Quote:
Originally Posted by bubbsy
Flames as an organization stopped trying to win a cup ages ago. The target every season is to try to get at least 2 home playoff games. Anything beyond that is just gravy.
Even this offseason, everyone knows this team is best average, but they're happy to ensure that they are getting a fighting chance for a low seed playoff spot. That's it. That's the goal of the franchise.
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I agree with this. Flames ownership's onus is ultimately fan engagement. And how do you continue fan engagement? You give them "hope" that every year they can make the playoffs and get a chance to win it all. But the fight to get into the playoffs for owners is just as important as winning the playoffs. In fact, there's an argument to made that bubble teams might garner more fan engagement than a perennial contender during the regular season, as there are a ton of discussion and interest on standings, player movement, will they be buyers or sellers, etc. There's a lot of hand wringing in 4 point losses, and a lot of adulation in 4 point wins.
Is there a risk that fan engagement will dip if the team continues the same song and dance? Sure, but I would argue up to this point, that hasn't happened drastically enough for them to deviate from their current model.