Low expectations for Canucks hurting merch, ticket sales, vendors say

It's two days before the Vancouver Canucks kick off the 2016-17 season, and at memorabilia shop Vancity Sports, things are very quiet.

In fact, the only people looking at new Canucks jerseys Thursday afternoon are two couples from Colorado and they're Avalanche fans.

They have tickets for the Canucks' Saturday opener, but since they've been in town, they say they've heard nothing but low expectations for the team from local fans.

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"We heard today from the bartender where we were drinking they weren't going to sell out anymore," Bryan Herndon of Fort Collins said.

"[The bartender said] don't be surprised if you don't see anyone there," his friend Byron Alcorn said.

They're not the only ones hearing about low expectations: vendors, fans and experts say things have become very different in the five years since the Canucks won the President's Trophy and made it to a game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Ticket, merch sales slow, vendors say

Vancity Sports owner John Szvelka was also on hand Thursday and says he can't believe how things have changed since 2011.

He says in the run up to Saturday's opener, he hasn't seen sales this slow since the late 1990s.

"Today, we sold more Flames merchandise than Canucksin Vancouver!" he said. "We're down, like, 80 per cent. We used to have that whole wall, huge wall, all Canucks merchandise. Now we got maybe two racks."

New acquisitions like Loui Eriksson haven't done much to increase excitement, he says. He hasn't had a single call for a new player's name-and-number jersey.

Szvelka may not be alone when it comes to trouble selling the Canucks: according to Google, worldwidesearch interest in the teamhas been decreasing steadily since 2011.

Ticket re-seller Mario Livich of Showtime Tickets agrees that things have changed a lot in five years: for several games this season, he's selling tickets for as little as $20, down from about $100 in 2011.

"It's just a different era altogether," he said. "I think the fans' expectations are very low. So if the Canucks play well, work hard, and put a decent record together, you'll see fan support come out," he said.

A potential plus-side to the low expectations and prices, he says, is that it might allow fans that normally couldn't afford games to come out and possibly bring their families.

Team looking on bright side

The Canucks organization is also trying to look on the bright side on the ticket sales matter too, noting that while season ticket holder numbers are "a bit lower than last year," there are 1,400 new holders and single-game ticket sales are up 25 per cent over last year.

"We definitely still have a lot of work to do, but we are seeing some excitement and momentum, particularly in new sales," CEOJeff Stipec is quoted as having said in a statement.

But last year, in an injury-plagued season, a poor product on ice hurt ticket sales and even the bottom lines of bars, and this year is not predicted to be much better.

USA Today and ESPNboth expectthe Canucks to be bottom feeders, possibly coming in dead last, and even a simulation from EA Sports agrees with those dire predictions.

'Abit of a bandwagon city,' fan says

Oddsmaker Bodoggivesthe Canucks about a one-in-three chance of making the playoffs, however, and some fans, like Sean Corney, think they have room to grow even if they fail to reach the postseason.

"Not a playoff team I don't think, but they're improved from last year," he said.

He thinks injuries cost the team dearly last season and there will be progress from younger players like Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen during this campaign.

He agrees the team isn't close to where it was five years ago,but says it hasn't shaken his dedication to the team.

"Vancouver's a bit of a bandwagon city a little bit, but I've been in on seasons tickets with some buddies about 12 years now," he said.

Back at Vancity Sports, the visitors from Colorado agreed the city needs to stand behind the team.

"You guys need to be a little more serious about your hockey eh?" Linda Herndon said with a laugh.

The Canucks begin their 2016-17 season on Sat. Oct. 15 at home against the Calgary Flames.