Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
The Sharks tried to keep the band together for too long, and even went and acquired Karlsson in 2018. They went to the conference finals in 2019. Then they hung around for a few years trying to stay competitive before being forced into ripping their band-aid off. They didn't start selling until arguably the Brent Burns trade in July 2022. I said arguably since it seemed they were just trying to balance out their roster and give themselves some cap room to maneuver. They just tanked by trying to win for too long. They really started taking to down in February 2023 and onwards. Now they are probably selling quite a number of Celebrini jerseys.
Bedard's Jersey was the #1 selling jersey in the NHL last year:
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/...l-jersey-sales
Calgary will never have jerseys that outsell McDavid or Draisaitl unless they get a young superstar. I would bet my life that if Calgary drafts McKenna next season, that his jersey will out-sell McDavid and Draisaitl combined.
Aside from jersey sales, what matters most is overall revenue and team valuation.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/20/cnbc...ions-2024.html
Edmonton is 6th, and they are generating 379M. Yes, their building absolutely makes it easier to generate revenue, and I expect that the Flames' new building will do the same when it opens up. However, McDavid's worth to that organization is immense. He allows for increased ticket prices and he puts seats in every building he plays in. The entire league watches him all the time. Americans want to see him play, and I assume Oilers games are much more watched on average than Flames' games. Plus, they made it to the Finals. Their 'brand power' has completely eclipsed Calgary's. |
I think the ignores market size too much. Calgary fans have an inflated sense of their own relevance overall.
You look at the top sellers and they aren’t just the best players, but the best players playing in the most popular, most dedicated markets. Celebrini is probably selling some jerseys in San Jose, no doubt, but he’s not going to outsell Bedard and that comes down to the fact that he plays for San Jose and Bedard plays for Chicago.
Calgary is below Edmonton in terms of fan base size. And that’s ignoring factors like star power and team performance. I would certainly not bet your life someone like McKenna on Calgary would ever outsell McDavid, let alone McDavid and Draisatl combined. I would be surprised if McKenna in a Flames jersey even cracked the top 10.