How to get new ownership?

[Back in Black]

Next year's team photo.

 

[Samboni]

A big flaw with the "Melnyk Out" initiative is that people have a belief that EM thinks the same way they do, therefore will react in a predictable manner. IMO, he would rather sell the team, or move elsewhere than yield to a bunch of disgruntled fans. Whatever he does, he does without remorse and without looking back. I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think that this will end well for Melnyk or Sens fans.

 

[Back in Black]

 

[Sensung]

A big flaw with the "Melnyk Out" initiative is that people have a belief that EM thinks the same way they do, therefore will react in a predictable manner. IMO, he would rather sell the team, or move elsewhere than yield to a bunch of disgruntled fans. Whatever he does, he does without remorse and without looking back. I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think that this will end well for Melnyk or Sens fans.

The fans can force Eugene out of Ottawa.

He sells = win for the fans.

He somehow convinces the BOG to move team = new franchise in Ottawa with new owner = win for the fans.

 

[Micklebot]

The fans can force Eugene out of Ottawa.

He sells = win for the fans.

He somehow convinces the BOG to move team = new franchise in Ottawa with new owner = win for the fans.

Tbh, with the expansion rules these days, that might be a way to fast track a rebuild

 

[NorthCoast]

Tbh, with the expansion rules these days, that might be a way to fast track a rebuild

And you can bet Melnyk will leave karlsson unprotected!

 

[Ice-Tray]

The fans can force Eugene out of Ottawa.

He sells = win for the fans.

He somehow convinces the BOG to move team = new franchise in Ottawa with new owner = win for the fans.

You are delusional man, I can appreciate your idealism, but you are either really young, really clueless, or both. EM owns the Sens, and the fans will never make him sell the team if he doesn't want to. That's just not how it works in the real world.

If for some reason attendance gets so low as to be a serious threat, Bettman would appeal to the fan base to support the team as a last ditch effort, not force EM to sell, as he can't do that. If the market proved so entitled as to try and force an owner of a team to sell by not attending games the NHL would never return to Ottawa.

If EM really has a PR team to help he will hopefully stay in the background and not engage the media at all. EK will be extended and life will go on. It would be nice to see all of this effort go toward something that would actually get the point across without being wasted on hurting yourselves and looking foolishly entitled.

A 'Melnyk Out' Billboard is ridiculous. The poster that suggested 'Keep EK', is a much brighter idea. You don't go all in in a fight you can't possibly win, and you avoid resorting to rolling in the gutter. You go all in in a way that will get you can get, and that's an extended EK, a successful team, and hope for a cup.

 

[harrisb]

You are delusional man, I can appreciate your idealism, but you are either really young, really clueless, or both. EM owns the Sens, and the fans will never make him sell the team if he doesn't want to. That's just not how it works in the real world.

If for some reason attendance gets so low as to be a serious threat, Bettman would appeal to the fan base to support the team as a last ditch effort, not force EM to sell, as he can't do that. If the market proved so entitled as to try and force an owner of a team to sell by not attending games the NHL would never return to Ottawa.

If EM really has a PR team to help he will hopefully stay in the background and not engage the media at all. EK will be extended and life will go on. It would be nice to see all of this effort go toward something that would actually get the point across without being wasted on hurting yourselves and looking foolishly entitled.

A 'Melnyk Out' Billboard is ridiculous. The poster that suggested 'Keep EK', is a much brighter idea. You don't go all in in a fight you can't possibly win, and you avoid resorting to rolling in the gutter. You go all in in a way that will get you can get, and that's an extended EK, a successful team, and hope for a cup.

If Eugene's antics effect league revenues, Bettman and the board of governors will absolutely pressure him to sell. This team has proven they will support their team when not being publicly insulted or threatened, in fact for a long time we were attendance darlings.

 

[Ice-Tray]

If Eugene's antics effect league revenues, Bettman and the board of governors will absolutely pressure him to sell. This team has proven they will support their team when not being publicly insulted or threatened, in fact for a long time we were attendance darlings.

No, they really won't at all. The attendance issues that you see is what it looks like when we stopped giving away free tickets. We won't know what the arena would have looked like in that past if everyone was a paying customer so I really thing we need to stop parading that out like it means anything special.

Attendance has been an issue well before EM questioned the fanbase, the lack of sellouts in the playoffs alone last year was an embarrassment, and likely the very reason he spoke out, not the other way around.

You guys really have no idea how ridiculous and entitled you sound. I can't believe there are people here who think that the Bettman and BOG are going to ride in and rescue you from the evil EM.

 

[NorthCoast]

If the market proved so entitled as to try and force an owner of a team to sell by not attending games the NHL would never return to Ottawa.

I get the rest of your post, but I think that this part is a bit of a stretch. I don't see how the market can try en mass to force an owner out. Individuals can choose not to go to games, and some invidividuals can go further and buy billboards. But it's not like the market is getting together at a Tim Hortons and strategize on a ticket boycot.

If customers don't spend money with a business than it is on the business. When Sears went bankrupt in Canada do you think that the shareholders blamed the customers? Did all the other department stores leave town because they were afraid the customers would boycot their stores too?

If Ottawa as a market becomes toxic, isn't that on the team and the decisions they have made. I don't think that anyone would debate that the reason Blackhawks ticket sales slumped significantly during the early 2000s was because of the owner, and once a new owner came in and reversed all the decisions that had driven away the fans the stadium filled back up. In fact, if you look at the Bill Wirtz era it is eerily similar to what Ottawa is going through right now.

I am not advocating a boycot and I am also hoping everything somehow works out. All i am saying is that the NHL is not going to blame fans for being angry that 1) owner threatens relocation when team is still making an operating profit. 2) potentially trades away the best player they have ever had, in his prime, who wants to stay, and not for a 1-1 deal (like Subban) but for quantity. Name another trade other than Gretzky that fits the same scenario. 3) Increases prices across the board while making no improvement to the product on or off the ice. 4) Gets in fights with players (something must have happened with Turris, and whatever it was I don't see how it makes the team more competitive or attractive to other players), etc, etc.

The fans are customers of a product and they react to the changes that the business makes to the product. No way does the NHL/NHL owners pull out of a viable hockey market because Melnyk makes a bunch of bad decisions.


There were always grumblings that we didn't spend to the cap but the venom across the market was never like this. This is about moves made by the ownership that anybody could have predicted would have a negative impact on the fans, and a resulting decrease in ticket sales.

 

[Sensung]

You are delusional man, I can appreciate your idealism, but you are either really young, really clueless, or both. EM owns the Sens, and the fans will never make him sell the team if he doesn't want to. That's just not how it works in the real world.

Not young, somewhat idealistic, but definitely not clueless.

If people took your position and just accepted that they were powerless to change seemingly insurmountable odds, the Berlin Wall would still be standing. Instead, the people of Berlin saw the shifting political and economic climate and realized that they had far more power than previously believed.

In the Sens case, the Lebreton development and the fact that we know there are other groups ready and willing to run an NHL franchise in that new development changes the Landscape. Eugene financials appear to be struggling at a time when he has to find massive new investments. The loss in revenue at this crucial time can provide a hurt he would not feel in other circumstances. That hurt MAY be enough to encourage him to leave. I'm willing to take that chance, as we all admit that a new owner for an Ottawa franchise is the best case scenario.

The politics of the fan/owner relationship has changed with social media. In Wirtz and Ballard's era, there were no easily accessible vehicles for the fans to organize effective protests. Our connected society allows for relatively easy rallying of far larger number of fans. If also allows fans to boycott the games because of the owner while recording their support for the players/team at rallies or bars/restaurants.

If for some reason attendance gets so low as to be a serious threat, Bettman would appeal to the fan base to support the team as a last ditch effort, not force EM to sell, as he can't do that. If the market proved so entitled as to try and force an owner of a team to sell by not attending games the NHL would never return to Ottawa.

Simply not true, no matter how badly you want it to be.
1) The BOG will put enourmous pressure on Eugene to sell in that scenario.
2) Even if they do allow him to move, the Lebreton Development will go ahead with an NHL arena. The NHL is not going to push away a top half of the NHL market and all the revenue it can generate
simply to spite the fans for rejecting Melnyk. If you really believe that would happen, then I'd suggest you are the clueless one.

If EM really has a PR team to help he will hopefully stay in the background and not engage the media at all. EK will be extended and life will go on. It would be nice to see all of this effort go toward something that would actually get the point across without being wasted on hurting yourselves and looking foolishly entitled.

The Melnyk camp could play things out that way. I'd still push for a boycott to get the Ottawa Franchise a new owner.

And I need a laugh, so please explain how anyone protesting by boycotting the team is "hurting themselves".

As for "foolishly entitled" I think people who continue to buy tickets look foolishly naive that Melnyk will use the money to better the team and stupid for wasting their money...but it's their money, so I respect their right to choose how to use it. It would be really nice if the "buy tickets" crowd extended the same courtesy.

A 'Melnyk Out' Billboard is ridiculous. The poster that suggested 'Keep EK', is a much brighter idea. You don't go all in in a fight you can't possibly win, and you avoid resorting to rolling in the gutter. You go all in in a way that will get you can get, and that's an extended EK, a successful team, and hope for a cup.

The only thing ridiculous here is your condescension.

What do you think it will cost me if I "lose" this fight? I have more money in my wallet...

The team has zero hope as long as Melnyk is the owner and I will continue to support and promote all avenues to see him leave.

Thanks for the concern, but I understand the situation quite well.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Not young, somewhat idealistic, but definitely not clueless.

If people took your position and just accepted that they were powerless to change seemingly insurmountable odds, the Berlin Wall would still be standing. Instead, the people of Berlin saw the shifting political and economic climate and realized that they had far more power previously believed.

In the Sens case, the Lebreton development and the fact that we know there are other groups ready and willing to run an NHL franchise in that new development changes the Landscape. Eugene financials appear to be struggling at a time when he has to find massive new investments. The loss in revenue at this crucial time can provide a hurt he would not feel in other circumstances. That hurt MAY be enough to encourage him to leave. I'm willing to take that chance, as we all admit that a new owner for an Ottawa franchise is the best case scenario.

The politics of the fan/owner relationship has changed with social media. In Wirtz and Ballard's era, there were no easily accessible vehicles for the fans to organize effective protests. Our connected society allows for relatively easy rallying of far larger number of fans. If also allows fans to boycott the games because of the owner while recording their support for the players/team at rallies or bars/restaurants.


Simply not true, no matter how badly you want it to be.
1) The BOG will put enourmous pressure on Eugene to sell in that scenario.
2) Even if they do allow him to move, the Lebreton Development will go ahead with an NHL arena. The NHL is not going to push away a top half of the NHL market and all the revenue it can generate
simply to spite the fans for rejecting Melnyk. If you really believe that would happen, then I'd suggest you are the clueless one.



The Melnyk camp could play things out that way. I'd still push for a boycott to get the Ottawa Franchise a new owner.

And I need a laugh, so please explain how anyone protesting by boycotting the team is "hurting themselves".

As for "foolishly entitled" I think people who continue to buy tickets look foolishly naive that Melnyk will use the money to better the team and stupid for wasting their money...but it's their money, so I respect their right to choose how to use it. It would be really nice if the "buy tickets" crowd extended the same courtesy.



The only thing ridiculous here is your condescension.

What do you think it will cost me if I "lose" this fight? I have more money in my wallet...

The team has zero hope as long as Melnyk is the owner and I will continue to support and promote all avenues to see him leave.

Thanks for the concern, but I understand the situation quite well.

My mistake, I did not realize that the situation in Ottawa was akin to Berlin in the 80's. Carry on young hero, carry on...

Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power, but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music's for the sad man

 

[Sensung]

My mistake, I did not realize that the situation in Ottawa was akin to Berlin in the 80's. Carry on young hero, carry on...

Not young, by no stretch a hero, just someone who refuses to accept the unacceptable.

Your solution leads to more more Melnyk.

My solution might lead to Melnyk being a bad memory for hockey fans in Ottawa.

Here's hoping I'm right.