News Article: Globe and Mail article slams Melynk

[The EnigmatiC Soul*]

Wow,

This is a pretty intense work over of our team's Owner. Sadly I can't say it's out of line. Our owner is seriously a problem.

Anyways, figured this could have some interesting debate....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...lide-further-into-mediocrity/article23138341/

Click to read more...

 

[Ohhh Franco]

Ha, lots of holes in there.

Same guy as - http://the6thsens.com/2011-articles/the-sunday-soapbox-this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things.html

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Wish the writter knew more about whats happening with the team player wise or at least took a more honest approach. We had an older core at top payroll and they failed so be sold them off and started over. We really havent had much reason to spend until next year. Seriously arent we going to be middle of the pack cap wise next year without making any changes lol?

I also think its t dumb that he like to criticize sens fans for thinking they are high and mighty over Toronto. Ottawa has the least experienced roster in the NHL and the young guys seem to be getting better with more games under their belts. Were much much closer to being a playoff team then the leafs. Saying we'll be mediocre if we dont tank is also dumb. 8th seeds in the playoffs can win the cup. This isnt the NBA.

Dont get me wrong. I want Melnyk gone and replaced with mr.money but so far he hasnt shown an unwillingness to spend when it matters or when it makes sense. I like how in one sentence he says melnyk is terrible because he wont spend and then in the next he says how the senators are mediocre because they wont tank. Melnyk doesnt want to buy FAs because they were just bandaids that would keep the team mediocre. Were playing a very young line up with barely any experience. What more can we do to tank aside from trade young players with potential for picks?

What we could have done these last few year i guess would be to over pay older marginal UFAs hoping to make a late playoffs seed. These older players would help us but wouldnt safely make us a playoff team and would take spots from guys like Stone and Hoffman well leaving the sens with risky contracts. It just makes no sense. Scorched earth led to low payroll and its slowly getting higher.


Dont like the article but i do acknowledge Melnyk's debt is scary. Theres so many low blows taken in the article. Ryan on pace for only like 22-24 goals makes his contract terrible but at the same times he's on pace for near career highs he might beat. lol Binghamton lol wtf. The guy is bringing binghamton's record into this???? They were the most potent offense in the AHL last year. They are sucking because most of their best player are in the NHL. Melnyk made life uncomfortable for Alfie? WTF The guy is trying to grab onto just about anything he can to make the management and team look bad.


Jeffrey Simpson is a smart man and has been calling for Murray's head since 2011. I dont question him as a fan of the sens because i believe he is but i do question the approach he took in making the article. Theres a ton of fluff and really all it comes down to is a few points.

Theres one point that can be brought up that would be problematic to 75 percent of the points he made in the article. The sens will not be a bottom of the league payroll team next year.

Ryan + 1mil
Mac + 1.25 mil
Leg +1mil
Smith + 300k
Neil -600k
Zibby + 1.7 to 2.7
condra maybe + 500k to 1 mil
chiasson +1mil
stone + 2mil- 3mil
Hoffman +2 to 3 mil
Pageau + 1 mil imo
karlsson + 500k
Cowen +1mil
Methot + 1.2 mil
Wier + 500k
Ceci - less then 100k
Gryba + 100k
Boro+600k
Anderson+ 1.2 mil
Lehner + 5ook
Greening +750k

The Ottawa senators will add around 15-20 mil next season with just resigning players and contracts scaling up. That will take them out of the bottom of the league. Note this isnt cap hit this is actual salary. I dont think i did this wrong but i might have though lol

 

[The EnigmatiC Soul*]

The article is clearly sensationalizing a lot to slam the Sens to help make the Leaf fanbase feel better, this is pretty much a given.

The problem I have is not that its embellished to a degree, its the sheer amount of issues our owner has. He doesn't have a good image with the league. It's pretty evident.

The other issue is the article talks a lot of issues, but what can be done to rectify or make any of these issues right? As I do not think there is an easy answer to this.

 

[pm88]

meh. another hack journalist from Toronto.. but he made some good points when it came to personnel though.

Michalek- been extremely inconsistent..he's on right now but he goes through long slumps where he just seems to disappear.

Writer probably doesn't even realize Ryan is playing with a broken finger-- he's a 30 goal scorer in this league when fully healthy.. guy's just had crap luck with nagging injuries since he came to Ottawa

Turris- he produces but he can go invisible for long periods too. So much for him being Spezza's replacement like some people seemed to think he was just because he had like 1.5 good seasons before Spezza left.

The Bishop trade was awful in retrospect.. but it was impossible to know at the time how good he would be. Just wish Murray could have got a little more for him

Colin Greening--ha.

MacArthur-- he was great last season for us.. why knows whats happened to him this year

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Jeffrey Simpson is a sens fans. Hes very passionate about the team he just doesnt like the team going from contender to rebuild under Melnyk and Murray

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

If were talking realistic solutions to the problems presented in the article.

- Muzzle Melnyk. Talks way to much

- Any perceived problems with murray will go away with the advent of a new GM

- The debt ? No clue thats the scrariest thing. Would have to sell the team.

- To make the sens become better? Continue down the road and let young players grow and gain more experience.

-Be in the top 50 prospects? Stop rushing guys and draft 3 hyped prospects with the first and 2 seconds.

-make bingo better? keep prince and puempel down there next year and add Driedger, Wikstrand, Hogberg, Englund, Harpur and Paul. Be dishonest and sign top career AHLers to take spots away from prospects but then point to the AHL standing and say we have the best team in a developmental league which mean we have best prospects.

- The budget is only a percieved problem but with the sens projected to add 15 mil in payroll next season it should not be including until there is actual proof that the sens will d0 something to stop spending that much money.

Using publicly available information this would be a flat out lie. Unless the author has inside sources this should be retracted but then again its only sports. If someone were to say something similar on a much more serious topic they would be castrated. Spezza wanted out of Ottawa, knowing the team could not afford to sign him to another long-term deal.

 

[BigBush*]

Some truth, but lots of horse ****. Surprised he didn't find some way to slam Karlsson.

Also find it annoying how it says Ottawa will miss the playoffs for a second straight year. Obviously it's likely we miss but Boston is slipping hard and Ottawa has a much better schedule then Florida. Still 26 games with 2 in hand left it could happen...

 

[jason2020]

Wow,

This is a pretty intense work over of our team's Owner. Sadly I can't say it's out of line. Our owner is seriously a problem.

Anyways, figured this could have some interesting debate....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...lide-further-into-mediocrity/article23138341/

He is not a serious problem the issue is people read blogs and take every thing as fact.

 

[jason2020]

The article is clearly sensationalizing a lot to slam the Sens to help make the Leaf fanbase feel better, this is pretty much a given.

The problem I have is not that its embellished to a degree, its the sheer amount of issues our owner has. He doesn't have a good image with the league. It's pretty evident.

The other issue is the article talks a lot of issues, but what can be done to rectify or make any of these issues right? As I do not think there is an easy answer to this.

As for he does not have a good image I am really not sure how true that is.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Classic diversion article. I'll bet the Leaf upper crust had a hand in this one. Get the Hogtown faithful distracted for a little while by digging up"dirt" (not really, more sensationalism) on a rival team.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Classic diversion article. I'll bet the Leaf upper crust had a hand in this one. Get the Hogtown faithful distracted for a little while by digging up"dirt" (not really, more sensationalism) on a rival team.

That would make more sense if the author wasnt a former season ticket holder and sens fans.

 

[StefanW]

Meh. Little that has not been discussed here a thousand times before.

I have been pretty critical of Melnyk here, but large parts of that article seem like more of a hatchet job than a serious analysis. e.g. the MacArthur contract may look bad to Toronto fans who are looking to take a dig at us, but the deal was completely fair when it was signed. Plus no team stays at the top forever, so saying we declined for one reason or another is iffy. Yes, it has a lot to do with the budget. However, the team sold some of its future by trying to make the last push to win a cup, and we have paid for that since by way of hanging on to aging vets that are in decline plus the painful process of trying to re-stock the minor league cupboards to keep a pipeline going that feed the big club.

The one interesting part of the article is the naming rights stuff for CTC. I wondered why the plug was pulled on Scotia Bank so abruptly in mid season. The way the article describes it playing out fits in with the Melnyk tends to act.

So in the end just a typical BS Toronto-based hatchet job, filled with half truths, that has about one good point in it.

 

[Stylizer1]

I have no problem with that article. He was a little off in some areas but pretty much knew what he was talking about. 2 divorces, didn't know that.

We all know if Murnyk came out and said we are rebuilding that that would hurt the gate. We know it is happening. The fact that he has so much debt is very worrisome.

 

[great1]

A year ago I was not pleased with Melnyk to say the least but he said the money would be available as the team grew and it was, we re-signed 4 of our 5 big UFA players. Spezza wanted to go in another direction otherwise I am sure the money would have been there for him as well.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

A year ago I was not pleased with Melnyk to say the least but he said the money would be available as the team grew and it was, we re-signed 4 of our 5 big UFA players. Spezza wanted to go in another direction otherwise I am sure the money would have been there for him as well.

Pretty much

They made an offer to Spezza, they were going to spend retain him but he wanted out

Outside of that everybody else has stayed, my avatar can attest to this

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Well, I guess now we know who Fuhr really was...


Seriously, that article looks like the mad ravings of a angry HFSens poster after a loss. I expect more from a journalist besides half truths and under-analyzed conjecture.

The article fell apart when he said we should be more like the Jets?!? The same team that has made the playoffs once in their franchise history, just had their best player quit in them, and are desperately holding onto a playoff spot?!

There are two sides to the Senators coin. One is the problems with Melynk and the roster's issues with under skilled veterans. The other is a roster that is very young and will get better.

But of course, because it was printed in a "national" newspaper (because everyone knows the Globe is just a TO rag), it will give some validity to the negative nancies out there.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The Globe and Mail really is awful, I can't believe I used to read it regularly

 

[Busboy]

Meh. Little that has not been discussed here a thousand times before.

I have been pretty critical of Melnyk here, but large parts of that article seem like more of a hatchet job than a serious analysis. e.g. the MacArthur contract may look bad to Toronto fans who are looking to take a dig at us, but the deal was completely fair when it was signed. Plus no team stays at the top forever, so saying we declined for one reason or another is iffy. Yes, it has a lot to do with the budget. However, the team sold some of its future by trying to make the last push to win a cup, and we have paid for that since by way of hanging on to aging vets that are in decline plus the painful process of trying to re-stock the minor league cupboards to keep a pipeline going that feed the big club.

The one interesting part of the article is the naming rights stuff for CTC. I wondered why the plug was pulled on Scotia Bank so abruptly in mid season. The way the article describes it playing out fits in with the Melnyk tends to act.

So in the end just a typical BS Toronto-based hatchet job, filled with half truths, that has about one good point in it.

This sums it up pretty well.

Overall this was a very poor article. No real insight, and the author passes his opinions off as facts multiple times.

For once I'd like to see some real comparison to other teams too. Buffalo was a powerhouse around the same time the Sens were, look at where they are now, same goes for the Sharks who are probably finally bottoming out. Canes were great before us and now they're bottom dwellers. Tampa was great around the same time as Carolina and then bottomed out completely until they got multiple superstars in Stamkos and Hedman.

Teams go through ups and downs. It's not all Melnyk or Murray's fault and it's easy to look back with hindsight and pick out the mistakes. 30 teams want to win the cup every year, only one team will win it.

 

[Super Cake]

Well judging by the posts in this thread, it seems like a good decision that i did not even read the article.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

It's funny how Ottawa bloggers look at the Senators in a silo and think that every decision the franchise has made has set them on a path to oblivion.

Look at Boston. They are in serious trouble. Hindsight can be used to make Chiarelli look like an idiot who didn't see this coming. OMG they have no prospects! Their cap is messed! They traded Seguin for nothing!

And yet Boston is considered a model franchise.

I'd be more impressed with this writer if he wrote this article two years ago when the team looked like it was on an upwards trajectory. That would have been impressive.

Two years ago, you could have wrote something similar about the Islanders miring in mediocrity under a crazy owner. They're finally winning and suddenly they're the model franchise.

 

[Very Stable Genius]

Two years ago, you could have wrote something similar about the Islanders miring in mediocrity under a crazy owner. They're finally winning and suddenly they're the model franchise.

Well, they did change that crazy owner....

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

It's funny how Ottawa bloggers look at the Senators in a silo and think that every decision the franchise has made has set them on a path to oblivion.

Look at Boston. They are in serious trouble. Hindsight can be used to make Chiarelli look like an idiot who didn't see this coming. OMG they have no prospects! Their cap is messed! They traded Seguin for nothing!

And yet Boston is considered a model franchise.

I'd be more impressed with this writer if he wrote this article two years ago when the team looked like it was on an upwards trajectory. That would have been impressive.

Two years ago, you could have wrote something similar about the Islanders miring in mediocrity under a crazy owner. They're finally winning and suddenly they're the model franchise.

In 2011 he wrote something about firing Murray. Also this guy has all three of the three top literary awards in Canada.

He's comes across as someone who knows how to bend truth to fit his story and all a pretty pissed off fan. TBH it seems like he has knowledge on the team but theres certainly more research he could of done.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Well, they did change that crazy owner....

Yah...this summer.

I'm not sure that had that dramatic an effect on the team.

Now if the Islanders continue to be great than you can point to new ownership. But the team currently in the ice was built under the watch of Wang.

 

[DylanSensFan]

I think this article is idiotic, especially the part comparing our team to Toronto. Here is the difference. We actually have a talent on our team that will continue to develop into something. Meanwhile, they have Kadri. We spend well below the cap, meanwhile they are at the cap. We have gotten rid of all of our enigmatic over paid forwards, meanwhile they pay Kessel. I would much rather have this team and this owner than the crap storm they've created in Toronto.