Why on Earth does everyone think Melnyk is hiding profit and pretending the team is losing money?
Seriously. There was a reason the team had filed for bankruptcy when he purchased it. Bryden wasn't printing money out in Kanata.
And yes, certainly, the team has appreciated as an asset but only if Melnyk sells it. Otherwise, if he is just operating the team, it has a real struggle to make money. That struggle is heavily dependent on sales at the gate, playoff revenue, TV revenue and the fluctuation of the US dollar.
I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't be more productive if the folks on these boards started trying to use the cumulative intelligence of the collective fanbase to come up with actual solutions as to how a major sports team can thrive in a small market, govt job town.
That takes effort.
It's much easier to complain and then do nothing about it.
I'm all for a new owner. Melnyk has burned pretty much every bridge possible between himself and the fans. his problem is that Ottawa fans aren't dumb, but he's hoping that we are.
IF Melnyk refuses to sell, then he's got to start spending money and making an effort for fans to start showing up in droves again. You want a sold out house for all 41 games? Then start doing something, damnit. Raising parking fees, talking about how you're running a bare bones operation, limiting the giveaways, all of that reeks of a cheap owner who's just in this for the bottom line and not anything else.
Remember when he first bought the team? All he talked about was winning the Cup. That was it. At the same time, all we heard from the loser organizations like the Maple Leafs (at the time) were "We just need to make the playoffs then anything can happen." That's crap. That's a loser's mentality. When Eugene bought the team it was Cup or bust.
Now it's "let's find a way to cut as many costs as possible but still sell lots of season ticket packages...but no one is buying them because we're cutting costs...so I'm going to complain about the fans...yeah, that's the trick." When's the last time that Eugene spoke with bravado about winning the Cup? Now it's "we need to make the 2nd round of the playoffs for me to turn a profit." Ummm, in all sincerity, Eugene, go f*** yourself if that's all you're in it for these days.
What the goddam hell is that? Who wants to support that? It's BS.
Yes, we SHOULD support the team, but holy hell, it's really hard to justify it these days.
Edit. Before Coladin rides in here on his high horse to berate me, yes, I still go to games. Not as many as before, but I also didn't have 3 kids before, so now I have less money to spend on fun stuff anyways.