Bars, restaurants remain hopeful despite Flames' ouster

Tommy Novak's shootout winner shut down the Calgary Flames' aspirations of a playoff run and doused fans' hopes for a Red Mile party.

"That would've been awesome. It would've been really cool to see the vibe (on 17th Ave.)," said Flames fan Scott Wack.

"To be honest, I was really hoping for a playoff push this year."

At the very heart of what would have been the Red Mile is Trolley 5 and Tuesday morning, banners hanging on the bar's railing still said, "Go Flames, go."

In reality, the Flames are all but gone, with only one meaningless game left in the regular season.

Despite that, Trolley 5 owner Ernie Tsu remains optimistic the establishment will be full throughout the playoffs.

"There's still plenty of Edmonton Oilers fans, and they're poised to go deep. There are still some Toronto Maple Leafs fans, and quite frankly, the industry is coming back," said Tsu.

"There's still lots of great vibrancy and energy around town."

Out on the street, Flames fans, bummed by the team's loss, say they'll do their part to help the local hospitality industry.

"I was here last year. I live downtown and it was nice to see. People were going crazy," said Calgarian Jared Hammer.

"I definitely feel bad for the businesses who could've benefited from (a Flames cup run), but hopefully, we find another way to support these guys."

Across town at the Sharks Club North sports bar, general manager Shaun Burns says with three Canadian teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers, still in cup contention, he expects the bar to be full for the playoffs.

"There's still big enough support for Canadian teams as a whole that everybody gets on the bandwagon," said Burns.

"We've got to support our Canadian teams that are still in there."

Burns admits that even though he expects the bar to fill for games, the energy in the room just won't be the same without the Flames' red jerseys prominent on the big screen.

"Having this place full of red all the time, it's always a great scene for us," said Burns.

"It's not going to be the same for us, but we still hope for the best."

Both Burns and Tsu say Alberta's entire hospitality industry is hoping the highly ranked Edmonton Oilers, lead by super star forward Connor McDavid, will carry Canadian fans through to the cup finals and continue filling bars and restaurants through the playoffs.