I turned in my season tickets a couple of seasons ago and have no regrets. It’s a pain trying to get downtown when you live in the far north of the city and then you have to contend with over priced parking, food and drinks. You mix in a sub par performance and ownership unwilling to entertain a rebuild (although one would hope there was some positivity on this front today) and it’s an easy decision to stay home.
Also, for a small market team the model is broken. All these NMC clauses kill any excitement I have regarding trades and player acquisition. It’s always so much fun knowing a trade is in place just to see the player say no to Calgary or have them on their list. On top of that you see star players like Tkachuk and Gaudreau leaving to play in more desirable locations (although Columbus is a very strange choice).
Finally you mix in the leagues desire for expansion and you start to question the quality of the product.
All these factors make it easy for me to stay home. At least I can turn it off when the Flames play their enthusiastic brand of hockey…
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