The Montreal Canadiens still posted a hundred tickets for sale on the eve of the opening game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Center on Wednesday night, while tickets offered by resellers also numbered in the dozens. An abnormal situation for the Habs, but not so surprising, according to experts.
Posted at 8:33 p.m.
“It’s very unusual that there are tickets left for the first game of the season,” said Benoît Chalifoux, a teacher in business schools in Quebec and Europe. The Montreal Canadiens are an institution. Even when they are not good, we will see them. So if there are tickets left, it’s really a bad omen,” he said.
The speaker does not blame past seasons that ended in a fishtail to explain a weaker enthusiasm than usual, but rather the eight preseason games. The Canadian recorded a record of 0 wins and 8 losses, painfully recalls Mr. Chalifoux.
As for resale tickets, the teacher notes that they have always existed and will always exist. “There are people who see ticket sales as a business opportunity,” he explains. Added to these are also the disappointed season ticket holders who are ready to sell their seats given the team’s repeated failures.
On Tuesday evening, a ticket behind the Maple Leaf bench sold for $750. The cheapest tickets were $100 each.
“A Broken Bond of Love”
Raphaël Doucet, editor-in-chief of the La poche bleue site, also speaks of an unusual situation. ” It is not normal. It’s a game of the Canadiens against their rivals the Maple Leafs. It’s the opening game and it’s rare for the Canadiens to start their season at home,” he said.
During the summer, the bleu-blanc-rouge even carried out an advertising campaign on television, radio and certain print media in order to sell multi-game packages, says Mr. Doucet, another demonstration of the difficulties of the Canadian.
“It’s not normal, but I’m not surprised considering that the team was rotten last year,” he added.
The former host of 91.9 says that a few years ago, tickets (original and resale) were selling “like hot cakes”. Even the most motivated fans could find it difficult to get their hands on passes since the Canadiens were playing sold out, he said.
“Last year, there was a bond of love, a bond of trust that was broken between the supporters and the organization. The team finished at 32e rank,” says Mr. Doucet.
The journalist believes that the Canadiens will have the heavy task of bringing fans back to the Bell Center as the team begins (or continues) a reconstruction phase. This will undoubtedly rely on the youth and faces of new captain Nick Suzuki, first draft pick Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield.
“But not all Canadiens fans are going to be ready to spend $100, $200, $300 to encourage young people when the team still risks finishing in the bottom of the standings,” he adds. -he.
André Richelieu, professor at the School of Management Sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal, explains that what is sold in sport is hope.
“Unless you’re a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens, why get involved emotionally and financially when the team is going down the drain? The 2022-2023 season promises to be very long, ”believes the specialist in brand management and the sports industry.
“Since the franchise’s participation in the Stanley Cup Finals in the summer of 2021, the Canadiens’ brand image has deteriorated and the perceived value of supporters has eroded. It becomes very difficult to demand a premium price for a show that is no longer, or not yet, of NHL caliber,” he adds.