 On the 7 October 1985, Frawley was picked up off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team he'd spent the next four years (the rest of his NHL career) with.His apparent leadership on the Penguins, was recognized with his appointment as captain in October 1987, a role he would hand over to Mario Lemieux two months later, because of a torn ligament that kept him out of the lineup.He received surgery for the injury and returned to play in early 1988.