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Stadium:
Mellon Arena
The Mellon Arena (known as Pittsburgh Civic Arena from 1961–1999, also informally known as "The Igloo") is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is home to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and was formerly home to the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL, Pittsburgh Pipers and Pittsburgh Condors of the ABA, Pittsburgh CrosseFire of the NLL, and Pittsburgh Spirit of the MISL, among others. The arena currently seats 16,958 for ice hockey, standing room only of 17,132, with 56 luxury suites and 1,696 club seats.

Seating Chart:
Mellon Arena Seating Chart

Team History:
The home of the early NHL incarnation of the Pirates during the 1920s and the successful Hornets American Hockey League franchise from the 1930s through the 1960s, Pittsburgh was one of six cities awarded an expansion team when the NHL doubled in size for the start of 1967-68. After deciding on the "Penguin" nickname, a logo was chosen, that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which is thought to be in tribute to the "Golden Triangle." The Penguins' first general manager was Jack Riley. His team (along with the other expansion teams) was hampered by restrictive rules that kept most major talent with the "Original Six." Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate and tough defenseman Leo Boivin, the first Penguins team was manned by a cast of former minor-leaguers. The club missed the playoffs, but were a mere six points out of 1st place in the close-fought West Division. Though Bathgate led the team in scoring, both he and Boivin were soon gone. Former player George Sullivan was the head coach for the club's first two seasons, until being replaced by Hockey Hall of Famer Leo Kelly. Despite a handful of decent players such as Ken Schinkel, Keith McCreary, agitator Bryan Watson, and goaltender Les Binkley, talent was thin. The Penguins' missed the playoffs in five of their first seven seasons.

Season Preview:
If last year was all about potential wasted, then this year's version of the Pittsburgh Penguins is all about letting potential take its time. New GM Ray Shero has not followed the crooked path of his predecessor Craig Patrick, who won the Sidney Crosby lottery and then tried to make an instant winner by throwing a bunch of money at a clutch of free agents who had too much history and not enough desire. Now that owner and former superstar Mario Lemieux is fading into the background, Zigmund Palffy has retired to Slovakia and Jocelyn Thibault has been relegated to inconsequential backup, the future truly belongs to Crosby and a clutch of stars-in-waiting like Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Whitney and, even further down the road, Jordan Staal, whom the Penguins took with the second overall pick in last summer's draft. Few expect the Penguins to make the playoffs this season, which may be the best tonic for a young franchise that could mature quickly under the radar.

Official Site:
http://penguins.nhl.com/