Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Brew
I have been through rebuilds with some of my other favorite teams. I will tell you that it is a lot easier to buy season tickets or game packages to see a young team with a couple of potential stars that is on the upswing vs. a team where your marquis players are veterans and you're still on the decline.
When you're a bad team I'm not sure it really matters how bad you are. Fans want hope and light at the end of the tunnel and some stars to be excited about.
If Murray's big thing is ticket sales, the sooner he gets to the bottom and can and a star or two, the better off he will be. Coronato is a nice player but I don't see kids skating in community rinks wearing his jersey.
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At the end of the day, it's an entertainment business. Since Johnny and Tkachuk left, for a variety of reasons, the Flames have had one of the NHL's least entertaining products.
I'd imagine selling Edwards on the intangible value of 'brand' would be a difficult sell (and god forbid Maloney delivers it), but this franchise has slipped into indifferent territory in this province and probably irrelevant nationally.
I'd hate to see a poll right now of Albertans (hell, even Calgarians) that cheer for the Flames vs Oilers. History plays a big part of that, but there's been significant damage over the past few seasons where you're just not excited to see the product the Flames are putting forward. Most would agree it's not a tinkering situation; the Flames brand/entertainment/product needs a massive overhaul.
So no, I don't see much risk for some season ticket holder turnover in the short term. I think the bigger risk is letting this wave of indifference carry on much longer, because the consequences are much more dire. The franchise needs someone who will sell tickets and get us excited about
maybe winning a cup again.