Penguins Update Banners Ahead of Jaromir Jagr Ceremony
The Pittsburgh Penguins updated their retired sweaters to match Jaromir Jagr's.
PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins will soon retire Jaromir Jagr’s iconic 68 and immortalize him forever with the team. When Jagr’s number rises, it will be the third jersey to be retired by the Penguins in organization history.
With a new banner heading to the rafters, the Penguins decided to update those already hanging. Penguins’ icons Michel Briere had his 21 retired in 2001, and Mario Lemieux’s 66 got the honor twice in 1997 and again following his second retirement in 2006.
Before the doors opened to PPG Paints Arena, the stadium crew swapped the previous banners with new ones, likely to match Jagr’s, which will soon join them.
Briere’s colors remained similar to the Penguins’ vintage blue and white from their early days, but with blue as the primary. Lemieux’s on the other hand takes on a whole new look.
Lemieux’s first retired banner was white and yellow with black numbers and letters. Following his second retirement, the Penguins hung a black and Vegas gold banner to match the Penguin's uniforms at the time. From 2000 to 2007, Penguins uniforms featured golden triangular stripes.
While Lemieux always deserved to have his number retired, that was a curious design choice. The new Lemieux banner is a proper black and yellow to match his uniform when leading the Penguins to a pair of Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992.
Jagr’s retired banner will likely be the proper black and yellow to match Lemieux's.
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