Pete Armbruster
Registered User
- Mar 2, 2018
- 3
- 0
Dearest Eugene
The Forensic Results are in, and the common denominator for over a decade of mediocre Sens hockey, is you.
Coaches, managers, players and executives have rolled through the revolving employment door, and the one constant to the team that has not been a favourite in even one playoff round since the Bryden-built Cup final team, is you.
In your ownership years, media-based revenues skyrocketed, the team has gained hundreds of millions in the Forbes valuation, and yet we have an internal salary cap that realistically will see us as underdogs to win the Cup every single season, much less win a playoff round, continually.
Being salary poor is one thing. Being saddled with terrible salaries within an internal cap makes thing even worse, as owner meddling sees over $5M tied up for the next several years in zero impact salary costs. People who invest in rental properties spend cash on upgrades knowing that they will recover the investment when they sell. The same attitude on your part would see you similarly spending to replace the deadwood with renovations, but of course we have little faith of this unless you actually show us the money.
Cup winning teams in the last decade have had, generally, a core of about 4 elite players, a solid support cast, and entry level players punching above their weight on low dollar contracts.
Your team today has 2 elite players in Karlsson and Duchene, some solid support pieces, and a crew of very good prospects that will be in on the cheap shortly. You will likely get one of the top 1-5 players in this draft, a player that stands to be elite in the short term.
Buying out deadwood this offseason and returning the cap savings into the line up would free up the funds to renovate the defense and add a quality forward to the mix, and a spending team is instantly back in playoff contention with that context. If a top dollar contract for Karlsson is determined to reduce competitiveness, a trade yielding another elite player on lower salary keeps the momentum and the elite player count at 2, while recent player picks develop. This team could be great in a very short time.
A rebuild with a tear down, on the other hand, will lead to several years more of mediocre hockey, especially since next year’s 1st rounder is already gone. Moving your known quantities for picks will lead to short term suffering, and no guarantee that it will yield the elite core of about 4 players to even compete in 4-5 years time. You simply do not have the faith and goodwill of the fan base to watch several more years of sub-standard play, in the hopes that when the team does finally improve you will spend at the top to retain the quality.
Optimally, fans hope for an owner who can treat the team as a hobby and passion, be willing to eliminate profits from the equation during his tenure, seek winning at all costs, and take comfort in that, at the end of his time he can sell and more than recover any money paid in over his time, and then some.
On a secondary level, viable ownership would at least be willing to clear mistakes off the books by investing to remain competitive, and if cash poor, would sell off a portion of the team at a profit if personal cash flow is an issue, and constantly seek the core that means sustained winning.
A rebuilding team requires patience and faith. A rebuild under a frugal owner and with a GM who has no history as a solid deal maker feels a lot like waiting several more years of no hope to likely wind up right back in the middle of the pack for more of the same.
Simply, a show of trying to win and the fans are in. Another show that the main thing is profit, and we all want you to just stop it. Your legacy moment is now. Choose to invest, or pass it on to those who will.
The Forensic Results are in, and the common denominator for over a decade of mediocre Sens hockey, is you.
Coaches, managers, players and executives have rolled through the revolving employment door, and the one constant to the team that has not been a favourite in even one playoff round since the Bryden-built Cup final team, is you.
In your ownership years, media-based revenues skyrocketed, the team has gained hundreds of millions in the Forbes valuation, and yet we have an internal salary cap that realistically will see us as underdogs to win the Cup every single season, much less win a playoff round, continually.
Being salary poor is one thing. Being saddled with terrible salaries within an internal cap makes thing even worse, as owner meddling sees over $5M tied up for the next several years in zero impact salary costs. People who invest in rental properties spend cash on upgrades knowing that they will recover the investment when they sell. The same attitude on your part would see you similarly spending to replace the deadwood with renovations, but of course we have little faith of this unless you actually show us the money.
Cup winning teams in the last decade have had, generally, a core of about 4 elite players, a solid support cast, and entry level players punching above their weight on low dollar contracts.
Your team today has 2 elite players in Karlsson and Duchene, some solid support pieces, and a crew of very good prospects that will be in on the cheap shortly. You will likely get one of the top 1-5 players in this draft, a player that stands to be elite in the short term.
Buying out deadwood this offseason and returning the cap savings into the line up would free up the funds to renovate the defense and add a quality forward to the mix, and a spending team is instantly back in playoff contention with that context. If a top dollar contract for Karlsson is determined to reduce competitiveness, a trade yielding another elite player on lower salary keeps the momentum and the elite player count at 2, while recent player picks develop. This team could be great in a very short time.
A rebuild with a tear down, on the other hand, will lead to several years more of mediocre hockey, especially since next year’s 1st rounder is already gone. Moving your known quantities for picks will lead to short term suffering, and no guarantee that it will yield the elite core of about 4 players to even compete in 4-5 years time. You simply do not have the faith and goodwill of the fan base to watch several more years of sub-standard play, in the hopes that when the team does finally improve you will spend at the top to retain the quality.
Optimally, fans hope for an owner who can treat the team as a hobby and passion, be willing to eliminate profits from the equation during his tenure, seek winning at all costs, and take comfort in that, at the end of his time he can sell and more than recover any money paid in over his time, and then some.
On a secondary level, viable ownership would at least be willing to clear mistakes off the books by investing to remain competitive, and if cash poor, would sell off a portion of the team at a profit if personal cash flow is an issue, and constantly seek the core that means sustained winning.
A rebuilding team requires patience and faith. A rebuild under a frugal owner and with a GM who has no history as a solid deal maker feels a lot like waiting several more years of no hope to likely wind up right back in the middle of the pack for more of the same.
Simply, a show of trying to win and the fans are in. Another show that the main thing is profit, and we all want you to just stop it. Your legacy moment is now. Choose to invest, or pass it on to those who will.
