UPDATE 12/15 - Ottawa owner talks moving Senators: ‘If it becomes a disaster, yes’

[JD1]

Correct.

incorrect

 

[mouser]

the NHL has to approve the sale of a club. If the buyer intended to move to an undesirable location there would simply be no sale.

For example Melnyk would not get away with selling the team to a guy that intended to move it time Seattle

The question was addressing whether Melnyk could move the team first and then sell it in the new location.

 

[madhi19]

In short : YES same rules, not free tickets, employees are prohibited from accepting gifts (because it could lead to collusion and favoritism).

Tho, Quebec has most (in the province) of insurance companies HQs in the city as well as the Desjardins HQ on south shore.

The pharma, and ironically the tech sector have boomed since 1995. The region economy is a lot more diversified than it was 20 years ago. The weird tech paralel between Quebec, Seattle and Kanata is that coders are busy people... Really busy people. Good luck having a social life like going to hockey games during crunch time.

 

[DowntownBooster]

During one of the clips they showed on TV during the Senators/Canadiens Heritage Classic game last night was of Eugene Melnyk making reference to the lack of fan support in Ottawa. He did not mention anything regarding the need for a new arena. He did mention that he wasn't about to accept being in a position where he was going to lose money on the team. His stating that he has no intention of selling the team would be accurate if he decides to move them while remaining owner of the franchise in the same manner as Peter Karmanos move of the Hartford Whalers to Carolina.

 

[DowntownBooster]

It would not cost over a billion dollars to relocate an NHL. team to Hamilton you are looking at maybe 650 million at the most when you consider 200 - 350 million it would cost to either renovate the current arena or a build a new one plus paying off the sabers which could range in the 50 to 80 million dollars because all the fear mongering seems to be coming out of Buffalo alone so I believe MLSE. will be asked to wave there so called territory fee since leafs will not be impacted be a Hamilton NHL. team but I do think the league would impose a relocation fee on Hamilton so they can cash in another southern Ontario market .

This statement would appear to be optimisticly speculative. I do not think the league would ask the Leafs to waive an indemnification fee for a team in Hamilton nor do I believe the Leafs would voluntarily do such a thing. MLSE would want to generate as much income for their own organization as possible. I cannot see them wanting to have any other team in their region siphon off any revenue sources from them. People buying jerseys or souvenirs for a Hamilton team would mean less individuals purchasing Leafs merchandise. I'm not saying the possibility of Hamilton getting a team isn't there but I do not expect it to happen without Toronto putting up a fight to prevent it from occurring. Businesses are very protective of their territory and are resistant to sharing any potential profits with others. I would think the Leafs want to keep all the gold to themselves.

 

[Korpse]

He's straight to the point and not sugar coating it. Yeah, he hasn't been as professional as everyone would like but he's still getting his point across. It sucks for Ottawa fans, but they aren't supporting the team enough and he's tired of all the money being lost.

The guy claimed to be losing money even when he had 18,000+ seats in the stands every night. Melnyk may very well be losing money but it isn't because of a lack of fan support. There was plenty of fan support and he still cut back costs because he was losing money elsewhere.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

I'm sure plenty of other markets would sellout playoff games, and not have to give tickets away for a team that made game 7 ot of the ECF. He's fed up and I don't blame him.

Sens don't give tickets away.

 

[Fandlauer]

Another Melnyk business venture lol

Eugene Melnyk suing Acerus for ‘gross mismanagement’

Eugene Melnyk suing Acerus for ‘gross mismanagement’ - The Globe and Mail

Canadian hockey magnate and former pharmaceutical executive Eugene Melnyk is taking legal action against Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corp., claiming that “gross mismanagement” by the maker of testosterone nasal gel has wiped out millions of dollars of shareholder value and driven the company into the ground.

According to people familiar with the matter, Mr. Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators National Hockey League franchise, filed a notice of action with Ontario Superior Court in recent days seeking $145-million in damages from Acerus, which he founded. Such a notice can precede a formal statement of claim, which must be filed within 30 days.

 

[Fandlauer]

From the article
The damages sought dwarfs the market value of Acerus, which is currently about $20-million. The company, launched by Mr. Melnyk as Trimel Pharmaceuticals Corp. before it changed its name last year, reported a loss of $9-million for 2015 on revenue of $16.9-million. It has not reported an annual profit for the past five years.
The shares, meanwhile, have collapsed, closing Tuesday at 9 cents, from a peak of $4.45 in April, 2012.

I think this guy is living off the Sens.

 

[LeHab]

Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly. But is he saying he wants federal organizations to spend taxpayer money to buy season tickets?

He is simply stating facts. Govt will not purchase tickets for its employees. Public servants are not supposed to accept tickets from companies doing business with feds. Add North of the river being a Habs stronghold while many South are still fans of other teams from before expansion. Throw into the mix stadium location and you have a nice list of factors playing against Sens despite the city being in Canada.

 

[madhi19]

From the article
The damages sought dwarfs the market value of Acerus, which is currently about $20-million. The company, launched by Mr. Melnyk as Trimel Pharmaceuticals Corp. before it changed its name last year, reported a loss of $9-million for 2015 on revenue of $16.9-million. It has not reported an annual profit for the past five years.
The shares, meanwhile, have collapsed, closing Tuesday at 9 cents, from a peak of $4.45 in April, 2012.

I think this guy is living off the Sens.

Don't forget the divorce that usually cost a man half his shirt... If he's lucky it's only half.

 

[Fenway]

He is simply stating facts. Govt will not purchase tickets for its employees. Public servants are not supposed to accept tickets from companies doing business with feds. Add North of the river being a Habs stronghold while many South are still fans of other teams from before expansion. Throw into the mix stadium location and you have a nice list of factors playing against Sens despite the city being in Canada.

Gateineau has 240,251 residents with the vast majority being francophone. That is almost 25% of the Ottawa metro population

 

[Spartachat]

If Melnyk does not want to lose money on the Sens, he can just sell the team right now for a huge profit. I would feel more sorry for the guy if he was propping up the team with no willing buyers.

 

[Wolf357]

So let me get this straight..Canadian team still getting 15K attendance (some games are worse some better) and it’s WE ARE MOVING THE TEAM!!! Carolina, Florida, Arizona..getting 8K and it’s THE TEAM IS HERE TO STAY! No matter what.. how many owners has Bettmann pulled out of his —— for Arizona?

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

So let me get this straight..Canadian team still getting 15K attendance (some games are worse some better) and it’s WE ARE MOVING THE TEAM!!! Carolina, Florida, Arizona..getting 8K and it’s THE TEAM IS HERE TO STAY! No matter what.. how many owners has Bettmann pulled out of his —— for Arizona?

none, Wolf, the same issue you're seeing in Ottawa potentially has never happened in Arizona, why? the NHL has never said the Senators were voluntarily placed in BK, the way the Coyotes were dragged into court by Moyes

 

[KevFu]

So let me get this straight..Canadian team still getting 15K attendance (some games are worse some better) and it’s WE ARE MOVING THE TEAM!!! Carolina, Florida, Arizona..getting 8K and it’s THE TEAM IS HERE TO STAY! No matter what.. how many owners has Bettmann pulled out of his —— for Arizona?

It's not the LEAGUE saying that. It's the SENS OWNER saying "we might have to relocate." (The NHL said the Sens aren't going anywhere).

Remember, when owners want new arenas built, they can and will literally say ANYTHING in the hopes that something sticks and the government caves and gives in to what they want. They can look like idiots, tick off the fan base, stir up all kinds of rage. They can fail to get a new arena every day, with a different tactic. They just have to win once. They just need the government to blink once.

 

[Wolf357]

It's not the LEAGUE saying that. It's the SENS OWNER saying "we might have to relocate." (The NHL said the Sens aren't going anywhere).

Remember, when owners want new arenas built, they can and will literally say ANYTHING in the hopes that something sticks and the government caves and gives in to what they want. They can look like idiots, tick off the fan base, stir up all kinds of rage. They can fail to get a new arena every day, with a different tactic. They just have to win once. They just need the government to blink once.

I agree with you that this is Sens ownership and not The NHL but I strongly believe that the NHL would never tolerate a owner in Florida/Carolina/Arizona threateningly to relocate because they were only getting 15K per game...

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I agree with you that this is Sens ownership and not The NHL but I strongly believe that the NHL would never tolerate a owner in Florida/Carolina/Arizona threateningly to relocate because they were only getting 15K per game...

none of them are

 

[CorbeauNoir]

I agree with you that this is Sens ownership and not The NHL but I strongly believe that the NHL would never tolerate a owner in Florida/Carolina/Arizona threateningly to relocate because they were only getting 15K per game...

It's almost as if physical attendance isn't actually anywhere near as important as people insist it is.

 

[Fenway]

CBC News looked at the Ottawa situation on Sunday night

 

[GrantLemons]

I think this guy is living off the Sens.

That should be the biggest indicator that it's time to sell.

 

[GrantLemons]

Is there any talk of extending the Ottawa light rail to Kanata?

That's the goal, eventually. It will likely be a while before it makes it out there though. The Lebreton arena will be probably be agreed upon and build before LRT gets to Kanata.

 

[sawchuk1971]

That should be the biggest indicator that it's time to sell.

you can say that melnyk is the art modell of hockey....

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I agree with you that this is Sens ownership and not The NHL but I strongly believe that the NHL would never tolerate a owner in Florida/Carolina/Arizona threateningly to relocate because they were only getting 15K per game...

What do you mean “tolerate”? The league can’t penalize an owner for saying stuff, and went out of its way to say Melnyk can’t just pick up and leave.

It’s not Florida/Carolina/Arizona’s fault they apparently have owners with more discretion than Melnyk, but in any event, Arizona’s ownership talks constantly about moving if it doesn’t get the arena deal it’s looking for.

And the last relocation was from a huge US market to a relatively small Canadian one.

 

[KevFu]

I agree with you that this is Sens ownership and not The NHL but I strongly believe that the NHL would never tolerate a owner in Florida/Carolina/Arizona threateningly to relocate because they were only getting 15K per game...

The NHL absolutely would tolerate anyone threatening to move if no arena was built for them. That's all the NHL has done for 30 years.

The Penguins said they'd have to move without a new arena when they were drawing 11,866. The NHL backed them completely.
The Islanders said they'd have to move without a new arena when they were drawing (pick a year, they said it every year since 1993). The NHL backed them completely.

Those aren't Sun Belt markets, which was your point. But we haven't seen that in Florida or Carolina because they are tied to leases: Carolina's runs through 2023, and Florida's through 2028 with a 2023 opt out. So they can't relocate if they want to (And yes, this is where everyone says "leases can be bought out" but teams losing money don't have piles of cash to buy their way out. See: NY Islanders. They tried to buy their way out and SMG said they'd take the lump some of what they'd get for the remainder, which saved the team nothing and was therefore a non-starter).

Arizona's lease situation is ever-changing and complicated. But Gary Bettman wrote a letter to the Arizona State Legislature in March saying EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID THE NHL WOULDN'T TOLERATE:

“The Coyotes current location in Glendale at Gila River River Arena is not economically capable of supporting a successful NHL franchise. For the past 15 years, a succession of ownership groups and the League have tried everything imaginable to make the Glendale location financially sustainable. Our combined efforts all have yielded the same result — a consistent economic loss. The simple truth? The Arizona Coyotes must have a new arena location to succeed. The Coyotes cannot and will not remain in Glendale.“

NHL franchises and their potential relocation status has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Canada vs US. North vs South. It is 100% about the NHL owners being able to get taxpayer funded arenas and sweet lease agreements. The NHL is going to do/say whatever keeps the gravy train running. There's no anti-Canada, pro-South agenda. There is a pro-arena handout agenda.