Comedy Lead out of Ottawa

[forty_three]

Maybe Mark wants to join his brother in Calgary? Flames still have considerable depth on the blue line and even with the addition of James Kneel could use another guy who can put the puck in the net.

What Ottawa needs is a born leader who can gather the locker room around him and has no time for whining. A guy who can put the team on his shoulders and will them to the next level. So I propose John Tortorella and Brandon Dubinsky for Mark Stone.

Erik Karlsson wanted to stay there too. None of them want to play for Melnyk.

The only silver lining is that if they all leave things will be so bad that Melnyk might have to sell.

That's the part that really sucks. Ottawa is a nice place and it has nothing to do with the people or the area. The owner is just a dingleberry. And the fans are getting the shaft.

The team is going to die on the vine before that egomaniac lets it go.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

What Ottawa needs is a born leader who can gather the locker room around him and has no time for whining. A guy who can put the team on his shoulders and will them to the next level.

Sens need a foundation piece since they are getting rid of a Stone ... they need a culture carrier (not that bad fortnite bacterial style culture either) ... Brandon Sutter sounds about right >>> WOULD BE EXCITING!!! ... players will be excited, which will get melnyk excited, gets all Sens fans excited, and the sponsors

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

And the fans are getting the shaft.

I mean, the team could be good again in a year. They typically draft well, Stone and Duchene could still stay, Brown and Chabot could both be gamers, maybe Ryan's hands will stay intact long enough to put up a 20 goal season or two.

And while the owner may be a shit, let's keep in mind that these are fans who left the team 24th in league attendance last season months after being a goal shy of the Cup Final. The Sens made the playoffs in 4 of the 6 seasons preceding last and yet attendance declined from 6th in the league at the start of that stretch to 24th last year. They couldn't sell out their ECF games, FFS. From the owner's perspective, what's the point in dipping into your own pocket to finance the team beyond its earning capability if that low income is directly related to fan apathy despite icing a decent product?

There's plenty of blame to go around there. The fans may be getting "shafted" but given how apathetic they've shown themselves to be I wouldn't feel too bad.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

I mean, the team could be good again in a year. They typically draft well, Stone and Duchene could still stay, Brown and Chabot could both be gamers, maybe Ryan's hands will stay intact long enough to put up a 20 goal season or two.

And while the owner may be a shit, let's keep in mind that these are fans who left the team 24th in league attendance last season months after being a goal shy of the Cup Final. The Sens made the playoffs in 4 of the 6 seasons preceding last and yet attendance declined from 6th in the league at the start of that stretch to 24th last year. They couldn't sell out their ECF games, FFS. From the owner's perspective, what's the point in dipping into your own pocket to finance the team beyond its earning capability if that low income is directly related to fan apathy despite icing a decent product?

There's plenty of blame to go around there. The fans may be getting "shafted" but given how apathetic they've shown themselves to be I wouldn't feel too bad.

I don't live there but the fans seem pretty far from apathetic. They were still calling in to talk radio blasting the Karlsson trade at 2 AM. They fork out money to erect billboards protesting the owner. Until Melnyk went full cheap they sold out more often than not. We won't know until a new ownership group comes in but it seems more like a "full you Gene" crowd than an "I don't care" crowd.

And while they had a couple of playoff games that didn't sell out in 2017 they sold more tickets though the ECF finals than either Pittsburgh or Nashville, both of whom are lauded as "hot markets".

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I don't live there but the fans seem pretty far from apathetic. They were still calling in to talk radio blasting the Karlsson trade at 2 AM. They fork out money to erect billboards protesting the owner. Until Melnyk went full cheap they sold out more often than not. We won't know until a new ownership group comes in but it seems more like a "full you Gene" crowd than an "I don't care" crowd.

And while they had a couple of playoff games that didn't sell out in 2017 they sold more tickets though the ECF finals than either Pittsburgh or Nashville, both of whom are lauded as "hot markets".

I mean, define "full cheap"? Alfie left via UFA because by his own admission he thought Detroit was a Cup contender. Spezza put in a trade demand with a year left on his deal. Who else did Ottawa skimp out on? They gave Ryan money. They picked up Turris and paid him. They paid Clarke Macarthur what the Leafs wouldn't. They paid their goalie. They paid their young star d-man. They traded for Duchene on a gamble knowing that successfully executing that gamble would result in them having to pay him (and they still might pay him!). Where did they cheap out recently that would result in attendance declining so steeply? Coaching?

Maybe Melnyk's dealing with managers and players turn them the fuck off of wanting to be there. Like I said, he's a shit, it wouldn't come as a shock. But the tortured fan thing is rich coming from a team that is pretty regularly in the playoffs and has employed at least 5 hall of famers this century, all but 1 for long chunks of their careers.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Erik Karlsson wanted to stay there too. None of them want to play for Melnyk.

The only silver lining is that if they all leave things will be so bad that Melnyk might have to sell.

Mets fans have been thinking this for 2 decades...

 

[jstewismybastardson]

 

[KennyBanyeah]

I mean, define "full cheap"? Alfie left via UFA because by his own admission he thought Detroit was a Cup contender. Spezza put in a trade demand with a year left on his deal. Who else did Ottawa skimp out on? They gave Ryan money. They picked up Turris and paid him. They paid Clarke Macarthur what the Leafs wouldn't. They paid their goalie. They paid their young star d-man. They traded for Duchene on a gamble knowing that successfully executing that gamble would result in them having to pay him (and they still might pay him!). Where did they cheap out recently that would result in attendance declining so steeply? Coaching?

Maybe Melnyk's dealing with managers and players turn them the fuck off of wanting to be there. Like I said, he's a shit, it wouldn't come as a shock. But the tortured fan thing is rich coming from a team that is pretty regularly in the playoffs and has employed at least 5 hall of famers this century, all but 1 for long chunks of their careers.

Smallest scouting staff in the league

Smallest marketing budget in the league

Selling picks for money (Brassard×2, Hemsky,etc. )

Taking salaries that are lower than their cap hit

Calling Alfie while bombed and berating him for being greedy

Doubling parking fees



I'm sure I'm missing some but he's gutted most operations. Fan support reflects that

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Smallest scouting staff in the league

Smallest marketing budget in the league

Selling picks for money (Brassard×2, Hemsky,etc. )

Taking salaries that are lower than their cap hit

Calling Alfie while bombed and berating him for being greedy

Doubling parking fees



I'm sure I'm missing some but he's gutted most operations. Fan support reflects that

We're on the same page that he's a shit.

But it's hard to argue that, by and large, the way hockey ops has functioned historically has been unsuccessful when the on-ice performance has been pretty consistently above par. This is all basically a reaction to one disastrous season where any and everything that could go wrong, did. Before that, Melnyk was basically just your run-of-the-mill owner with a bit of a cheap side. It doesn't explain why attendance has slid the way it has this decade at all but could provide an already skint owner with reason to keep that money from the scouting and marketing dept's if he doesn't think anybody gives a shit.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Also, in terms of market size, Ottawa is the second-smallest in the league anyway so why would there be an expectation that their marketing or scouting or any budgets being higher than any others to begin with?

 

[forty_three]

Mets fans have been thinking this for 2 decades...

same

 

[KennyBanyeah]

We're on the same page that he's a shit.

But it's hard to argue that, by and large, the way hockey ops has functioned historically has been unsuccessful when the on-ice performance has been pretty consistently above par. This is all basically a reaction to one disastrous season where any and everything that could go wrong, did. Before that, Melnyk was basically just your run-of-the-mill owner with a bit of a cheap side. It doesn't explain why attendance has slid the way it has this decade at all but could provide an already skint owner with reason to keep that money from the scouting and marketing dept's if he doesn't think anybody gives a shit.

But he wasn't your run of the mill owner until last year. His treatment of Alfredsson was the tipping point for many and that was 5 years ago. He's been making ridiculous statements about money for a while, including claiming losses when he was making money and siphoning it off to other interests and demanding rights to a casino, LOL. He's been a lunatic for while.

Also, in terms of market size, Ottawa is the second-smallest in the league anyway so why would there be an expectation that their marketing or scouting or any budgets being higher than any others to begin with?

The team has historically made money for him despite what he says. As for scouting and marketing?

It's pretty simple.

As a small market team you spend more on scouting because it's cheaper (by like an order of magnitude) than paying for free agents. Quality free agents are usually not willing to come to a small market with high tax rates anyway. So you better draft and develop well. They've been pretty decent at drafting because they've been lucky enough to have had a few amazing amateur scouts (Forsberg?, Dorion, Mann, Timmins). But they don't even have a Russian scout. Their pro scouting team is paper thin (and pretty damn terrible) and I think they have one part time Euro scout with no experience. The products of Mann and Dorion (from his scouting days) are keeping things afloat but just barely. Melnyk doesn't spend on scouts and he doesn't dish out for FAs for the most part. Not only cheap but fucking stupid.

Marketing. Ottawa is smack dab between the two biggest and most historically entrenched fan bases in hockey. You NEED to work at turning some of those fans to your side. Proper marketing. Providing quality fan experiences. Making things convenient for the fans. He does none of that. He tries for quick cash grabs with no look to the future. You could plunk Gretzky's Oilers into the Ottawa market and you still need to work to convert customers for like the first 30-50 years of your existence. He doesn't so that. Instead he hints at moving the team and makes himself CEO and face of the franchise.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Does he mean that he thinks management is sending a message? Wouldn't trading the fucking captain and best player have been that message?

Or does he mean he thinks management are idiots?

 

[dash]

Last year there was considerable chatter that the Flames were interested in trading for Zack Smith - Not sure if Treliving is still interested.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Last year there was considerable chatter that the Flames were interested in trading for Zack Smith - Not sure if Treliving is still interested.

Please take him.

He was awful last year but he could still be a reasonable 4th liner in the NHL. Good on draws at the very least.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Please take him.

He was awful last year but he could still be a reasonable 4th liner in the NHL. Good on draws at the very least.

$3.5 mil/yr for 3 more years is a lot for good on draws lol.

He might be attractive if Ottawa ate salary but...ya know.

 

[dash]

$3.5 mil/yr for 3 more years is a lot for good on draws lol.

He might be attractive if Ottawa ate salary but...ya know.

Geez, I didn't check the term remaining, that's a big detractor. That and the fact that the Flames are getting some pretty good performances from some young guys (Dube and Mangiapane to name a couple) this pre-season.

 

[mattola]

$3.5 mil/yr for 3 more years is a lot for good on draws lol.

He might be attractive if Ottawa ate salary but...ya know.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

For the Columbus and Florida fans.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

So the scar was a kitchen accident???