You know, I always hear this used as a major excuse but I've never had anyone breakdown the numbers for me. How many people does this effect in the government? What percentage of people impacted by the pay issues are Senators ticket buyers?
What about the rest of the paying fanbase, like: teachers, engineers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, tech workers, business owners, etc.?
Who is this team's average ticket buyer? What is their profile?
The Sens have never had a high season ticket base. It's been a struggle year after year to engage 10,000 ticket package buyers. The last couple of years might be considered outliers as the owner continues to create distance between himself and paying fans but apart from that the same issues have always been around. This is still a fanbase that has always valued selling their tickets on our biggest rivalry nights and allowing Toronto and Montreal fans to pack our arena than attend the game themselves. All this despite having some of the cheapest tickets in the NHL. So cost isn't a barrier to entry.
I think the easiest excuse is to say Melnyk is the problem without acknowledging that this market's support of the Senators has always been average at best.