[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Confession: I don’t find regular-season hockey entertaining to watch. Full-stop. Haven’t for many years. I follow hockey during the regular season by reading articles and analysis, following stats, etc., and watching maybe 10 or 12 full games in the regular season (some of which don’t involve the Flames).

I follow hockey because of the playoffs. The pace, intensity, emotion, and stakes are so, so much higher that it’s almost a different sport. I watch 1-2 games a night almost every night of the playoffs, including lots of games that the Flames aren’t participating in. That’s the juice.

So from my POV, a regular season finish just outside the playoffs is no better than a regular season finishing at the bottom of the league. It’s worse, in fact, because of how it impacts the draft. At this point as a fan, my primary wish is for the team to draft an elite core than can contend for the Cup and go on deep playoff runs for 5-10 years. To that end, regular season results only matter insofar as they impact draft position.

That’s probably not how most fans approach the team. But I expect I’m not alone, either.

I'm invested in the Flames and watch every game I can but I honestly don't watch a lot of NHL games not involving the Flames. I may have HNIC on Saturday night for periods or watch the odd Oilers game when they are losing but I don't find a lot of the 82 game season that exciting or entertaining to watch as a lot of nights teams are just going through the motions. Whereas I watch a lot of NFL games not involving the Raiders because in a 17 game season, every game matters and I find football in general a little more entertaining to watch as a whole (excluding NHL playoff hockey which is right there with NFL playoff football for entertainment).