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As I watch the Winnipeg Jets host the Los Angeles Kings, there's chatter both on social media and from the broadcast crew about the noticeable chunks of blue seats with no one sitting in them. Besides the fact that Gabe Vilardi was injured and the Jets seemingly played in a daze at times, there is no denying that a sellout wasn't in the realm of possibilities tonight based on the number of fan-less seats seen. Should there be panic? Yes, but no. It's a complicated question, so let's break out the thinking caps and look at why the Jets are struggling to fill seats early in this season.

The most obvious situation that comes into play when it comes to season-ticket holders is that times have changed over the last decade since the Jets have returned. Men and women who were once 20-25 years-old with disposable income are now facing new life choices - mortgages, kids, retirement savings - that require priority over entertainment spending when it comes to hockey. Those major life changes change how people spend their disposable income, but that seems pretty elementary.

Combine those new expenses with the recent explosion in the inflation rate, and disposable income suddenly becomes a luxury where people are choosing between a vacation or season tickets for hockey. There's no denying that everything is more expensive today than it was five or ten years ago, so having less disposable income really puts spending into focus. A $300 night out at the Jets game isn't so easy to justify when daily expenses like groceries, gas in the car, and paying bills eat up a lot of money.

While the money issues facing fans will certainly keep some away, that's not the only problem that the Jets face. I use this example a lot, but the Detroit Red Wings sold out Joe Louis Arena night after night for years in the 1990s. No one was looking to visit Joe Louis Arena for the ambiance and the atmosphere - the fans were there to see the Red Wings play and win. People, whether consciously or subconsciously, want to be associated with a winner, and it was easy to like the Red Wings when the Russian Five, Yzerman, and Scotty Bowman were winning Stanley Cups throughout the decade.

Why is this example important? Detroit went through major economic pressures and problems throughout the 1990s into the new millennium, and they still filled the barn when the Red Wings played because there was a very good chance the Red Wings would win, there was a decent chance there could be a fight, and fans were almost guaranteed an exciting game of hockey thanks to the talent on the ice. Red Wings hockey in the 1990s was the place to be as opposed to watching the Pistons or Lions play with respect to how people spent their disposable income.

On that note, the Jets really need to figure out how to turn a $300 for one person into a $300 for four people. I get that the cost of tickets will always rise, especially when playing in the NHL's smallest building, but asking people to invest the equivalent of a year or several years of tuition or the equivalent price of a small car to watch 42 games of hockey is making it nearly impossible to fill those seats every night.

Remember when Jets games were fun?

Let's be honest: we need more nights like this at the Canada Life Centre. Make it a place where people come to have fun as opposed to people sitting quietly in their seats. Be edgy on social media when trying to promote games to really entice people to come down and be part of the fun. You've had a decade to really establish an identity, and most fans are screaming that the identity they see is that of a librarian or hospital patient in a coma.

Can someone explain to me how the Jets haven't had a Top Gun night? They have the video boards on the Jumbotron - have the players recreate scenes from the 1986 or the 2022 to get that Jets experience flowing. Parody allows some flexibility with copyright material, so have some fun with that idea! Heck, if the Flames can make a video like the one below for Saturday night hockey, the Jets can certainly flex their creative muscles. Make it fun!

I have neither a marketing degree nor a business degree, but teams across all sports that drop the price of concessions actually sell more. While there is a true breaking point where costs would equal revenue, the Jets can certainly drop the prices on the most popular items on their concession menus and may actually sell more. Don't believe me? $1 hot dog nights at Rogers Centre during Blue Jays games saw 693,865 hot dogs sold, "an increase of over 200,000 than in 2022"! Even if the Jets went to $5 hot dogs, I bet they'd still sell a pile more than the $11 Jets Dog they currently sell.

Again, is there a reason to panic? I'd say we're making mountains out of molehills right now considering the time of year and how the team has performed so far. If there are barren sections in December and January, the Jets have every right to panic about the support they're receiving, but let's slow the breathing-into-paper-bags routine for now as the Jets are far from the only team with open sections of seating as Buffalo and Washington are experiencing the same thing, yet there's no one freaking out about those two markets.

I'm not here to beg anyone to support an NHL team, but not spending your hard-earned dollars on NHL entertainment should send a clear message that the product being offered isn't worth the money. That's the pill that NHL teams need to swallow when it comes to attracting fans, and that means they need to listen to fans. Those that don't will be plagued with lots of empty seats while those that do likely will attract people back.

Like any business, if you offer a good product, people will buy it.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!