[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by RedHawk12

In an ideal world, the Flames and their players absolutely deserve protection to the same standard. But this is a flawed league in a pretty messed up world.

Players like McDavid are not only the face of the Oilers but also of the league. You do everything you can to protect your most valuable assets, like it's second nature. The league loses millions of dollars in ticket sales and general revenue if McDavid gets injured and misses a season. The league doesn't miss a beat if Zary never plays a game again. And outside of the Flames community, I doubt a single fan of other teams even remember or care about the Zary hit. Now, I'm not saying the league is actively hurting or neglecting it's players. It just doesn't catch their attention the way a McDavid injury would.

And on another related note, there's no doubt the league hopes their darling teams like the Leafs and Oilers to go on long playoff runs and maybe even win a cup. You always want your most marketable players and teams to do well.

Like, even if you're not a basketball fan, you'd probably still follow Giannis or Jokic chase championships. Mahomes and the Chiefs draws in a ton of views, especially with the Taylor Swift fanbase now following them. The casual fan is not concerned with the Tyrese Haliburtons and Ryan Tannehills of the world. And Haliburton is an All-Star!

The Flames are the Indiana Pacers and Tennesee Titans of the NHL. They're not heroes. They're not even villains. Their just there, almost like fillers. This is how I see this franchise in the grand scheme of things. And until we get a McDavid that won't change.

So in my opinion, to decry and complain about double standards, favoritism towards other teams other than the Flames in the media and in reffing, etc. is to not really understand where this franchise stands in the grand scheme of things and what they mean to the league as a whole.

I'm sorry, but this notion that we should be ok with bending over because we don't have Connor McDavid is one of the worst takes I've read in a looooong time.