[CliffFletcher]

For my part, I find regular-season NHL play really dull to watch. If that’s all the NHL offered, I genuinely doubt I’d even follow the sport anymore.

To me, it’s all about the intensity, drama, and high stakes of the Stanley Cup playoffs. So the difference between a Flames team that finishes three point out of a playoff spot, and one that finishes with the fourth worst record in the league is negligible. One lost a few more boring regular-season games in November or February than the other. Neither gave me the entertainment of playoff games and a Cup run. But at least with a few elite blue-chip prospects, I’d have a lot easier time imagining the team’s fortunes turning around.