Look at the headline the Herald used:
Amid arena debate, Calgary Flames becomes a have-not market in the NHL, says King
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...-nhl-says-king
He may not have said that the Flames are struggling, but he certainly implied it.
Calgary is the sixth-smallest market in the NHL (only Ottawa, Edmonton, Carolina, Buffalo, and Winnipeg are smaller -- only Winnipeg is significantly smaller). It's actually shocking that the Flames have remained a Top-10 revenue team all this time.
They managed to remain a top-10 revenue team for over a decade while playing in one of the smallest markets and one of the oldest buildings, while missing the playoffs in 6 of the last 8 seasons and only winning one playoff round in the last 12 seasons. If anything, giving them corporate welfare should be an insult to them.