NHL Franchises That Have Recovered from Crippling Attendance Issues

By now even the most casual hockey fans have seen the pictures of a porous BB&T Center taken when the Florida Panthers took on the Ottawa Senators. The pictures show empty seats in all areas of the building, and many people took to Twitter to mock and sneer at the South Florida franchise.

The lowly Panthers—a team that has only made the playoffs once in the last 13 seasons—are an easy target. For some it is easy to say that Gary Bettman made a mistake expanding to Florida. South Florida, maybe, but hockey in Tampa Bay has been a major success.

It is easy to poke fun at the Panthers and suggest relocating them. It is easy to do all of this because South Florida is not considered a hockey market.

It is a fair statement, but to be honest, Columbus and Nashville didn't become hockey markets overnight. They are two areas that have had a surge of excitement lately when it comes to the fan experience and the talent on the ice.

It isn't a coincidence that these two markets will be holding the next two All-Star Games, because the spectacle will be a celebration of what has been built in those areas.

Back to the Panthers, the attendance numbers are troubling, but there is hope for them to turn it around and start filling the building.

The Panthers have a new ownership group and promising young talent on their roster. Players to watch include 2014 NHL draft No. 1 pick Aaron Ekblad, 2013 draft pick Aleksander Barkov, 2011 draft pick Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad among other budding stars.

While there is a possibility that the Panthers could struggle by virtue of being in a tough situation in the Eastern Conference, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. That could lead to them being in a position to acquiring a franchise player named Connor McDavid or a franchise player named Jack Eichel.

Either would be able to step into the lineup and help the Panthers almost immediately, and the team would gain a prominent and very marketable new player who would generate support.

A lot of hoopla has been made of the Panthers' situation, but other NHL teams, including some current prominent teams, have gone through similar woes. While it may appear that the Panthers are in dire straights, here are NHL franchises that have recovered from crippling attendance issues.

*This slideshow will list teams that had attendance issues that were troubling for a number of years, with the most drastic pointed out.

Average Attendance: 13,228 and 13,157

Why Things Were Bad: When the Nashville Predators entered the NHL in the late 1990s, there was some excitement. A new franchise and professional sports team in the Nashville market was well-received, and the team's attendance was solid.

However, attendance dwindled when the on-ice product faltered, and it was starting to look like the experiment was going to backfire. It didn't help matters that the Predators' early roster was made up of picks from the expansion draft, and no team is ever going to succeed if it is made up of another team's scraps.

As time went on the Predators were able to get better, and making the playoffs helped Nashville start drawing fans in hockey's newest market.

The Response: After the lockout of 2004-05, the Predators came out of the gate hot, and they never looked back. Paul Kariya had an amazing 85-point season, and the excitement of his play helped draw fans back to the arena. 

Although the increase from 2003-04 to 2005-06 was minimal, it was the start of a climb upward, and one that was fueled by a playoff appearance.

Once Shea Weber entered the picture and started developing into a franchise player, attendance went from 14,910 in 2007-08 all the way up to 16,142 in 2010-11. The story to learn here is that the Predators were a new team in a new market that thrived off excitement early. 

The important thing to note here is that once the luster wore off, it took solid on-ice play to bring the fans out, and it ultimately put them in a position to succeed. There is a reason that the 2016 All-Star Game is going to be held in Nashville, and that is a testament to the hockey market that has developed over the last 16 seasons.

Average Attendance: 14,764 and 15,384

Why Things Were Bad: Despite the fact that Marc Savard tallied 96 points and Patrice Bergeron tallied 70 points, the Boston Bruins had the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference during the 2006-07 season. 

The team's attendance went down from 16,211 in 2005-06, and it is fair to say that the trade of fan favorite and team captain Joe Thornton played a role in declining attendance.

During the 2007-08 season, the Bruins had the fifth-worst attendance numbers in the NHL; the Bruins made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed but were eliminated in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens.

The Response: During the 2008-09 season the Bruins started their rise toward the top. The Bruins building was full 97 percent of the time, and it helped that the Bruins won their first division title since 2004 and finished first in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2002.

Savard had another strong season, but the emergence of David Krejci and Phil Kessel was huge for the Bruins. Boston moved upward in the standings and in attendance figures, and all it took was some decent young and exciting new players to generate some buzz around the team.

Average Attendance: 14,213 and 12,520

Why Things Were Bad: Coming out of the lockout, the St. Louis Blues had a tough time filling the building, despite the fact that St. Louis is a city that had historically supported hockey. The lockout left a sour taste in the mouths of the fans, and it didn't help that the team was pretty bad.

The Blues were unable to make the playoffs until the 2008-09 season, and that was the start of the team's turnaround.

The Response: The Blues as a team really started playing better hockey, and the fans started coming back. It helped that the team's youth movement was underway, and players such as David Backes, Alexander Steen, T.J. Oshie and David Perron started becoming a factor.

Fans love young teams that can play, and the Blues' youth movement helped transform the franchise back into a team that could draw a nice crowd. 

Average Attendance: 13,905, 13,929, and 15,472

Why Things Were Bad: The Washington Capitals made a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998, and they won back-to-back Southeast Division titles in 2000 and 2001. The franchise was on top of the world, but it was short-lived.

Things went bad for Washington when Adam Oates, the team captain and fan favorite, was stripped of his captaincy and traded. During this time Jaromir Jagr was acquired and signed to a huge deal, but he had some of his worst NHL seasons with Washington. 

His inability to produce the 90 to 100-plus points he did put up in Pittsburgh played a role in management dismantling the team.

Jagr was traded, and it began a fire sale that sent him to New York, and it led to Peter Bondra, Robert Lang and Sergei Gonchar all being traded to separate teams.

The Response: Alexander Ovechkin was drafted first overall during the 2004 draft. He was a stud offensive prospect with personality, and he became the new face of the Capitals.

It took some time for Ovechkin and the Caps to win back the hearts of fans, but a series of playoff appearances led to attendance skyrocketing to 18,097 in 2007-08 and 18,277 in 2009-10.

Average Attendance: 12,727

The Chicago Blackhawks' attendance saw a sharp decline from 2001-02 all the way until the 2006-07 season. The team went from averaging 15,568 fans a night, to only 12,727 fans.

Why Things Were Bad: The 2006-07 Blackhawks finished 13th in the Western Conference, and it was a moment in which the team hit rock bottom. The team lacked significant star power, and it didn't help that Bill Wirtz was not a fan-friendly owner.

Wirtz was known as a frugal owner who attempted to fill the building by blocking home games from being televised. His reputation was so bad; Journalist George Johnson (via ESPN's Page 2) named the Blackhawks the worst franchise in all of sports in 2004.

The Response: Things turned around when Wirtz died, and his son Rocky took over. The younger Wirtz went on to negotiate a TV deal with Comcast Chicago, a company that he partially owned, and games went on television. He also hired John McDonough, a sports executive who spent 24 years with the Cubs, and he played an instrumental role in changing the PR perception of the team.  

It also helped that the 2007-08 Blackhawks had some talent, and the Blackhawks started marketing their players wisely. Patrick Kane tallied 72 points as a 19-year-old, Patrick Sharp tallied 62 points and Jonathan Toews tallied 54 points.

The emergence of two young stars added some popularity, and the on-ice success continued to the point in which the team became well-known around the NHL.

Average Attendance: 11,877

Why Things Were Bad: During the 2003-04 season the Pittsburgh Penguins had the worst attendance in the NHL. It was the fourth consecutive season in which attendance was on the decline, and it had to do with the fact that Dick Tarnstrom was the team's best player.

There's a chance you may not know who that is, but during the '03-'04 season, Tarnstrom was the team's top player as Mario Lemieux's career came to an end and Jaromir Jagr was with the Washington Capitals. It was a tough year for the Pens, but things got better.

The Response: The Penguins were one of the worst teams during the 2003-04 season, and they won the right to select second at the 2004 NHL draft. The Penguins used their draft pick to select Evgeni Malkin, one of the NHL's best centers in 2014.

The team didn't stop there, though, as the lockout of 2004-05 wiped out an entire season, and as a result there was a draft lottery held to determine which team would pick first at the 2005 NHL draft.

The Penguins won the lottery and selected Sidney Crosby, and he became the face of the franchise. The combination of Malkin and Crosby after the 2005-06 season was a successful one, and it helped the team start drawing more fans in.

However, it is worth noting that in 2006 the Penguins explored relocation out of the area, but in hindsight it can be looked at as a power play to secure a better arena deal in the area.

Hopefully you can see that all is not doom and gloom for the Panthers. Right now their attendance numbers appear to be an issue, but here is a look at their attendance numbers from the last five years and where they ranked among other NHL teams.

2009-10: 15,146—25th overall

2010-11: 15,685—22nd overall

2011-12: 16,628—20th overall

2012-13: 16,992—21st overall

2013-14: 14,525—29th overall

This trend shows the fact that the Panthers' attendance has been somewhat bad, but it has been juxtaposed with a rather poor roster for the most part.

Going forward there is a good chance that the Panthers' young roster will be capable of turning into a contender, and the core could be bolstered next season with a player such as Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.

Either forward has the potential to be a franchise stud, and it could really help transform the team. It happened with the Washington Capitals with Alex Ovechkin. It happened with the Pittsburgh Penguins with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It also happened with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane with the Blackhawks. 

The point here is that the Panthers have a chance to build something. Attendance may appear to be bad, but give this young core a chance to prove itself, and see what happens at the 2015 NHL draft. They may ultimately be moved, but it wouldn't be the first time a team with a bad roster was relocated because of attendance problems.

Attendance Stats via HockeyDB.com.