Penguins Introduce New Gold Uniform, to be Worn 11 Times in 2025-26

The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled a fast one on their fans Thursday night, taking the ice for their home opener introductions while wearing a previously unannounced new “Pittsburgh gold” third uniform against the New York Islanders.

Designed by Fanatics, the new sweater features the Pens’ familiar “Skating Penguin” logo at the front of a gold sweater all on its own, with no triangle behind it. Each sleeve features three thin black stripes, a nod to the three rivers that flow through Pittsburgh. Around the waist is a single, thicker black stripe. The collar is black with a thin gold stripe and black laces.

SHOP: Get the brand new “Pittsburgh Gold” Penguins third jersey right here

The triangle hasn’t been removed entirely from this design, as it forms a new black shoulder patch that pays tribute to Pittsburgh’s Point State Park with layers of three river waves, a monochrome checkerboard pattern, and a white igloo as a small tribute to the old Civic Arena.

Each player’s name is presented in a single-colour black on the back, and numbers are black with white trim, both on the back and on each sleeve. The name and number typeface is inspired by Pittsburgh’s trolley signage.

Down on the hem loop is a yellow bridge span, a familiar sight to anyone who’s spent time in the city. The inside back collar features a blue-and-white checkered pattern inspired by the city flag, surrounding a gold “PITTSBURGH” wordmark.

This isn’t the first time the Penguins have tried a gold (or yellow) third uniform. Well before wearing an additional uniform was a thing, the Penguins introduced a gold alternate for the 1980-81 season, worn alongside their existing white home and black road options, paired with a black helmet. For the 1983-84 season, they dropped the white altogether to wear the gold as their home uniform (now featuring a gold helmet) before it was dropped entirely. The team continued to wear the gold helmets with the white jerseys until 1988.

In 2017, the Penguins reintroduced a gold jersey for the Stadium Series game and then unveiled a tweaked version of that design as their new third uniform for the 2018-19 season, which would remain in use for three seasons. Both of these designs removed the triangle from behind the “Skating Penguin” logo, much like this new one for 2025.

*The new 2025-26 Penguins gold uniform (Photo via Pittsburgh Penguins)*

Personally, this is my preferred way for teams to wear a third uniform: a secondary colour (yellow) not already represented by the primary dark option (black) with a variation or straight up copy of the primary sweater crest (skating penguin)… if you MUST do something, then a team can flip the shoulder patch to the front, but only in certain situations. I’m cool with designing something entirely new for the shoulders, as the Penguins did here, as long as the main elements remain consistent across the entire set. Your players should visually appear to play for the team they play for when they step out onto the ice. You want your fans to be able to rep their team with merch that doesn’t require a casual fan to stop and go, “What team is that supposed to be?”

I know that’s not the most fun, but that’s what the Stadium Series and other one-off events are for. A consistently worn additional uniform needs to blend seamlessly into the existing set.

Anywho…

Pittsburgh will wear its new gold third uniform eleven times in the 2025-26 season, all of which will take place at home. The Pens will wear it for each of their Thursday home games, as well as two additional weekend games. It will be worn for at least three seasons.

PENGUINS 2025–26 GOLD THIRD JERSEY SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 9, 2025 vs New York Islanders
Thursday, November 6, 2025 vs Washington Capitals
Saturday, November 22, 2025 vs Seattle Kraken
Thursday, December 11, 2025 vs Montreal Canadiens
Thursday, January 1, 2026 vs Detroit Red Wings
Thursday, January 8, 2026 vs New Jersey Devils
Thursday, January 15, 2026 vs Philadelphia Flyers
Thursday, January 29, 2026 vs Chicago Blackhawks
Thursday, February 26, 2026 vs New Jersey Devils
Thursday, March 5, 2026 vs Buffalo Sabres
Sunday, April 5, 2026 vs Florida Panthers

The jersey is available now online from NHLShop.com, or you can get it in person if you’re in the Pittsburgh area at the arena’s PensGear store.

All photos and graphics in this article were courtesy social media posts made by the Pittsburgh Penguins