A lot can happen in 10 years, and the Penguins shoehorned quite a bit into the past decade.
There were triumphs and troubles, celebrations and sadness.
And so, as 2019 winds down, we'll take a look back at 19 of the most memorable events of those 10 years, beginning with Nos. 10-19:
19. Let's take it outside
The Penguins played in the NHL's first Winter Classic, in Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium on Jan. 1, 2008, and they turned up regularly in outdoor games over the course of the past decade.
They played games at Heinz Field against Washington (2011) and Philadelphia (2017), as well as one each at Chicago's Soldier Field (2014) and Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (2019).
They probably won't mind sticking to having a roof over their heads in the future, though, since they won just one of those four outdoor games during the past decade.
18. We're honored
The Penguins won hockey's most coveted trophy, the Stanley Cup, twice during the decade and also harvested a number of individual awards and honors. Here are some of the major ones:
Art Ross Trophy (scoring leader) -- Evgeni Malkin (2012), Sidney Crosby (2014)
Hart Trophy (regular season MVP) -- Malkin (2012), Crosby (2014)
Rocket Richard Trophy (goal-scoring leader) -- Crosby (2017)
Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) -- Crosby (2016, 2017)
GM of the Year -- Ray Shero (2013), Jim Rutherford (2016)
Jack Adams Trophy (top coach) -- Dan Bylsma (2011)
17. A new address
The Penguins long ago settled into their current home, but still were competing on the other side of Centre Avenue when the decade got underway.
Their run of more than four decades at the building known as the Civic Arena and Mellon Arena ended the same way as it began: With a loss to Montreal.
The Penguins' final game there was a 5-2 defeat by the Canadiens May 12, 2010 in Game 7 of a second-round playoff series, ending the Penguins' defense of a Cup they won a year earlier. Montreal also beat them, 2-1, in the Penguins' first regular-season game in the NHL Oct. 11, 1967.
16. Call the doctor
Dealing with injuries is part of sports, and the Penguins had more than their share of experiences with those during this decade. (Just look at their current list of guys in various stages of recovery.)
But along with all the sprains and fractures and tears that are occupational hazards, they had to deal with some medical issues that couldn't have been foreseen.
Remember when five players -- Crosby, Olli Maatta, Beau Bennett, Thomas Greiss and Steve Downie -- contracted mumps during the 2014-15 season? They all got over that illness quickly enough, but it was yet another non-hockey medical hurdle for Maatta to clear; he had undergone surgery a few months earlier after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Maatta overcame all of his health challenges and is playing for Chicago these days. Two of his teammates weren't so fortunate, however, as Pascal Dupuis and Tomas Vokoun eventually were forced to retire after being diagnosed with blood clots that required them to take blood-thinning medications.
15. Have a seat (if you're lucky)
A lot of things change of the course of a decade, but there was at least one constant for the Penguins over the past 10 years: Every home game was a sellout.
Their run of capacity crowds for every regular-season and playoff game actually began on Feb. 14, 2007 with a visit from Chicago and will reach 596 in their final appearance of 2019 at PPG Paints Arena tonight against Ottawa.
14. Jordan Staal departs
The Penguins had an extraordinary 1-2-3 punch at center when the decade began, with Crosby, Malkin and Jordan Staal, but Staal's desire to fill a more prominent role and to play with his older brother, Eric, prompted him to reject a 10-year, $60-million contract offer from Ray Shero.
That convinced Shero that Staal wasn't interested in staying and sparked serious negotiations with Jim Rutherford, then GM in Carolina, where Eric Staal played.
A few hours before the start of the 2012 NHL draft, which was held at Consol Energy Center, they struck a deal that sent Staal to the Hurricanes for center Brandon Sutter, defense prospect Brian Dumoulin and the No. 8 pick in the draft, which was used to claim defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
13. Going for broke ... and breaking
The Penguins were a popular choice to win the Stanley Cup as the NHL trade deadline approached in 2013 ... and that was before Shero went all-in by acquiring Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray to give his roster an infusion of skill, grit and muscle going into the playoffs.
It seemed like a wise investment, at least for two rounds, as the Penguins rolled over the New York Islanders and Ottawa to reach the Eastern Conference final against Boston.
Trouble is, they could get just two shots past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in four games and were swept in a best-of-seven series for the first time since a quarterfinals humbling by Boston in 1979.
12. They had their Phil of him
Phil Kessel was one of the most popular players in recent franchise history -- perhaps because, for all of his offensive talents, he looked like a guy who could be swilling a beer and pounding on the glass -- but after four seasons, it was clear that all concerned believed that their interests might be best-served by having him continue his career elsewhere.
Rutherford initially engineered a deal with Minnesota, but Kessel invoked his limited no-trade clause to kill that.
He did, however, subsequently accept a trade to Arizona, where he has been reunited with coach Rick Tocchet, with whom he had a strong relationship when Tocchet was an assistant coach under Sullivan.
The deal sent Kessel, minor-league defenseman Dane Birks and a fourth-round draft choice in 2021 to the Coyotes for winger Alex Galchenyuk and defense prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
11. A whole new kind of ugly
It's never a good sign for a team when it peaks in the opening period of its first playoff game, but that's what happened to the Penguins in a Round 1 series against the Flyers in 2012.
They built a 3-0 lead before allowing four unanswered goals, including an overtime game-winner by Jakub Voracek. (That the Flyers' comeback began with a breakaway goal by Daniel Briere that was so clearly offside that the NHL offered a public apology to the Penguins was scant consolation.)
Philadelphia built a 3-0 advantage in the series before the Penguins staved off elimination with a 10-3 victory at the Wells Fargo Center and a 3-2 decision at Consol Energy Center, but the Flyers finally clinched a spot in the second round with a 5-1 victory at home in Game 6. That closed out a series in which discipline -- and decent team defense -- were almost nonexistent for both sides.
10. Thanks for stopping
Ray Shero played a major role in constructing the Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup-winning team, and Dan Bylsma was behind the bench when they won that championship, but both were out of work five years later.
After five consecutive playoff losses to lower-seeded teams, it wasn't a surprise that Bylsma would be fired, but Shero's loyalty to him never appeared to waver, and likely played a role in ownership's decision to dismiss him at the same time.
Shero was replaced a few weeks later by Rutherford, whose first major move as GM was to hire Mike Johnston as Bylsma's successor.
Tomorrow: Nos. 1-9
