News Article: Globe and Mail article slams Melynk

[jason2020]

Making a pile of cash that he doesn't declare when he talks about the financial troubles of the Sens.

That company only exists because of the Sens and falls under that umbrella.

As for he does not declare I would not to be sure he does not any money the team makes they do have to declare.

 

[Charliebox]

As for he does not declare I would not to be sure he does not any money the team makes they do have to declare.

I am not saying he has to declare it. What I'm getting at is that you can't just isolate the 'Sens franchise' and not take into consideration the money he is making off of capital tickets and capital sports management.

 

[jason2020]

I am not saying he has to declare it. What I'm getting at is that you can't just isolate the 'Sens franchise' and not take into consideration the money he is making off of capital tickets and capital sports management.

He is making a ton of capital tickets even non Sens events.

 

[Charliebox]

He is making a ton of capital tickets even non Sens events.

Yep, and he's making a ton off the building when there are concerts and other events there, too.

But, those two companies wouldn't exist if the Sens didn't exist.

And this is the crux of my issue with him. He always talks about the Sens struggling financially. Ok, that may be true (doubtful after the TV deals, but I'll assume he's telling the truth). Thing is, if his other two companies are making more, combined, than the Sens deficit, then he's still 'winning' by owning an NHL franchise in Ottawa.

If the Sens didn't exist, the building wouldn't exist and he wouldn't make money off of the concessions/parking/rent he makes off both the Sens and the other events.

If the Sens didn't exist, capital tickets wouldn't have ever started.

As a fan who buys tickets, it really bothers me if he is taking my hard earned money, filtering a disproportionate amount into CSM and not investing it back into the team. And if I'm pissed off about it as a fan, who is spending hundreds of dollars, imagine how pissed a corporation would be who is spending tens of millions of dollars.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Yep, and he's making a ton off the building when there are concerts and other events there, too.

But, those two companies wouldn't exist if the Sens didn't exist.

And this is the crux of my issue with him. He always talks about the Sens struggling financially. Ok, that may be true (doubtful after the TV deals, but I'll assume he's telling the truth). Thing is, if his other two companies are making more, combined, than the Sens deficit, then he's still 'winning' by owning an NHL franchise in Ottawa.

If the Sens didn't exist, the building wouldn't exist and he wouldn't make money off of the concessions/parking/rent he makes off both the Sens and the other events.

If the Sens didn't exist, capital tickets wouldn't have ever started.

As a fan who buys tickets, it really bothers me if he is taking my hard earned money, filtering a disproportionate amount into CSM and not investing it back into the team. And if I'm pissed off about it as a fan, who is spending hundreds of dollars, imagine how pissed a corporation would be who is spending tens of millions of dollars.

How much does the debt factor into the sens. Melnyk didnt purchase the team with all his own money

 

[Charliebox]

How much does the debt factor into the sens. Melnyk didnt purchase the team with all his own money

I am sure it plays a huge factor.

Thing is, if you have so much debt that you can't run a decent franchise with 22.5M of operating income (without crying the blues everytime someone talks to you about the team), then you probably shouldn't own a team.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

I am sure it plays a huge factor.

Thing is, if you have so much debt that you can't run a decent franchise with 22.5M of operating income (without crying the blues everytime someone talks to you about the team), then you probably shouldn't own a team.

I 100 percent agree. None of the other things really scare me aside from the massive debt the sens have and rather then slowly paying it off it seems melnyk has taken out more debt over the years.

 

[Backpass]

Has Melynk ever responded to this article or he doesn't seen to be caring much about the whole thing?

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Has Melynk ever responded to this article or he doesn't seen to be caring much about the whole thing?

It would best for all of us if he didn't. I don't want to see an email from Eugene telling Simpson to "blow himself up".

 

[Holdurbreathe]

I get what you're saying but i think you're making a lot of jumps. I HIGHLY doubt bell media pressured Simpson to write an article on Melnyk because they felt the money was misuesed. Simpson has bashed the team far before Melnyk cried poor or Bell made a tv deal with the senators.

I believe Melnyk has taken a substantial hit to his portfolio in recent years and that the debt is scary but theres just to many jumps people are taking or assumptions people are making.

Couldn't have said it better!!!!

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I guess if we don't make the playoffs every single year it's called running the franchise into the ground. I don't like when Melnyk actually speaks too much, but we've easily been the most stable in our franchise history with him as owner.

We're starting anew, the old guard of players are pretty much officially done and Muckler bet the farm. It's not surprising were in a bit of a lull. I'm not sure how Melnyk is squarely to blame.

We're retaining our core and drafting and developing. It's what we do.

 

[Larionov]

Has anyone ever heard Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs or Flyers owner Ed Snider when they get near a microphone? This just in - rich, self made guys tend to be opinionated and somewhat eccentric. There are very few cities anywhere in pro sports where the owner is a kindly, beloved figure. Mike Ilitch in Detroit, the Mara family with the NY Giants, the Rooneys with the Steelers - list starts getting pretty short after that.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Yes I've heard both and I don't like listening to either of them either. The Green Bay Packers have the best owners in sports.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Has anyone ever heard Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs or Flyers owner Ed Snider when they get near a microphone? This just in - rich, self made guys tend to be opinionated and somewhat eccentric. There are very few cities anywhere in pro sports where the owner is a kindly, beloved figure. Mike Ilitch in Detroit, the Mara family with the NY Giants, the Rooneys with the Steelers - list starts getting pretty short after that.

My friend works very high up for the Detroit Casino and has weekly interactions with Mr. Illitch and his wife. From what he tells me, Ilitch is a freakin' angel on earth. Treats every employee amazingly, tries to know all their names, has an open door policy for anyone to talk to and shares the wealth in terms of giving everyone bonuses, vacations, etc.

He's beloved. I've heard stories of what Ilitch does for his players (Wings and Pistons) and you can see why players want to go there.

 

[Holdurbreathe]

Has Melynk ever responded to this article or he doesn't seen to be caring much about the whole thing?

Why should he care?

The author of this article is just overloaded with self-importance for starters.

Being a season ticket holder doesn't come with the right to demand an owner runs his/her business according to your perspectives or beliefs.

He paid for a service, then attempted to influence an organization's decision making by writing a letter that obviously was put in round file "I" (for ignore).

So he pouted and didn't renew, at the end of the day who cares really.

However this individual has a forum to air his opinions, the Globe and Mail.

So he decides to write an article sharing all the reasons he believes the Senators are on a similar slide into oblivion that the Maple Leafs appear to be on.

Yet the article is bereft of fact, nothing but an opinion piece written by a self absorbed individual who had little intention of being fair, constructive or honest IMO.

So it leaves me wondering why anyone would care what this guy wrote, let alone Melnyk.

Now if he had utilized facts to support his assertions, it might have started with every NHL teams go through cycles, good NHL teams minimize the duration of the lows by good drafting and development (see Detroit).

Yet he decides linking the Maple Leafs disaster in some convoluted way to the situation in Ottawa supports his point of view.

However the two franchises aren't at all similar in terms of where each is at in the typical cycle of NHL teams.

He chooses to ignore the downward slide (his words) started under Bryden's watch, not Melnyk's.

The down cycle was set in motion by Bryden and Muckler, they just weren't around when it became obvious to everyone.

It was under Bryden's tenure that poor drafting, lack of player development, contract squabbles and less than stellar asset management set in motion the conditions for the downward trend in performance.

One of the key events was the sign and trade of Hossa, a move made solely for financial concerns.

The fallout from that deal was Chara's displeasure with the treatment of his close friend and subsequently decided to sign elsewhere.

When anyone takes an unbiased view at what transpired over those years of Muckler's time as GM, it isn't hard to see why Melnyk and Murray faced an inevitable rebuild.

While the Senators were a playoff team from 1996/97 through 2007/08, with a Cup final appearance in 2006/07 (big surprise IMO), the next three years were clear evidence that the core wasn't good enough and the organization had little to no depth.

Anyone blaming Melnyk or Murray for this is not accepting the reality of the situation IMO.

Since Murray's arrival as GM, the Sens have made the playoffs 4 of 7 years, while almost completely rebuilding the franchise at both the developmental and NHL levels.

The oft criticized "budget" is based on a lack of understanding or outright denial it is the result of the strategy and not the cause.

The Senators decided to rebuild through youth, not UFAs, nor jumping into the trade market in hopes of striking gold with another team's castoffs (sound familiar TML fans).

The end result of this approach is obviously a lower payroll initially, but that changes as the youth prove they belong.

All the critics of the "budget" will get a first hand glimpse of the "new budget" once the new contracts for Anderson, Lehner, Methot, Hoffman, Zibanejad, Stone, Ryan, MacArthur and Pageau are totaled up this summer.

So if this piece of opinionated nonsense was supposed to reveal some relevant information, it failed.

It clearly appears to me to be the musings of some egotistical moron that is upset the Senators organization didn't roll over and beg because he threatened to cancel his STs, nothing more.

Fact is anyone that jumps on these boards can read this kind of stuff daily.

So why would Melnyk respond when no response is necessary.

 

[Larionov]

The Green Bay Packers have the best owners in sports.

I see what you did there. Saskatchewan Roughriders fans could say the same thing. Those are pretty unique models, though, and they are structured that way due to decades of history. it is difficult to see a club today converting from private to community ownership. You could also argue that the Leafs had a form of public ownership when they were owned by the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund, and those years were almost as much of a cluster#$%$ for them as the Ballard years.

Melnyk isn't my favourite owner either, and I would be perfectly happy to hear that he has put the team and arena up for sale. His personality, though, is such that some fans get irrationally angry with him when in fact he is acting in a rational manner. The other truth is that a new owner doesn't magically solve problems. Fans in Buffalo, Toronto and Edmonton can tell you that...

 

[Holdurbreathe]

I 100 percent agree. None of the other things really scare me aside from the massive debt the sens have and rather then slowly paying it off it seems melnyk has taken out more debt over the years.

The Sens debt isn't massive in terms of it appraised value (Forbes).

With the NHL's new line of credit close to being introduced, the cost of the loans owned by NHL owners is about to get considerably cheaper to service as well.

In addition Melnyk will see increased revenues this year as the new TV deals are now kicking in.

I would guess the Senators are in position to add $10 - $12M in salaries for next season and still make a small profit.

If this wasn't the case I doubt Melnyk would even consider investing in a new arena on the Flats.

 

[Backpass]

Why should he care?

The author of this article is just overloaded with self-importance for starters.

Being a season ticket holder doesn't come with the right to demand an owner runs his/her business according to your perspectives or beliefs.

He paid for a service, then attempted to influence an organization's decision making by writing a letter that obviously was put in round file "I" (for ignore).

So he pouted and didn't renew, at the end of the day who cares really.

However this individual has a forum to air his opinions, the Globe and Mail.

So he decides to write an article sharing all the reasons he believes the Senators are on a similar slide into oblivion that the Maple Leafs appear to be on.

Yet the article is bereft of fact, nothing but an opinion piece written by a self absorbed individual who had little intention of being fair, constructive or honest IMO.

So it leaves me wondering why anyone would care what this guy wrote, let alone Melnyk.

Now if he had utilized facts to support his assertions, it might have started with every NHL teams go through cycles, good NHL teams minimize the duration of the lows by good drafting and development (see Detroit).

Yet he decides linking the Maple Leafs disaster in some convoluted way to the situation in Ottawa supports his point of view.

However the two franchises aren't at all similar in terms of where each is at in the typical cycle of NHL teams.

He chooses to ignore the downward slide (his words) started under Bryden's watch, not Melnyk's.

The down cycle was set in motion by Bryden and Muckler, they just weren't around when it became obvious to everyone.

It was under Bryden's tenure that poor drafting, lack of player development, contract squabbles and less than stellar asset management set in motion the conditions for the downward trend in performance.

One of the key events was the sign and trade of Hossa, a move made solely for financial concerns.

The fallout from that deal was Chara's displeasure with the treatment of his close friend and subsequently decided to sign elsewhere.

When anyone takes an unbiased view at what transpired over those years of Muckler's time as GM, it isn't hard to see why Melnyk and Murray faced an inevitable rebuild.

While the Senators were a playoff team from 1996/97 through 2007/08, with a Cup final appearance in 2006/07 (big surprise IMO), the next three years were clear evidence that the core wasn't good enough and the organization had little to no depth.

Anyone blaming Melnyk or Murray for this is not accepting the reality of the situation IMO.

Since Murray's arrival as GM, the Sens have made the playoffs 4 of 7 years, while almost completely rebuilding the franchise at both the developmental and NHL levels.

The oft criticized "budget" is based on a lack of understanding or outright denial it is the result of the strategy and not the cause.

The Senators decided to rebuild through youth, not UFAs, nor jumping into the trade market in hopes of striking gold with another team's castoffs (sound familiar TML fans).

The end result of this approach is obviously a lower payroll initially, but that changes as the youth prove they belong.

All the critics of the "budget" will get a first hand glimpse of the "new budget" once the new contracts for Anderson, Lehner, Methot, Hoffman, Zibanejad, Stone, Ryan, MacArthur and Pageau are totaled up this summer.

So if this piece of opinionated nonsense was supposed to reveal some relevant information, it failed.

It clearly appears to me to be the musings of some egotistical moron that is upset the Senators organization didn't roll over and beg because he threatened to cancel his STs, nothing more.

Fact is anyone that jumps on these boards can read this kind of stuff daily.

So why would Melnyk respond when no response is necessary.

Do agree with most of what you said, but the fact that Melnyk has limited Murray capability of spending does puzzle me. During Melnyk is pocketing money for future spending, we the fans are not getting any discounts on tickets to go see our team, even if that team is not as competitive that it could be.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Do agree with most of what you said, but the fact that Melnyk has limited Murray capability of spending does puzzle me. During Melnyk is pocketing money for future spending, we the fans are not getting any discounts on tickets to go see our team, even if that team is not as competitive that it could be.

We have the 5th cheapest tickets in the league i believe. Sens tickets are strangely low but even then has it led to more people in the seats?

 

[jason2020]

We have the 5th cheapest tickets in the league i believe. Sens tickets are strangely low but even then has it led to more people in the seats?

I don't think there 5th lowest but with that said there are market where you have a ticket that is $20 and that's it but in Ottawa that same ticket $20 base come out to $30.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Do agree with most of what you said, but the fact that Melnyk has limited Murray capability of spending does puzzle me. During Melnyk is pocketing money for future spending, we the fans are not getting any discounts on tickets to go see our team, even if that team is not as competitive that it could be.

There isn't a team in Canada that pays less for tickets than we do. The average ticket price for the Senators is roughly $137, the next closest Canadian team is the Montreal Canadiens with an average ticket price of $257. I don't know what some of you guys expect. The guy isn't running a charity here.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Actually it would appear the sens have increased their ticket prices. Average ticket price was 190 dollar for the sens to start this season. Up 60 dollar from the start of last year. Were middle of the pack now

 

[Cosmix]

Pretty good article, writer knew a lot about the team. It will be interesting to see where this team is at after we resign Zibby, Stone, and Hoff who are all do for big raises.

Yes, I agree it was a decent article. I was surprised by two comments: 1) about Alfredsson leaving because of Melnyk, and 2) the comments about Melnyk and Scotiabank. Other than those two comments I felt article was ok. I believe the Senators are not doing well now because of several reasons, namely, 1) low budget 2) not enough high draft picks due to where they finished in the standings, 3) some poor GM decisions for coaces and UFA signings, and 4) poor coaching.

 

[jason2020]

Yes, I agree it was a decent article. I was surprised by two comments: 1) about Alfredsson leaving because of Melnyk, and 2) the comments about Melnyk and Scotiabank. Other than those two comments I felt article was ok. I believe the Senators are not doing well now because of several reasons, namely, 1) low budget 2) not enough high draft picks due to where they finished in the standings, 3) some poor GM decisions for coaces and UFA signings, and 4) poor coaching.

I think its very easy to say its the low budget if Ottawa had signed Clarkson would people have been happy and would the team be any better.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Yes, I agree it was a decent article. I was surprised by two comments: 1) about Alfredsson leaving because of Melnyk, and 2) the comments about Melnyk and Scotiabank. Other than those two comments I felt article was ok. I believe the Senators are not doing well now because of several reasons, namely, 1) low budget 2) not enough high draft picks due to where they finished in the standings, 3) some poor GM decisions for coaces and UFA signings, and 4) poor coaching.

The only thing you're missing really is under-performing players and you'd have the complete list of things that cause a hockey team to suck.

Problem is, you can't really complain about both #1 and #2. You have #1 because you want #2. If you have #1 AND #2 you can't really have #3 or #4 because said GM would be icing a low budget team that is better than it should be, which in turn is a sign of some quality signings/drafting, and perhaps a good dose of good coaching.

We're "not doing so well" because we are one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the league. We are that way because we rebuilt our team based on the draft. We have drafted said players, and made some shrewd trades for like aged players, and now patiently wait while all of the youth we invested in at the start of the rebuild learns to play the pro game.

#1 is a reflection of where we are in the upswing of our rebuild, and our team has spent all of the necessary money to ensure that our core players are re-signed (really nothing to see here).

#2 occurs because we are too good, even though we are the least experienced team in the league, to be at the bottom of the league (this is a good thing).

The fact that we are doing this well with so many rookies and youngsters means that management has done well drafting and developing said talent so far during the rebuild (this is also a good thing.). This renders #3 to an exaggeration based mostly on who thinks Phillips and Neil are making too much at a couple million each (splitting hairs really given the successful big picture). We tried several coaching options that failed... Is what it is, no argument here.

#4 Doesn't really have much to play with given that we have had two coaches during the rebuilding time, one helped the team vastly overachieve, but was seemingly not a great fit for an inexperienced squad. The second seems to be working well with the kids, and the on-ice product seems to be less confusing.

I see no reason to take any of these things and make them into negative things, nor do I see a reason to pill them up as indication that Melnyk is a terrible owner.

In all honesty, I see the team as moving into the upswing of the cycle of hockey competitiveness and enjoy watching them do it. Would I like more wins? Sure, but I think Murray and Melnyk have a plan, we are well into it, and it has us working towards a drafted and developed team. I will give the build the time it needs to mature before pronouncing it a failure.

It's like getting angry at the baker and the dough for not being bread, half way though the cooking time.