Well at some point in the last number of years, the Owner decided that he wanted the Senators Franchise to generate enough revenue to meet it's expenses ......... for whatever reason, and whether or not that is the fan's choice for how to run a Franchise, it's not their choice, it's his.
Is it the ideal choice for fans?
No, they want and owner with bottomless pockets that will spend to the Cap, bury expensive contracts in the minors, buyout every player they don't like, hire and have the largest management team in the league.
Is that practical for a small Canadian market team, that faces some unique challenges (government town, location on city limits, plunging Canadian dollar), I would say it is not.
I want the Senators to have success in the regular season, and the playoffs.......... and I think I understand the limits ownership has to do this, in the Ottawa Gatineau market, and have positive feeling about Senators for the long term, in regards to moving to Lebreton flats, and right now, hate the owner or not, he's shown that his long term plan to help the Senators become much more viable in the future, with the plan to move to Lebreton.