First and foremost I enjoy watching hockey. As terrible as watching Flames/Phoenix or Flames/Minnesota can be, I still like seeing the up and coming young players from opposition teams.
The last three years I have picked a second team to follow at the beginning of the year, sometimes because I'll know a couple of guys on that team or I enjoy watching them play their particular style or I just have an affinity for them that year. Two of the three years I've been lucky, picking Boston and Los Angeles, but this year, picking the Rangers has been a bit tougher.
Still though, It's fun to watch exciting stars like Rick Nash, and seeing solid team games and team players like Girardi or Marc Staal. That's what I get out of it, is watching the games.
The direction and trajectory is and was painfully obvious, and when the Flames start playing their young players instead of sending them to the minors I'll probably be more interested, but this team was predictably bad, so there's not as much angst for me as say, the 2007 or 2006 team which underachieved in a significant way.
I'll still find time to watch 75 games or so this year, but I don't have kids or a job with an odd schedule. If I did, I wouldn't make any special effort to watch I don't think. Just check the scores and wait for something to cheer for.
On the other hand I will still do a Tiger Woods style fist pump after particularly nice goals.
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