Edmonton Oilers Biggest Rival In Serious Trouble With Their Fanbase
Many pundits in the NHL have taken notice that the Edmonton Oilers top rival, the Vancouver Canucks appears to have a fan crisis at home as many empty seats were noticed during the Boston Bruins game.
Throughout this season, the home attendance has worsened as the Canucks have had a poor home record.
Other factors seem to be in play including a crackdown on resale tickets, raising ticket prices and kicked out a group of fans who had a reserved section which would give more fan interaction.
There are other issues including economic ones that have affected the entire country which are inflationary costs and decisions made by fans whether to buy tickets to watch hockey or to buy food for their home. Many have elected the latter as they find it extremely difficult due to the high costs of living.
While the Canucks have been great on the road with a record of 10-2-1 the home record has been atrocious with a 5-7-4 record and a team that's struggling to keep the puck out of the net with a goal differential of plus one.
They have fallen hard as they are currently the second Wild Card team and barely hanging on to that position with the Calgary Flames, Utah Hockey Club and the Seattle Kraken all within three points of the Canucks.
Jeff Paterson who covers the Canucks even tweeded that the recent play of the Canucks and their home record would be grounds for firing head coach Rick Tocchet in any other circumstance. It's clear that Tocchet's job is safe as his away record is strong and he has been brought in as a voice for management.
No matter the case, the Canucks have a lot of work to do as they tried to regain their consistency much like how the Oilers have done and are now off to the races in the standings. It's likely that management and the coaching staff will need to find a way to lower the temperature and get back to what they did best last year.
In the meantime, the Oilers will continue their winning streak and hopefully will watch their archrival fall out of a playoff spot.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 15 | 179 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers Biggest Rival In Serious Trouble With Their Fanbase Do you think the Canucks may miss the playoffs this year? | ||
| Yes | 117 | 65.4 % |
| No | 62 | 34.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
