If this past season has done anything good, to a certain extent anyway, it has shone the light on the deep-rooted issues Sens fans in Ottawa have been feeling for some time. I'm not excusing all of it (I maintain, we have to wear the fact that we didn't sell out playoff games last season), however people are (I hope) starting to see the real fabric of the organization. And yeah, it comes from the top. All of it. Some directly, some simply on account of poor leadership and direction off the ice.
In a way, this should partially vindicate a lot of the baggage WE, the fans, have been wearing, unjustly, for years. It's sad to say, but maybe this had to happen (everything from December-present....and fearfully, whatever depths we will likely plunge to as an organization in the near future) for things to stabilize again. On the battle of the spouses, sure, Melnyk wasn't the person behind the tweets (though given how every insane story with this team manages to be topped by whatever comes next, would it be THAT surprising?.......I digress, jokingly), but this is his house and as the owner, his show. I'm convinced this is the laws of karma coming down right on Melnyk and unfortunately, we are the collateral.
Whatever side of the whole thing you find yourself on, it's painfully clear that Melnyk cannot own the team much longer. I'm sure he knows this. The house is rotten inside and out and the organization needs to be gutted, top down. There is one hell of an awesome fan base here in Ottawa, waiting on the renovation to get underway. Melnyk needs to f**k right off, take his 100s of millions and let the right people come in and build this thing back up again. I have nothing to base this on other than a gut feeling, but I wouldn't be surprised that when a new group comes in to get this mess cleaned up, Jeff Hunt could be in a prominent role. He's exactly what the Sens need now and I found his departure from OSEG (the timing, primarily) to be interesting. With strong financial backing from the heavy hitters long rumoured to be interested, having guys like Hunt and Alfredsson as front men seems so obvious. One can dream.
Anyway, it's so, so insane that I keep stating this, but I won't be purchasing anything ticket-related as long as Melnyk is the ring leader of the circus. I can't support this with my money. As a fan, I love this team with all my heart, but I can't justify supporting something I don't technically support. Hopefully we can get things stable sooner than later, gut the house and watch as a new wave of Sens filter through. After all this, some lean years on the ice watching prospects develop doesn't sound so bad.
