Flyers Experience the Perks and Pitfalls of Corporate Ownership
The Flyers know, like most of us, that most things are not completely good or bad but rather a mix of the two. This is true in everything from vacations to relationships, and even in hockey team ownership.
Right now, the Flyers are as corporate as they have been in the history of the franchise. Their parent company, Comcast, is a bohemeth conglomerate in content and its delivery. Even after a dismal season the Flyers are still considered content, so technically it is in the vein of Comcast’s core function, but it is a by no means a priority.
In Comcast’s annual report, the Flyers are mentioned exactly once, and it is to designate it as “other business”. For perspective, the theme parks get their own header and line items, unlike the Flyers which share “other businesses”.
For most of the team’s existence, it was own and ultimately run by Ed Snider, who made his fortune in sports and cable and various other investments. Mr. Snider’s first love was the Flyers, and he found the secret to success with the Broad Street Bullies with two cups in 1974 and 1975, while also appearing in four more finals over the next 15 seasons. Flyers fans were spoiled as Snider would pay anything in order to win another cup and keep the team competitive.
Mr. Sniders’ desire for the team to win even exceeded the team’s rabid fan base, but he was slow to change and adapt to a post salary cap NHL and the team did suffer. But a head strong owner dedicated to winning and with deep pockets is really more of a good problem than a problem. If you look at the cash strapped franchises like Arizona and Buffalo, an overly involved owner who can’t wait to spend his money looks pretty good.
Mr. Snider was really the best of both worlds, a leader that truly cares about the franchise, while providing the economic stability and resources of a corporate entity. But with Mr. Sniders death in 2016, the Flyers shifted in to the corporate mindset. With out Snider’s influence and protection winning took a back seat to things like market share, revenue and advertising dollars. Keep in mind Comcast had the resources to address the both the team performance and the financial performance, and make honest efforts to serve both side of the house. But the results have not been good.
It seems obvious to me, as a creature of the fortune 500, that there are too many metrics, too many markets, too many masters and competing interests for the Flyers to succeed in the Comcast culture. It is not about winning at Comcast, it is about revenue and profit. For the fan, revenue is the sizzle, winning is the steak. The Flyers’ transformation to a corporate entity has hurt the team and the examples are legion.
In recent history, the Flyers should have started their rebuild at the 2021 trade deadline, trading Scott Laughton for picks and prospects. Couturier should not have been re-signed, but traded at this past season’s deadline along with Giroux.
But this would have signaled an early end to the 2021 season and ticket sales would have suffered. This was a bad term decision based solely on a metric. To be fair, I could sympathise if Comcast was debt laiden and needed to pay the bills. However, this is a company that had a net income over $20 billion in 2021, sure losing $10 million to make the correct hockey move could have been absorbed.
The Ristolainen trade and subsequent extension should not have happened. This was a trade to create buzz, to generate interest in the team and push for ticket sales. The trade was a drastic overpay, and Risto while not awful, was also not the answer. That was obvious, and the smart hockey decsision would have been to move him at the deadline.
But rather than admit the mistake, the middle managers at Comcast doubled down on the mistake, as corporate middle managers tend to do, and extended the contract. It is a bad hockey move based in corporate managment’s self preservation instincts.
The Gostisbehere trade, an awful example of asset management, from a NHL franchise operations perspective, would not have occurred because there would have been no need for a cap dump.
The Flyers probably would have been a last place team without Roistolainen Ellis et all, but one with a ton of cap space, draft picks and roster spots for young players to try and make their mark. Compared to today’s cap strapped, reduced draft pick state, the Flyers would have been better off not trying to wag the corporate dog. Their decisions must have been based on corporate considerations outside of on ice performance, If not, they have proven themselves incapable of making prudent hockey decisions and should be replaced immediately.
Looking back a few years for other examples, the freakish and fun Gritty comes to mind. Gritty came into existence in 2018, as a marketing tool to buoy interest in a rebuilding franchise. The timing is interesting because it is two years after Mr. Snider’s death.
Mr. Snider liked to make a buck as much as the next guy, and he made billions of them, but Mr. Sniders’ Flyers were about excellence and winning. Gritty wisely hid out in the basement until after Mr. Snider’s passing, because he may have executed him on the spot. Gritty was below the dignity of the franchise, at least in the past.
It is fair to say that everyone loves muppets, and some people even love Gritty, but it seems unnecessary. How does Gritty help the Flyers win the Stanley Cup? Gritty doesn’t, but maybe he boosts merchandising sales and sells a few extra tickets on his bobble head night. But he is a distraction, a shinny object to get fans to part with more of their hard-earned cash and endure another night of bad hockey brought to them by Comcast. I would rather have an extra scout or two instead of the Gritty creative team. I would happily send Gritty to Shanghai to get this team a cup.
The Flyers and Comcast have stopped trying to sell us on good hockey, or winning a cup. Now it is selling us on trinkets and extras. Be on the look out for the Flyers Happy Meal with the entire Gritty family coming to a home game near you. It makes no difference to Comcast how they get your money, in fact creating muppets might be a lot easier than building a good hockey team. They may prefer to do business this way, which tells me it is time for a change.
Comcast should divest from the Flyers. It is not longer a good fit, for anyone, especially now that NBC does not have the NHL television contract. The Flyers will not be like the MLB’s Cubs or Braves, bringing NHL hockey to every home. Comcast and their leadership have made the Flyers a dumpster fire, by running them like a cable company, not a hockey team.
It has eroded much of the loyalty of what was once the city’s most loyal and vibrant fan base. Further still, Comcast’s tenure has reduced the value of the Flyers. Once considered in the top five of all hockey franchises, it is now middle of the pack when it comes to value, and would be worth even less without things like Gritty.
Selling the Flyers makes sense, Comcast could deploy the proceeds to something they do better than hockey. The Flyers, with the right ownership group, could return to their core, make the franchise about winning hockey games instead of whatever it is about today. A change in ownership, provided it was a leader like Mr. Snider would ultimately lead to a better product, because it is a guarantee that the Flyers would mean more to whomever bought than it does to Comcast as a shared line item on its income statement.