, ColbyColby Armstrong 47 16 24 40 15 58
Whitney, RyanRyan Whitney 68 6 32 38 –7 85
Ouellet, MichelMichel Ouellet 50 16 16 32 –13 16
Jackman, RichardRichard Jackman 49 6 22 28 –20 46
Surovy, TomasTomas Surovy 53 12 13 25 –13 45
Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux 26 7 15 22 –16 16
Hilbert, AndyAndy Hilbert 19 7 11 18 8 16
Melichar, JosefJosef Melichar 72 3 12 15 –2 66
Christensen, ErikErik Christensen 33 6 7 13 –3 34
Boguniecki, EricEric Boguniecki 38 5 6 11 –2 29
Tarnstrom, DickDick Tarnstrom 33 5 5 10 –10 52
Orpik, BrooksBrooks Orpik 64 2 7 9 –3 124
Koltsov, KonstantinKonstantin Koltsov 60 3 6 9 –10 20
Talbot, MaximeMaxime Talbot 48 5 3 8 –12 59
Rita, JaniJani Rita 30 3 4 7 –6 4
Pirjeta, LasseLasse Pirjeta 25 4 3 7 4 18
Murley, MattMatt Murley 41 1 5 6 –9 24
Scuderi, RobRob Scuderi 57 0 4 4 –18 36
Poapst, SteveSteve Poapst 21 0 4 4 –5 10
Welch, NoahNoah Welch 5 1 3 4 0 2
Roy, AndreAndre Roy 42 2 1 3 –3 116
Endicott, ShaneShane Endicott 41 1 1 2 –9 43
Cairns, EricEric Cairns 27 1 0 1 0 87
Odelein, LyleLyle Odelein 27 0 1 1 –10 50
Vandenbussche, RyanRyan Vandenbussche 20 1 0 1 0 42
Hussey, MattMatt Hussey 13 0 1 1 –5 0
Cross, CoryCory Cross†‡ 6 0 1 1 –1 6
Fata, RicoRico Fata 20 0 0 0 –5 10
Nordgren, NiklasNiklas Nordgren 15 0 0 0 –4 4
Lefebvre, GuillaumeGuillaume Lefebvre 9 0 0 0 –3 9
Nasreddine, AlainAlain Nasreddine 6 0 0 0 2 8

Goaltenders
Regular Season
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Fleury, Marc-AndreMarc-Andre Fleury 50 45 2809:13 13 27 6 152 3.25 1485 0.898 1 0 1 0
Caron, SebastienSebastien Caron 26 23 1312:18 8 9 5 87 3.98 733 0.881 1 0 1 0
Thibault, JocelynJocelyn Thibault 16 13 806:42 1 9 3 60 4.46 484 0.876 0 0 0 2
Sabourin, DanyDany Sabourin 1 1 20:33 0 1 0 4 11.68 14 0.714 0 0 0 0

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Team. Stats reflect time with the Team only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Team only.

Awards and records

Milestones

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 2005–06 season:[12]

Trades

August 10, 2005 To Chicago Blackhawks

2006 4th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Jocelyn Thibault

September 9, 2005 To Nashville Predators

Kris Beech

To Pittsburgh Penguins

conditional draft pick

December 9, 2005 To St. Louis Blues

Steve Poapst

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Eric Boguniecki

January 18, 2006 To Florida Panthers

2006 6th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Eric Cairns

January 26, 2006 To Edmonton Oilers

Dick Tarnstrom

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Cory Cross
Jani Rita

March 9, 2006 To Florida Panthers

Richard Jackman

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Petr Taticek

March 9, 2006 To Carolina Hurricanes

Mark Recchi

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Krystofer Kolanos
Niklas Nordgren
2007 2nd round pick

March 9, 2006 To Detroit Red Wings

Cory Cross

To Pittsburgh Penguins

2007 4th round pick

Free agents acquired

Player Former team Contract terms
Sergei Gonchar[13] Washington Capitals 5-year/$25M contract
Zigmund Palffy[14] Los Angeles Kings 3-year/$13.5M contract
Steve Poapst Chicago Blackhawks
Lyle Odelein[15] Florida Panthers 1-year/$500K contract

Free agents lost

Player New team Contract terms
Landon Wilson HC Davos (Swiss)
Chris Kelleher Linkopings HC (Sweden)

Claimed via waivers

Date Player Previous team
March 9, 2006 Andy Hilbert Chicago Blackhawks

Lost via waivers

Date Player New team
January 31, 2006[16] Rico Fata Atlanta Thrashers

Player signings

Player Date Contract terms
Noah Welch August 3, 2005 3-year entry level contract
Ryan Lannon August 3, 2005 3-year entry level contract
Rob Scuderi August 9, 2005
Dany Sabourin August 10, 2005
Jocelyn Thibault August 10, 2005 Multi-year contract
Kris Beech August 10, 2005 1-year qualifying offer
Shane Endicott August 11, 2005 Multi-year contract
Colby Armstrong August 12, 2005
Guillaume Lefebvre August 15, 2005 Qualifying offer
John LeClair[17] August 15, 2005 2-year contract
Josef Melichar August 15, 2005 2-year contract
Matt Hussey August 15, 2005 Qualifying offer
Matt Murley August 15, 2005
Konstantin Koltsov August 16, 2005
David Koci August 17, 2005
Michel Ouellet August 18, 2005 Multi-year contract
Dick Tarnstrom[18] August 29, 2005 1-year/$1.6M contract
Sidney Crosby[19] September 8, 2005 3-year/$850K contract
Mario Lemieux September 9, 2005 1-year/$3M contract
Brooks Orpik September 13, 2005 1-year contract
Tyler Kennedy May 19, 2006 Multi-year contract
Micki DuPont June 16, 2006
Evgeni Malkin June 20, 2006 3-year entry level contract

Other

Player Date Details
Kevin Stevens September 2, 2005 Hired as scout
Ed Olczyk[20] December 15, 2005 Fired as head coach
John Welday December 15, 2005 Fired as strength & conditioning coach
Randy Hillier[20] December 15, 2005 Fired as assistant coach
Shane Clifford December 15, 2005 Fired as goaltending coach
Joe Mullen[20] December 15, 2005 Fired as assistant coach
Michel Therrien[21] December 15, 2005 Hired as head coach
Stephane Dube December 15, 2005 Hired as strength & conditioning coach
Mike Yeo December 15, 2005 Hired as assistant coach
Gilles LeFebvre December 15, 2005 Hired as goaltending coach
Zigmund Palffy[22] January 18, 2006 Retired
Mario Lemieux[23] January 24, 2006 Retired
Craig Patrick[24] April 20, 2006 Fired as GM
Ray Shero[25] May 25, 2006 Hired as GM, 5-year contract

Roster

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

  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. "Crosby nets first point in loss to Devils". TSN. 2005-10-05. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
  12. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". ProSportsTransactions. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  13. "Gonchar signs five-year, $25M deal". ESPN - Associated Press. August 3, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  14. "Demitra signing can't keep Palffy in L.A.". ESPN - Associated Press. August 7, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  15. "Penguins sign another veteran, defenseman Odelein". ESPN - SportsTicker. September 2, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  16. "Thrashers claim winger Fata from Penguins". ESPN - SportsTicker. January 31, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  17. "Penguins sign free-agent winger LeClair". ESPN.com news services. August 16, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  18. "Penguins agree to give Tarnstrom $1.6M salary". ESPN - Associated Press. August 29, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  19. "Crosby signs $850,000 contract with Penguins". ESPN - Associated Press. September 9, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  20. 1 2 3 Hradek, E.J. (December 15, 2005). "Eddie O-ver and out". ESPN Insider. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  21. "Penguins fire Olczyk; Therrien takes over". ESPN - Associated Press. December 15, 2005. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  22. "Palffy retires; reportedly because of shoulder injury". ESPN - Associated Press. January 19, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  23. "Lemieux announces retirement". ESPN.com news services. January 25, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  24. "Penguins not bringing back GM Patrick". ESPN - Associated Press. April 20, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  25. "Shero hired by Pens after talks with Bruins lapse". ESPN - Associated Press. May 25, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.