Flames among worst NHL teams in fan attendance this season
The Calgary Flames have struggled to begin the 2023-24 season, and not only in terms of on-ice play.
After an ugly 2022-23 season, the Flames have come out of the gates slow once again this year, amassing just two wins through their first nine games. The struggles are clearly wearing thin on fans, who are not showing up in the numbers this organization has grown accustomed to.
The Flames are near the bottom of the league in terms of the percentage of seats being sold. Through three home games thus far, they have averaged 17,037 fans, while the Saddledome holds up to 19,289. That equals out to 88.3% of capacity, which is ahead of only four teams — the New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, and Buffalo Sabres.
On top of some original-priced tickets not being sold, resale tickets aren’t exactly flying off the shelves either. Take tonight’s game versus the Dallas Stars, for example, where tickets are available for purchase on Gametime for less than $10. The fact that there are seats going for that cheap shows that fans aren’t taking kindly to the Flames’ slow start.
While no one wants to see any NHL team struggle, you can see why Flames fans are so frustrated. This is an organization that is lacking direction at the moment, as they don’t appear to be anywhere near contending status while also lacking a top-end prospect pool.
Though it would amount to more losses in the short term, selling some of their pending unrestricted free agents — including Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov — may be the best decision for this organization. While it may be a painful few years, getting good picks and/or prospects for those players would bode well for the future, not only in terms of racking up wins but also in selling seats in the new building.
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