The Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup in 1991.
Pittsburgh defeated the Minnesota North Stars four games to two in the 1991 Stanley Cup Final. The championship was the first in franchise history and marked the beginning of the Penguins’ rise as a major National Hockey League team.
Mario Lemieux led Pittsburgh’s powerful lineup and received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff most valuable player. The Penguins had entered the NHL in 1967 as part of the league’s major expansion, so their first title came 24 years after the franchise was established.
The 1991 victory is sometimes confused with Pittsburgh’s second consecutive championship. The Penguins defended the Cup in 1992, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks. Later titles came in 2009, 2016, and 2017, making 1991 the club’s foundational championship year.