This is exactly the reason why I was happy to see Treliving move on. This team did not see any sustained success under him. This team hasn't seen any sustained success since the 80's. Something needs to change here. it has been a below average team, and that's being generous since the first half of those 35 years saw less teams in the league. More than 50% of teams made the playoffs. You should see a finals - on average - of once every 16 years (now - more often prior to expansion). Flames had one finals in '04, and haven't had another third round appearance since '89. They were such a fun team to watch in the 80's though. What a powerhouse!
I posted in the PGT just a while ago, but maybe it is more relevant here. The Flames are getting a brand new shiny building mostly funded by taxpayer money. How would it look after 2 or 3 years when the new building smell wears off, and the team is still fairly mediocre and not looking promising? Those increased ticket costs can be rationalized by how much better the environment will be, but a losing product is a losing product. Flames need to make sure that they are either winning, or that they are selling hope. If it is a boring, mediocre team, I will wonder how long before the sellouts stop. I think it will probably take a couple of years at least, but at some point they will stop.
I still do think that this team was designed to fail this season. If that is still the plan, then I anticipate that further moves will be made in the off-season. I guess we will see. Wolf or not, this team can finish at the bottom of the standings. If you think otherwise, then I guess we will agree to disagree. Let's see what moves are made this off-season first before the argument commences. A couple more pegs traded away, and I think this building does collapse.
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