Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Afternoon Line -John Tortorella

02/06/2023 at 2:47pm EST

Chet

Dunno what to think of this. The org saying Dont worry, were on the way back! when they havent made any significant noise since 2010 and the team right now is a tire fire seems disingenuous. Im not sure this would make me very happy as a Flyers fan. It might even piss me off. 

KaszyckiandhisKrew

Maybe it should be the owner or GM?   The Flyers are playing decent hockey now.  They will be a tough out for the rest of the season.  But the issue is for Season Ticket Holders ("STH")  - is they will be asked to commit to maintaining their subscription for next year.   What is the value proposition?  

I think that letters to STH are very special and are well received - especially if the STH have faith and/or have belief in the plan set forth.   Owners should write about the state of the franchise and their commitment to excellence on a going forward basis.  GM should write about the construction of the roster and the Coach write about how he plans to use the talent on the team.   

STH pricing is going up.  It's a sacrifice for many fans, and when the fans seem more committed to the team than does the ownership - that's a recipe for disaster (See Spano, John.   See the ownership groups of the "Gang of Four' - Milstein and later Charles Wang as owners whose fans were more committed to winning than they were.  (Wang wanted to win - but did not know how.)

I would think that teams like DRW with the Ilitch family, Steve Y. and Lalonde are a franchise that knows how to win/has won before / will win again.   They build credibility in the STH base and fan base.   

I get the feeling that the reason why Torts is writing is that the ownership team and GM do not have the confidence of the STH base and Torts has been a winner before.

Chet

I know youre focused on season ticket sales as a fan (and teams care because its a major source of income and it helps your early projections) but the Flyers fanbase goes well beyond thatjust like Detroit and the Isles. To me that letter didnt say much of anything about their plans. It didnt really inspire much. It seemed empty. 

MurrayChadwickChet

The gate is the lifeblood for the NHL, tv, radio, marketing add to the pot, but the NHL is a sport that makes its money filling seats. 


Should be interesting over the next decade to see what the NHL owners and the NHLPA (as well as other sports) do when corporations start cutting back on luxury boxes, and premium service seating, and season tickets struggle with discretionary income shrinking. 

Chet

F1 is blowing up in the US. That alone is going to hurt the NHL, I suspect.

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