Obviously at the end of the day wins and loses are all that matters. Make the playoffs and it’s a whole new season, however, as a fan there are other storylines that make the team intriguing.
Take for example last year, we had the narrative about Johnny breaking 100 points, and how high could he go. Would Matthew Tkachuk break 100 points for the first time in his career. Could we potentially have four 30 goal scorers on the team, and what would the battle of Alberta look like with the infamous Tkachuk friendship tour.
The team this year has none of that. There isn’t a single storyline that has been overly appealing to me. The only one that peaked my interest was Phillips and that was short lived and immediately shut down after a few games.
In my opinion this team lacks character and an identity. There is nothing to get excited about and no hero’s to rally around. I point the finger at the coaches for their reluctance to try something different. Perhaps Phillips could have been a game breaker if provided with a chance and adequate playing time. Maybe Pelletier could have gotten Huberdeau going but at this rate it seems likely that he may not even get a shot.
I fully acknowledge that the main responsibility is to win games and obviously Sutter and company have a different vision than me. As a fan though I have personally not stepped foot in the Dome this year and this is coming from a former season ticket holder than attended every single home game. I find very little excitement from this group and the more concerning part for me is the reluctance to care. I just don’t resonate with this cast of players and the team feels “cold” if that makes any sense.
Apathy is strong and in conversations with some of my friends and co workers they tend to feel the same way. In no way am I insinuating that I have a pulse on the team but ownership and management should be concerned if this feeling starts to spread. Being a mediocre non playoff team with no exciting stars in the pipeline doesn’t sell a lot of tickets.
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