Speculation: #Melnkyout...The time is NOW!

[Rand0m]

My mom won 100 level tickets (w/parking) from her work... she was so excited and happy to be able to give them to me as she hasn’t really been aware of this whole Melnyk boycott I’m on. I can’t turn them down like I have when friends have offered some extras this year. But I don’t want to support Melnyk in any way. Guess it’ll be parking lot beers for me before the game and I’m not buying any food there! Assuming they have some now, I think I’ll let the hot water run extra long.

 

[coladin]

So, if you like cars just buy one. Who cares who is selling it, what features are offered, colour, etc. Also, if you dont like the product you invested money in you are not allowed to complain about it and need to suck it up.

Again, another bad point. Maybe worse actually. In your defense, very hard to find a similarity to the Ottawa Senators. Going the "product/consumer" route rarely works or makes sense.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Again, another bad point. Maybe worse actually. In your defense, very hard to find a similarity to the Ottawa Senators. Going the "product/consumer" route rarely works or makes sense.

The problem with your view though, is that you think everyone should act like a hardcore fan and be happy to spend hundreds, or thousands, of dollars, to go watch Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk and Max Lajoie develop. Because "NHL"! It doesn't work that way.

Most casual fans don't give a shit about watching players develop, and there are way more casual fans than hardcore fans.

Sports teams in all leagues are operating in a new era. There are even attendance issues in "religious" NFL and college football cities. Watching a game in 4k on a 60 inch TV is a pretty great experience, and instead of battling traffic afterwards, you can flip on Netflix and watch a couple episodes of Ozarks. Not a bad experience.

That's what the Senators would be competing against regardless, and that's challenging enough to overcome, but throw in all of the negative PR over the last 18 months and well... this is what you get.

The problem is that this organization has shown zero creativity in trying to solve these problems, and that's on them, not the fans.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Dude you have been on thin ice since your first post here.

HE WAS USED IN THE SEASON INTRO VIDEO WITH THE OWNER. What other proof do you need?

Am I on trial here? Is Boro used more than Chabot? Absolutely. Thats the point I am getting at.

Have you heard of "Boro-ed Time" with Ian Mendes? Have you not seen the commercials? Or how the media LOVES Boro sound bites?

No have not heard of boro-ed time.

Did you see Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Thomas Chabot playing the world's most popular battle royale game, Fortnite, on the Senators Facebook page?

 

[stempniaksen]

Did you see Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Thomas Chabot playing the world's most popular battle royale game, Fortnite, on the Senators Facebook page?

That's grasping at straws. They did a similar thing earlier in the year with Tierney and you certainly wouldn't use him as an example of someone the team goes out of it's way to market.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

That's grasping at straws. They did a similar thing earlier in the year with Tierney and you certainly wouldn't use him as an example of someone the team goes out of it's way to market.

they're marketing everyone on the team, and not just Boro as one obsessed poster is claiming.

 

[coladin]

The problem with your view though, is that you think everyone should act like a hardcore fan and be happy to spend hundreds, or thousands, of dollars, to go watch Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk and Max Lajoie develop. Because "NHL"! It doesn't work that way.

Most casual fans don't give a **** about watching players develop, and there are way more casual fans than hardcore fans.

Sports teams in all leagues are operating in a new era. There are even attendance issues in "religious" NFL and college football cities. Watching a game in 4k on a 60 inch TV is a pretty great experience, and instead of battling traffic afterwards, you can flip on Netflix and watch a couple episodes of Ozarks. Not a bad experience.

That's what the Senators would be competing against regardless, and that's challenging enough to overcome, but throw in all of the negative PR over the last 18 months and well... this is what you get.

The problem is that this organization has shown zero creativity in trying to solve these problems, and that's on them, not the fans.

That actually is pretty close to my view.

True, the era may be changing, and I may be part of a different era. My age takes me back to when there was no NHL hockey, I remember vividly the Save Our Senators Rallies, I remember Quebec and Winnipeg leaving. I don't take the NHL for granted in my city.

Doesn't mean I am happy with the organization, far from it. They have botched things for sure from many different perspectives.

You may say it "doesn't work that way", what my view is, but it does pretty well in the rest of the country. The casual fan is not who I consider to be on this forum, which is why I always find surprising the level of the hardcore fan on our board. If the hardcore fans check out, it is bad news. And I know people will bold that and point to it all being Melnyk's fault.

I hope that the attraction of players like Tkachuk, Chabot and Lajoie as well as our other stars will be undeniable and people will just enjoy going to watch hockey, and put all the BS aside. That really is the only hop of this franchise. Signing the key UFAs will go a long way as well. I don't think anyone staying home, arms crossed, is enjoying that side of it either, and I respect their right to do so (whether I agree or not).

I have enjoyed the games this year more than other years, as thin as the crowds have become. Country night, new DJ, new lounges, etc...has worked for me. But I will readily admit that I am not hard to please in that regard. But it has been fun.

Whether there will be a change in how events are attended, ultimately unless there is a drop in revenues and thus the salary cap, not much is going to change. However, the NHL is still a gate driven league. Philly's response to dropping attendance proves how vital it still is in the league. And yet , the salary cap still rises...

 

[stempniaksen]

they're marketing everyone on the team, and not just Boro as one obsessed poster is claiming.

But they are obviously marketing Boro more than most players (not everyone, imo, but I'm not sure that's what the poster was saying anyways).

There's not another team in the league that gives more face-time, publicity, ect to a bottom pairing defenceman than the Senators do with Boro. I think that's the issue at hand here.

 

[The Lewler]

Why are we still pretending in here like sports fans are rational consumers that will be convinced by some verbose argument on why its a moral imperative to return and support the team?

Sports are all about emotion, and the fanbase has emotionally been through the wringer and harbors vast reservoirs of anger and resentment towards ownership.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

No one on this whole site is more obsessed with defending something as strongly as you defend your boy Melnyk.

I never defend EM.
I point out that there is more than one side to a story/issue, and have made my personal thoughts about EM clear, many times.

 

[DaveMatthew]

That actually is pretty close to my view.

True, the era may be changing, and I may be part of a different era. My age takes me back to when there was no NHL hockey, I remember vividly the Save Our Senators Rallies, I remember Quebec and Winnipeg leaving. I don't take the NHL for granted in my city.

Doesn't mean I am happy with the organization, far from it. They have botched things for sure from many different perspectives.

You may say it "doesn't work that way", what my view is, but it does pretty well in the rest of the country.

Not necessarily. Montreal and Toronto are two markets that are immune to a lot of issues, but others aren't, even in Canada. Calgary is one of the best teams in the league and has been at 93% capacity this year. Vancouver is rebuilding and is at 92% capacity.

Winnipeg is a unique case, because they built a right-sized arena for their market. A sellout for them is 15,200 people, which is less than a thousand more than what we're averaging this year. Would they be selling out in an 18-19k seat building? Wouldn't be as easy.

None of those teams have had the on-ice and off-ice issues as we have. But if you look back at some historical downturns for other franchises:

• Between 93-96, the Oilers averaged under 13.5k per game
• Between 99-02, the Flames averaged under 16k per game
• Between 98-00, the Canucks averaged under 16k per game, with one year at 15k.

I hope that the attraction of players like Tkachuk, Chabot and Lajoie as well as our other stars will be undeniable and people will just enjoy going to watch hockey, and put all the BS aside. That really is the only hop of this franchise. Signing the key UFAs will go a long way as well. I don't think anyone staying home, arms crossed, is enjoying that side of it either, and I respect their right to do so (whether I agree or not).

Developing stars will certainly help, but having good players on a bad team doesn't matter. We need stars on a team that's able to win. Hopefully in 2-3 years, we're a contender, but it's hard for casual fans to get excited when you know the team won't sniff the playoffs.

Long-term, I think it's imperative for this team to move downtown. Being in an inconvenient location for 70% of fans is too much when you add in all the other issues we've seen in this market.

Short-term, we need a team with the potential to win and a fresh outlook. I think we're on the way with the first item, but swapping out Dorion/Boucher with a hockey ops team that has a history of winning would do wonders as well. Melnyk gone would be the cherry on top, but that's a whole other issue.

 

[CTC]

My mom won 100 level tickets (w/parking) from her work... she was so excited and happy to be able to give them to me as she hasn’t really been aware of this whole Melnyk boycott I’m on. I can’t turn them down like I have when friends have offered some extras this year. But I don’t want to support Melnyk in any way. Guess it’ll be parking lot beers for me before the game and I’m not buying any food there! Assuming they have some now, I think I’ll let the hot water run extra long.

sorry to say...i was there last night and it was ice cold like they pulled it from the pond in the auto park lol

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

But they are obviously marketing Boro more than most players (not everyone, imo, but I'm not sure that's what the poster was saying anyways).

There's not another team in the league that gives more face-time, publicity, ect to a bottom pairing defenceman than the Senators do with Boro. I think that's the issue at hand here.

Can't market anyone if all your good players are pending UFA's, or overpaid/underperforming vets, or kids like White and Lajoie that the fan base isn't familiar with, or even your goalies since one was rumored to want out and the other doesn't belong in the NHL.

Pretty much left with Boro, Chabot, Tkatchuk & an injured Pageau as their "faces" at this point. Pretty sad.

 

[CTC]

Looks like a few people purchased some tainted tickets... raising the average to 14,343

December 17, 2018, 7:30 PM
Attendance: 14,492
Arena: Canadian Tire Centre
Game Duration: 2:37​

Lots of free tickets out there...i had 4 100 level tickets in row E gifted to me from a friend of mine at Bell, they said they handed out about 20 of them and that was from just one person...it was a solid game and great fan experience as well. Lots of fun. Been to several games this year and each time it gets better!

 

[swiftwin]

The latest lawsuit shows why the boycott is so silly. Why deprive yourself of hockey over $30 when someone else can hit them way harder for $1,000,000,000.

 

[Silencio]

“Listen to your employees. Listen to your customers. Shut the f*** up and do what they tell you.”

That's a quote from the CEO of T-Mobile that I saw in an in flight magazine this week. It was interesting to read how the above philosophy helped him take his company from last place in the wireless industry to the fastest growing (double that of their 2 largest competitors combined), and build an incredibly loyal customer base that other brands would kill to have. The dude is as eccentric/insane as Melnyk, but in a good way.

 

[coladin]

Not necessarily. Montreal and Toronto are two markets that are immune to a lot of issues, but others aren't, even in Canada. Calgary is one of the best teams in the league and has been at 93% capacity this year. Vancouver is rebuilding and is at 92% capacity.

Winnipeg is a unique case, because they built a right-sized arena for their market. A sellout for them is 15,200 people, which is less than a thousand more than what we're averaging this year. Would they be selling out in an 18-19k seat building? Wouldn't be as easy.

None of those teams have had the on-ice and off-ice issues as we have. But if you look back at some historical downturns for other franchises:

• Between 93-96, the Oilers averaged under 13.5k per game
• Between 99-02, the Flames averaged under 16k per game
• Between 98-00, the Canucks averaged under 16k per game, with one year at 15k.



Developing stars will certainly help, but having good players on a bad team doesn't matter. We need stars on a team that's able to win. Hopefully in 2-3 years, we're a contender, but it's hard for casual fans to get excited when you know the team won't sniff the playoffs.

Long-term, I think it's imperative for this team to move downtown. Being in an inconvenient location for 70% of fans is too much when you add in all the other issues we've seen in this market.

Short-term, we need a team with the potential to win and a fresh outlook. I think we're on the way with the first item, but swapping out Dorion/Boucher with a hockey ops team that has a history of winning would do wonders as well. Melnyk gone would be the cherry on top, but that's a whole other issue.

I get what you are saying, but a rebuilding Vancouver team is at 92%, at higher prices, compared to Ottawa at 75%. That is a huge gap and puts our numbers with Florida and behind Arizona. Behind Arizona. I think Winnipeg would probably fill our arena, but that is just personal opinion. Their Stanley Cup Playoff run had, what, 25K outside?

True, other Canadian markets have struggled in the past, no doubt. Heck, Ottawa was pretty empty when the Palladium opened the first two years. Oilers have been extremely well supported since, for whatever reason. I don't think Ottawa could endure their streak of futility, as they have. That is an exceptional market that has had its fair share of turmoil.

My concern is more short term, as long term this scenario is looking increasingly unstable. Short term, Melnyk is going to have to find out how to fix this market. Signing the UFAs will have a lot to do with rebuilding the trust between fans who believe he will not spend. He has to prove Karlsson's case was a one-off.

 

[DaveMatthew]

I get what you are saying, but a rebuilding Vancouver team is at 92%, at higher prices, compared to Ottawa at 75%. That is a huge gap and puts our numbers with Florida and behind Arizona. Behind Arizona. I think Winnipeg would probably fill our arena, but that is just personal opinion. Their Stanley Cup Playoff run had, what, 25K outside?

True, other Canadian markets have struggled in the past, no doubt. Heck, Ottawa was pretty empty when the Palladium opened the first two years. Oilers have been extremely well supported since, for whatever reason. I don't think Ottawa could endure their streak of futility, as they have. That is an exceptional market that has had its fair share of turmoil.

My concern is more short term, as long term this scenario is looking increasingly unstable. Short term, Melnyk is going to have to find out how to fix this market. Signing the UFAs will have a lot to do with rebuilding the trust between fans who believe he will not spend. He has to prove Karlsson's case was a one-off.

Short-term, I think the solution is pretty simple:

1. Re-sign Duchene and Stone
2. Fire Boucher and bring in a quality NHL coaching staff
3. Make a couple of good signings to shore up the defense in the offseason (options: Stralman, Gardiner)

Then you come back next year and with the continued development of Chabot, Tkachuk, White, Lajoie, Batherson and the potential additions of Formenton and Norris... you have a team that competes for the playoffs.

Would we sell out every game? No, there would still be lots of challenges. But I think you quickly see attendance go back up to a more respectable ~17k per game average.

It's just a shame that I don't think any of the 3 things I mentioned are realistic.

 

[JD1]

I can do way better, I'm just being nice.

Fans love buying tickets, that's why we're 27th in NHL attendance with the other basket case franchises, they are papering the building, Melnyck told us he's had thoughts of moving the franchise and he's considered offers for the team. goijg great in Ottawa.

I stick by my fantasy, 15 years ago you get Sens tickets from Santa and you're pumped because it's a top level gift. 2018 you get a Sens tickets and it does t feel as good as it should, you know you're going to a half empty building, you hope the traffic isnt bad, you secretly would just rather get a $150 gift certificate to MEC.

maybe it's you....I don't feel that way

 

[JD1]

Short-term, I think the solution is pretty simple:

1. Re-sign Duchene and Stone
2. Fire Boucher and bring in a quality NHL coaching staff
3. Make a couple of good signings to shore up the defense in the offseason (options: Stralman, Gardiner)

Then you come back next year and with the continued development of Chabot, Tkachuk, White, Lajoie, Batherson and the potential additions of Formenton and Norris... you have a team that competes for the playoffs.

Would we sell out every game? No, there would still be lots of challenges. But I think you quickly see attendance go back up to a more respectable ~17k per game average.

It's just a shame that I don't think any of the 3 things I mentioned are realistic.

realistically someone is going to pay Gardiner a lot of money and I'll crap if it's ottawa.

 

[Engineer]

maybe it's you....I don't feel that way

It's you.

My family members have specifically stated they want no Senators gear or tickets for xmas this year. The apathy is real and it's 100% due to Melnyck.

 

[JD1]

It's you.

My family members have specifically stated they want no Senators gear or tickets for xmas this year. The apathy is real and it's 100% due to Melnyck.

I have no doubt apathy is real nor do I doubt that Melnyk is the source.

good luck managing it....life can be tough when apathy sets in.

 

[topshelf15]

Jesus, stop with the low self esteem. It’s the market not the fans.

Last year Ottawa was 25th in revenues with 124M.

Colorado 119M
Columbus 111M
Carolina 109M
Islanders 107M
Florida 99M
Phoenix 96M

Is that a great market, no it isn’t. Ottawa is viable when everything goes very well but it is not a market that can support a cap team.

It’s not the 3-5K tickets unsold that is the problem. Even a sold out building at prices that this city can bear puts us well below the median revenue generating team.

This is with the great local broadcast contract.

Tell me how are we only 25M higher than Florida when their building is completely empty and they don’t have the same local broadcast contract ?

You stop ,EM has sweet f*** all in his 10 years of owning the team to increase revenue,it has been all us f***en fans carrying the team ....

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Lots of free tickets out there...i had 4 100 level tickets in row E gifted to me from a friend of mine at Bell, they said they handed out about 20 of them and that was from just one person...it was a solid game and great fan experience as well. Lots of fun. Been to several games this year and each time it gets better!

Are you saying the Bell did not pay for those tickets?

 

[Stylizer1]

So more boycott then?