Penguins Go with Pirates-like ‘P’ Logo For Winter Classic

The Pittsburgh Penguins will visit the Boston Bruins on Jan. 2 in the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park. It’s almost a home game for the Penguins because the Fenway Group bought the team last year.

Just before the puck drop on Tuesday night between the Penguins and Bruins at PPG Paints Arena, the league released the logos for the game.

(Because releasing news at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night right before a game is the best time to drop news).

The Bruins rallied to beat the Penguins 6-5 in OT.

The teams will meet again on the outdoor surface at Fenway.

The Bruins Winter Classic logo is a throwback to the shoulder patch worn by Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and the great Bruins of the 1970s.

The Pittsburgh Penguins seemingly kept with the baseball theme, and the “P” logo is similar to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

UPDATE: It is the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the hockey version:

Looks like the P from Pittsburgh’s first NHL team, the Pirates (1925-1930). Would be amazing if they’re wearing these! pic.twitter.com/zwJhz5KCaN

— Penguins History (@penguinshistory) November 2, 2022

Perhaps the Penguins will have more success than their baseball counterparts, for whom rebuilding is its own sport.

Bruins and Penguins’ NHL Winter Classic merchandise will be available at the ProShop powered by 47, all PensGear store locations, NHLShop.com, NHLShop.ca, and additional retailers.

The Penguins haven’t played in the Winter Classic since the ill-fated game of 2012 at Heinz Field, when Washington Capitals defenseman David Steckel hit Sidney Crosby, setting off Crosby’s year-long battle with concussion symptoms.

Crosby was eventually diagnosed with a soft-tissue neck injury.

The Penguins last played in an outdoor game in February of 2019 in a home-and-home set with the Philadelphia Flyers. In the second game, both Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin were injured. Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds plowed through Dumoulin on the boards, appearing to make direct contact with Dumoulin’s head. Dumoulin slumped to the ice, then Letang was injured in the resulting scuffle.

The Flyers rallied from a two-goal third period deficit to win in OT.