Proposal: Please Sell This Team, Melnyk.

[Qward]

Excellent post Bonk

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Euge is the annoying uncle who musses up your hair and tells off colour jokes - but at least you know you're leaving thanksgiving dinner without any bruises in the end.

Not exactly.
Eugene is the super rich dad that won't even give you a fair chance even though you've performed well, acted wisely and not done anything egregious. So you're at a worse starting point than others in your sphere, despite having the means to be equal.

And people in those kinds of situations rarely get to excel; artificial restraints are crippling, not enabling.

 

[Busboy]

I see a whole lot of complaining but no real solutions.

I've asked this so many times, where do you want the Sens to spend more money?

Alfie leaving because of spending issues is only speculation. There's close to two decades worth of history in this situation and all the dealing happened behind closed doors, let's not pretend to know why he chose to leave.

Even if Alfie had stayed, not much would be different in the big picture. He's not a cup winning difference this year and is unlikely to be a factor beyond this year.

So again, where should the Sens be spending the money? Others have suggested players like Ryder and Zidlicky but I see those signings as leaving us with the same problem as Alfie, not helping us long term.

We weren't going to be competing for the cup this year. We had a chance at making the playoffs, our roster was good enough but too many players have regressed or been inconsistent, this is not Melnyks fault.

Look at the long term projections for teams around the league. Very few have the amount of young talent we do, this bodes very well for the future.

This was not the year to spend, so let's stop pretending like the financial restraints are defining this franchise. Our team has always excelled by drafting and developing our own talent and that shouldn't change.

Melnyk cares about this team more than most owners do. I'm not envious of the Leafs and their huge budget. It's created a ****storm of problems for them and they'll have a tough time keeping some of their homegrown talented kids like Kadri and Rielly after committing so much money to guys like Clarkson.

Next year will be important for the club and indicate which direction we're heading in. I can see us trending up with the roster we have. Murray clearly has confidence in our young D and believes they will be a strength.

If we stumble out of the gates next year then we have some good assets that can be shipped off like Spezza, Ryan and Anderson. With those guys gone, we still have our future in place with talented players like Turris, Karlsson, Lehner, Cowen, Zibby.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I'm talking more around Katz touring Seattle and things of that nature. As long as there's a demand for hockey these guys have each of their cities by the balls and they know it. Melnyk's managed to keep his evil-doings in Ottawa on a small potatos scale - not sure if we can look forward to the same once 'big' money is pumped into the team.

Euge is the annoying uncle who musses up your hair and tells off colour jokes - but at least you know you're leaving thanksgiving dinner without any bruises in the end.

The whole Seattle thing was poor showmanship but it didn't hurt the team

Melnyk being broke is actively harming the team

Now I don't think Melnyk is bad and I don't want to run him out of town but the effect his attitude is having on the fanbase is considerable and he needs to be aware of it

I don't even think he should sell but I want him to know that he's doing a poor job of mustering interest when people like myself don't watch games during the home stretch when the playoffs are on the line

Obviously Melnyk doesn't have a direct effect on the on-ice performance but if we feel like this, the players can't be too enthralled knowing that with the playoffs on the line we had to sell a pick to get help

There's a bad vibe around the team and Melnyk bears responsibility

 

[83DIZ65]

....stop going to the games......he will sell. we have to make it clear we love our players and our team some how but we will no longer support this cheapskate owner......i will not buy another ticket this season.....unless we make the playoffs.....and even then....ill travel for games in t.o. mon. or det....

 

[DueDiligence]

Sell the team to who??? Hard to find a new owner who wants to take on a team that struggles to make money.

Yes it sucks that he is the owner but if this team is sold, it's also relocating. Be careful what you wish for.

I love the Sens but if they cannot commit the resources to be a winning team and each year going forward you start out knowing they can't contend then I don't mind if they leave. I do not want to cheer for a second rate team.

 

[PaGEEsBack]

I'm speaking strictly on the relationship between owner and fanbase here. Melnyk has his faults of course - but he provides us an NHL team and he does it all in a way that works for Ottawa. Wishing for and/or even demanding a team to operate within the highest percentile of the league while all in a city that is nowhere near willing to put in the time, effort, and money (both from fans and gov) to make it happen is an absolutely hilarious pipe dream.

If Bonk is looking for a 'Customer Satisfaction' voucher then his letter's definitely top notch - but any actual change to the org. will require a little bit more work from our side. Unfortunately that gets into the 'doing something' category which the western world lost flavor for ages ago.

 

[Spez]

SenateReform, that's Murray's job to decide where to spend the money on not ours. That's why he gets paid to be the GM. Give him the ability to spend to the cap and then you'll see the team improve very likely. I'd be blaming this mostly on Murray if we were spending to the cap and were where we are in the standings today.

Alfie did leave mostly because of the money. He was getting paid only 1 million last season to play and there was a backdoor agreement that Melnyk/Murray would compensate him on the new deal. Technically Murray couldn't give Alfie a blank cheque because Melnyk clearly told him there was a limit to how much you could resign Alfie for. If Melnyk said Bryan do whatever the hell it takes to sign him and I'll pay no matter what then Alfie would still be on our team today.

As for the leafs they have rich enough owners they can afford to buyout Clarkson whenever they want and not hurt them severely like it would for us. They'll have no problems keeping Kadri/Rielly because they can afford to spend to the cap year after year regardless of how high the cap is. People mock the leafs ownership but I'd take Bell/Rogers over Melnyk any day of the week. At least with them owning the team Murray wouldn't be handcuffed with an internal budget.

 

[Busboy]

SenateReform, that's Murray's job to decide where to spend the money on not ours. That's why he gets paid to be the GM. Give him the ability to spend to the cap and then you'll see the team improve very likely. I'd be blaming this mostly on Murray if we were spending to the cap and were where we are in the standings today.

Alfie did leave mostly because of the money. He was getting paid only 1 million last season to play and there was a backdoor agreement that Melnyk/Murray would compensate him on the new deal. Technically Murray couldn't give Alfie a blank cheque because Melnyk clearly told him there was a limit to how much you could resign Alfie for. If Melnyk said Bryan do whatever the hell it takes to sign him and I'll pay no matter what then Alfie would still be on our team today.

As for the leafs they have rich enough owners they can afford to buyout Clarkson whenever they want and not hurt them severely like it would for us. They'll have no problems keeping Kadri/Rielly because they can afford to spend to the cap year after year regardless of how high the cap is. People mock the leafs ownership but I'd take Bell/Rogers over Melnyk any day of the week. At least with them owning the team Murray wouldn't be handcuffed with an internal budget.

How exactly is the team going to improve (long term) by being allowed to spend to the cap? Where is this extra spending going? The talent available through UFA is not the difference we need.

Murray made probably the best signing of the summer last year with Macarthur and took on extra salary by acquiring Ryan. If he had an extra 10 to spend then what difference would that have made?

I'm tired of the ridiculous speculation about the Alfie situation. Money almost certainly played it's part but attributing the entire situation to money is simplistic and ignorant.

 

[Golden]

If you cannot commit to ensuring that this club remains reasonably competitive both on the ice as well as in the boardroom, then maybe it is time to start looking into identifying and starting a dialogue with parties who will. I understand that we will never be able to compete financially with the Torontos and the New Yorks of the league, but as it is, we are not able to compete with the Anaheims, the Winnipegs, or the Carolinas, either. We are not asking you to go bankrupt by making this a top-5 spending team, but we are telling you that we will not suffer a reprise of the "Rod Bryden years" lightly. We are sick of the mixed messages, the seemingly bi-polar nature of our PR department as it regards to our future, and the constant vague threats about the viability of the team.

This is very important to reiterate. I think some people are under the impression that we want Melnyk to be a Top 5 spender when that just isn't the case. What I want to ensure is that we're making good financial decisions but also not handcuffing the team with an internal budget.

 

[Benjamin]

....stop going to the games......he will sell. we have to make it clear we love our players and our team some how but we will no longer support this cheapskate owner......i will not buy another ticket this season.....unless we make the playoffs.....and even then....ill travel for games in t.o. mon. or det....

Yup.

Budget team. Budget fans.

 

[PaGEEsBack]

As for the leafs they have rich enough owners they can afford to buyout Clarkson whenever they want and not hurt them severely like it would for us. They'll have no problems keeping Kadri/Rielly because they can afford to spend to the cap year after year regardless of how high the cap is. People mock the leafs ownership but I'd take Bell/Rogers over Melnyk any day of the week. At least with them owning the team Murray wouldn't be handcuffed with an internal budget.

Leafers probably get screwed harder than any fanbase in this league - but I guess bloated finances are enough to screen that from our side of the fence.

 

[PaGEEsBack]

This is very important to reiterate. I think some people are under the impression that we want Melnyk to be a Top 5 spender when that just isn't the case. What I want to ensure is that we're making good financial decisions but also not handcuffing the team with an internal budget.

30 teams in this league and each has their own book to write on finances, operations and the the like. This is our team, our city, our problems - all of which are unique to our situation. Looking to Anaheim/Winnipeg/where ever as a guideline or a comparison does nothing for us when reality eventually sets in and things happen the Ottawa way. Anaheim doesn't play in an arena surrounded by miles of dead fields - Winnipeg has a local government who actually seem to like and care about the team.

Ottawa is what Ottawa is - and if you ask me Melnyk has managed to operate a fairly successful team within the parameters set by our market. He turned his lemons into lemonade - it's just not lemony enough for some of us.

 

[saskriders]

Excellent post. Hopefully he somehow sees it, and reads the part about the casino ploy, and this

make no mistake, we want you here if you are as committed to winning as you sometimes claim to be.

 

[PaGEEsBack]

It is a human tendency to blame others before reflecting on oneself. But if you do, you will never find the real cause of the problem, and there will be no real improvement.

-some Buddhist

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I fail to see how this applies to us

What are we supposed to do to help improve the team's finances?

 

[PaGEEsBack]

A complete change in the mentality and culture of the city and fans would be a good place to start I guess. Easy to see why Melnyk landed on the 'budget team' option lol.

 

[CanadianHockey]

IMO, we're on that path as we speak.

Melnyk is alienating the casual fans, and the casual fans are the difference between a successful team and a bottom-dweller.

Us die-hards will probably always be there, but we're not enough.

Except for when we go to, say, Indonesia

 

[Spez]

The extra spending can come through the trade market SRF. It would give Murray more options while looking for a trade. We don't know who is available on the market but having the ability to spend more money means it's easier to do trades. For all we know Murray might have been able to parlay a couple of prospects for help on the back end but couldn't because of the budget. It's just unrealistic to expect the team to contend with the 26th payroll. I can understand Melnyk not wanting to spend more money for fear of being burned with zero results but you can't do that when you went to the media and proclaimed you want to win the cup badly for Murray before he retires. For me it's the cup comments that has made most people turn on Melnyk because we were expecting the payroll to increase yet he went and said not much will change even with the new TV deal. He undermined what Cyril Leeder said when Leeder mentioned we'd be able to spend with the top dogs.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

A complete change in the mentality and culture of the city and fans would be a good place to start I guess. Easy to see why Melnyk landed on the 'budget team' option lol.

Games sold out in 2010-2011 when the team basically sucked

Now they don't and the team is arguably better

The city rewards teams that work hard and not those that don't

I'm not saying it's all Melnyk's fault, I'm saying his diminished financial capabilities are now starting to have undesirable effects on the fanbase due to a poor on-ice product

That doesn't mean spend for the sake of it, it means making money available at the right time

We got a good example of that yesterday: Murray had to sell a pick with the playoffs on the line to be able to make a trade

The team is in serious trouble

 

[Busboy]

The extra spending can come through the trade market SRF. It would give Murray more options while looking for a trade. We don't know who is available on the market but having the ability to spend more money means it's easier to do trades. For all we know Murray might have been able to parlay a couple of prospects for help on the back end but couldn't because of the budget. It's just unrealistic to expect the team to contend with the 26th payroll. I can understand Melnyk not wanting to spend more money for fear of being burned with zero results but you can't do that when you went to the media and proclaimed you want to win the cup badly for Murray before he retires. For me it's the cup comments that has made most people turn on Melnyk because we were expecting the payroll to increase yet he went and said not much will change even with the new TV deal. He undermined what Cyril Leeder said when Leeder mentioned we'd be able to spend with the top dogs.

I think it's unrealistic for the team to be expected to contend in year 3 of a rebuild.

Murray has stated multiple times that he likes our defence going forward. We have good depth and most of our guys are still learning the NHL game.

Melnyk is not the one embarassing the club. The fan base is by acting like whiny jerks when it looks like the team isn't going to make the playoffs.

14/30 won't make it. Many of the teams who won't also haven't in the past couple seasons. This is reality. We are not a contending team because we're still young and building, not because our owner has financial restraints.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Lol all you guys ever want to do is scream at ****ing Melnyk whenever there's an issue, like he's the only problem.

It used to be reasonable, seeing as he has to watch his money, but now you guys are just making up ****. Like I just saw someone say we had to sell a pick to afford Hemskey? Um where the hell did you get that information? Oh that's right up your ass. When will this fanbase ever learn that there's more to this then not sepnding. NOT SPENDING ISN'T EVEN AN ISSUE!!! Like we have basically the same, if not better, roster then we did last year, taking on more salary and we preformed way worse! Wtf guys like are you serious? You don't ****ing spend for the sake of spending! Where will that get you? If we couldn't make the playoffs this year when we could last year, then we aren't even in a position to spend, we should sell! Like holy ****, there are bigger problems then not taking on a useless contract for no reason other then to have a useless contract. This season is on the players and the coach, not on a blown out of proportion budget. Honestly I hate this fanbase more then I hate the team.

 

[BigRig4]

All this talk of spending to the cap not helping a team is ridiculous. Just because you spend to the cap doesn't mean you have to handcuff yourself with bad contracts. You can give big money with small term with almost no risk. St. Louis gave big money on small term to Derek Roy and Brendan Morrow and they're doing alright aren't they. Does anyone genuinely think we wouldn't be a completely different team with two defencemen worth 4 million each? Clarke MacArthur was an absolute steal, but excluding Alfie's value to the community and leadership he's still putting up .75 ppg. There's a direct link between spending money and being successful with few exceptions and were not one of them. We're 4 points out of a playoff spot and 8 mil under the cap

 

[BigRig4]

Lol all you guys ever want to do is scream at ****ing Melnyk whenever there's an issue, like he's the only problem.

It used to be reasonable, seeing as he has to watch his money, but now you guys are just making up ****. Like I just saw someone say we had to sell a pick to afford Hemskey? Um where the hell did you get that information? Oh that's right up your ass. When will this fanbase ever learn that there's more to this then not sepnding. NOT SPENDING ISN'T EVEN AN ISSUE!!! Like we have basically the same, if not better, roster then we did last year, taking on more salary and we preformed way worse! Wtf guys like are you serious? You don't ****ing spend for the sake of spending! Where will that get you? If we couldn't make the playoffs this year when we could last year, then we aren't even in a position to spend, we should sell! Like holy ****, there are bigger problems then not taking on a useless contract for no reason other then to have a useless contract. This season is on the players and the coach, not on a blown out of proportion budget. Honestly I hate this fanbase more then I hate the team.

We didn't play the West last year and the division realignment made our division stronger. Your argument is invalid.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

All this talk of spending to the cap not helping a team is ridiculous. Just because you spend to the cap doesn't mean you have to handcuff yourself with bad contracts. You can give big money with small term with almost no risk. St. Louis gave big money on small term to Derek Roy and Brendan Morrow and they're doing alright aren't they. Does anyone genuinely think we wouldn't be a completely different team with two defencemen worth 4 million each? Clarke MacArthur was an absolute steal, but excluding Alfie's value to the community and leadership he's still putting up .75 ppg. There's a direct link between spending money and being successful with few exceptions and were not one of them. We're 4 points out of a playoff spot and 8 mil under the cap

So tell me buddy? Whom are you going to spend that 8 mil on? Because I didn't see any notables last offseason.