King: Flames will receive revenue-sharing funds this season

The Calgary Flames are no longer contributors to NHL revenue sharing.

In fact, the team will be on the receiving end this season, according to Flames president and CEO Ken King, who on Monday gave a speech on "The Future of the Flames" at the Calgary Chamber.

"We have now crossed the line. We are now receivers. We'll get a check this year," said King, per Robson Fletcher of CBC News. "Isn't that ridiculous, in this beautiful market?"

The NHL's top-10 revenue-generating teams pay into the program, which then funnels transfer payments to the bottom-10 clubs. Middle-ranking teams neither receive nor pay into revenue sharing.

King's comments come less than two weeks after the club walked away from negotiations with the city of Calgary to fund a new arena, talks which the Flames' executive classified as "spectacularly unproductive."

Both sides have since released their proposals for public consumption. One added wrinkle is that Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is up for re-election Oct. 16, and the Flames' uncertain future in the city promises to be a hot button issue when voters head to the ballot box.

The Flames have played out of the Scotiabank Saddledome since 1983, the league's oldest arena behind only New York's since-renovated Madison Square Garden. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has warned the city that consequences could follow If the Flames are unable to secure a new arena.

With negotiations shelved, the Flames have stated that the club will now "strive to operate, as we have for the past 34 years, in the Saddledome for as long as we believe it is feasible."

King added Monday, "And anyone who mocks that statement, suggesting it's posturing or part of the negotiation, doesn't know us very well."

The Flames arrived in Calgary in 1980 after relocating from Atlanta.