Editing Pittsburgh Penguins (section)

====Triumph of playoff berths and tragedy of Briere (1969–1974)====
[[File:Michel Briere Penguins.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|alt=Photograph of Michele Briere whose number was taken out of circulation following a fatal accident |[[Michel Brière|Michel Briere]]'s number was taken out of circulation after his career-ending accident in 1970. It was later formally retired in 2001.]]
In the [[1969 NHL amateur draft|1969 draft]] the Penguins selected [[Michel Brière|Michel Briere]] who, although being chosen 26th, was soon drawing comparisons to [[Phil Esposito]] and [[Bobby Clarke]]. Joining the team in November, he finished as the second-place rookie scorer in the NHL (behind Bobby Clarke) with 44 points (57th overall), and third on the Penguins. Briere placed second in [[Calder Memorial Trophy]] voting for Rookie of the Year honors behind Chicago goaltender [[Tony Esposito]]. Briere led Pittsburgh to its first NHL playoff berth since the 1928 Pirates. The Penguins defeated the [[Oakland Seals]] in a four-game sweep in the quarterfinals, with Briere scoring the series-clinching goal in overtime. In the semifinals, defending conference champions St. Louis Blues got the best of the Penguins during six games. Briere led the team in playoff scoring, recording five goals (including three game-winners) and eight points. Tragedy struck the Penguins just days after their playoff heroics. On May 15, 1970, Briere was in a car crash in his native [[Quebec]], suffering brain trauma and slipping into a coma from which he would never recover; he died a year later. His number 21 jersey was never reissued, remaining out of circulation until it was formally retired in 2001.<ref name="History2016" />

In the [[1970–71 NHL season|1970–71 season]], the Penguins finished five games out of the playoffs with a 21–37–20 record, the fourth-worst record in the league. Pittsburgh achieved a playoff berth in [[1971–72 NHL season|1972]], only to be swept by the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round. Except for a handful of players like Ken Schinkel, Pronovost, [[Syl Apps Jr.]], [[Keith McCreary]], agitator [[Bryan Watson (ice hockey)|Bryan Watson]] and goaltender Les Binkley, talent was thin, but enough for the Penguins to reach the playoffs in both 1970 and 1972.

The Penguins battled the [[California Golden Seals]] for the division cellar in [[1973–74 NHL season|1974]], when Riley was fired as general manager and replaced by [[Jack Button]]. Button obtained [[Steve Durbano]], [[Ab DeMarco, Jr.|Ab DeMarco]], [[J. Bob Kelly|Bob "Battleship" Kelly]] and [[Bob Paradise]] through trades. The personnel moves proved successful, and the team improved to a 28–41–9 record, although they remained nine points away from a playoff berth.

However, in early 1975, the Penguins' creditors demanded payment of back debts, forcing the team into [[bankruptcy]]. The doors to the team's offices were padlocked, and it looked like the Penguins would fold or relocate.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 14, 1998|title=Penguins File For Chapter 11|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/penguins-file-for-chapter-11/|website=[[CBS News]]|access-date=July 24, 2019|archive-date=July 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725040405/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/penguins-file-for-chapter-11/|url-status=live}}</ref> Around the same time, rumors began circulating that the Penguins and the California Golden Seals were to be relocated to [[Seattle]] and [[Denver]] respectively, the two cities that were to have been the sites of an expansion for the [[1976–77 NHL season|1976–77 season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lfRUAAAAIBAJ&dq=pittsburgh+penguins+seattle&pg=1128,1617031|title=Penguins like feel of home|date=January 23, 1975|work=[[The Leader-Post]]|via=Google News Archive Search}}</ref> Through the intervention of a group that included former [[Minnesota North Stars]] head coach [[Wren Blair]], the team was prevented from folding and remained in Pittsburgh, eventually being bought by [[shopping mall]] magnate [[Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr.]]