Zach Hyman takes a shot at Maple Leafs fans in his exit interview
Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman seems to have really enjoyed his first season with the Oil. Hyman signed a 7 year, $38,500,000 contract last summer.
He set a career high in goals with 27 and points with 54 in 76 games. He had a monster playoff performance as well with 11 goals and 16 points in 16 games. Hyman and the Oilers season ended on Monday after being swept by the Coloardo Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals.
During the Oilers end of season press conference Hyman had lots of praise for the Edmonton's fan base.
Toronto Maple Leaf fans hearing that might take that as a shot against them. Hyman spent the first six seasons of his NHL career playing for the Maple Leafs. The Leafs sell out every home again. They hold the highest 10-year average among Canadian teams, with an attendance rate of 103%. The Montreal Canadiens were second with an average of 99.85%, with the Vancouver Canucks a close third with 99.66%. The Edmonton Oilers were right behind them with 99% and the Calgary Flames averaged 98.78%
The Leafs sport one of the highest ticket prices in the league, meaning only the very wealthy can sit in the lower bowl, and only the upper middle class can inhabit the upper bowl. A wealthy crowd is rarely a more boisterous one, as evidenced by Toronto's preseason games or even any road game with the Leafs involved. There you'll see the true Leafs fans going wild in happiness that they found tickets for which they didn't need a loan.
Unfortunately those same diehards are nowhere to be found in the Scotiabank Arena during the regular season. With the outside factors still effecting the economy it doesn't seem like things will change anytime soon. The sad reality like all sport franchises it's a business first and sport comes second.
| POLL | ||
Do you take Hyman's comments as a shot against the Leafs' fan base? | ||
| Yes, Leafs ticket prices are foolish | 106 | 27.7 % |
| No, just praising his new team | 153 | 40.1 % |
| Telling it how it is, have to respect it | 123 | 32.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
