On Monday night, agitator extraordinaire Steve Ott had some (possibly inadvertent) parting words for the city of Dallas.
The Windsor, Ontario, native had just been traded to Buffalo and did an interview with WIVB 4, during which he expressed excitement about moving closer to home.
He also expressed excitement about playing in -- oh, how to put this -- a more traditional market.
“Full house, screaming fans,” Ott said. “To have an opportunity to still be in my prime and have family coming to watch me and play in a real hockey city, it’s something I can’t wait for.”
In Ott’s defense, he probably didn’t mean this to be a parting shot -- but his timing (and word choice) was unfortunate. Dallas has fallen on hard times as of late, finishing 28th in the league in home attendance last season despite the introduction of $9 dollar tickets.
It’s also likely the 29-year-old was pumping the tires of his new city rather than deflating those of his old one. That seemed to be the case when Ott re-iterated his excitement about joining the Sabres.
“Honestly, I’m so excited for this opportunity,” he said. “It’s not even funny.”
