The Montreal Canadiens have lowered the price of some tickets for their game against Ottawa this Wednesday night, a spokesperson for the team confirmed to The Candian Press. When a number of tickets remained available, select categories were dropped down to regular price from the “optimum” price applied to popular games.
The spokesperson blamed a packed home-game schedule for the sluggish sales, but abundant tickets below face value on secondary sites and empty seats at the Bell Centre may suggest otherwise. The team has a record of 9-12 and stands at 6th out of 8 in the Atlantic Division, but their poor performance is driving away even die-hard fans. Montreal is still selling out on paper, but blocks of unfilled seats mean that pre-paid season ticket-holders may not want to make the trip to support a losing team.
The first ten games saw the Canadiens’ worst start in the team’s history, and as of last week they had the third worst record in the Eastern Conference with 19 points from 23 games.
Sean Lloyd, a longtime fan and occasional hockey commentator, cites a combination of the decision to trade away fan favorite P.K. Subban in 2016, last season’s first-round playoff exit, and this year’s slow start as cause for fans’ discontent.
“I saw tickets for their home opener going for $300… I personally don’t know anyone who would pay that to watch what’s been on the ice this year,” he said.
Tickets for Wednesday night’s home game vs. Ottawa are going for as low as $37 on Ticket Club for upper-level seats similar to those priced at $81 face value.