Recent Attendance Numbers Should Have Penguins Management Concerned About the Future

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Graham Montgomery
March 15, 2024 (7:09 PM)

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have finally decided to retool, at least in part. The team dealt Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, but the team has not committed to a full rebuild yet. However, their fans are already letting the team know how they feel.

Pictures Emerge Of Empty Building During Penguins Latest Home Game

The Penguins hosted their second game at home since the trade deadline passed yesterday when they took on the San Jose Sharks. While it was an ordinary home game in a lot of ways, some fans noticed something odd. There was no one there. Multiple pictures emerged from fans capturing how bad the attendance was.

Sharks @ Penguins #LetsGoPens #NHL

On the one hand, the San Jose Sharks were in town. There's nothing exciting about watching that team play this year. On the other hand, it should have been an easy victory for the Penguins. Some might think that that would encourage fans to attend as the team has struggled to win lately. Sadly, that did not appear to be the case.

The seats at puck drop. Haven't seen much of that over the years.

Penguins Face Tough Decision With Potential Upcoming Rebuild

This now begs the question, should the Penguins be worried about attendance in the near future? Should the team embrace a proper rebuild, it seems there won't be much appetite for fans to go to games. That could seriously hurt the team's bottom line. Could this be a deciding factor for the team as they choose whether or not to enter a full-blown rebuild? Only time will tell. General manager Kyle Dubas has sent mixed signals about the team's future recently.

Kyle Dubas: "Our goal every day is to optimize and improve the group as best we can. We are lucky to have a group of players that are fiercely competitive. That means they are unhappy with me on a day like yesterday when you move somebody from the group."

Kyle Dubas: "In my role, there's going to be a lot of times where you have to do things that people will question; that people will think are unpopular... But the goal, the job, has to be all the time about winning in the long run."

That being said, Sidney Crosby is on an expiring contract next season. As such, the Penguins have some very serious things to work out over the summer.

As seen on Photo of empty Arena should have new team president concerned