Not to derail much, but wasn't last year's run fun and enjoyable? Exciting? The Hamburglar run, how exciting and amazing was that? Those were too very entertaining seasons. Isnt that part of what we want to pay for as ticket buyers?
Back to your points, things are going back on the rails slowly. I think when the dust settles we will have a betyer picture of the future.
Your Karlsson demands are unrealistic. It just doesn't happen that way because he has to want to stay here and it ain't just about the money. To sign a player like Karlsson requires a commitment from ownership with the help if fans committing as well.
This market has to come back to the team.
Were they exciting? Sure, I never denied that or claimed otherwise. But I don't want to only be excited by this team during the odd unlikely playoff run or when we practically run the table to barely qualify for the playoffs in the tail end of the season. But what happened in between those exciting times? ... not much of anything, really. There are teams that have shown they can go deep in the playoffs repeatedly, can threaten championships annually. I want to see the Sens be one of those teams. A season of almost making it followed by two or three of garbage isn't very fulfilling. I'm not asking for five Stanley Cups in a row, but I am saying I want to see the effort put forward to TRY to do that anyway. Just because you can't always be the best, doesn't mean you shouldn't always try to be the best.
Moving on, my Karlsson "demands" are not unreasonable at all, nor are they really demands, but more so conditions for my continued fan support, as well as that of plenty of other fans I'm sure. I'm not saying the team actually has to convince Karlsson to sign for the bridges between Melnyk and the fans to be rebuilt. What I am saying is if Melnyk and Dorion offer EK $7 million per season while PK Subban (currently the highest AAV among defenseman) is making $9 million, then we know he's not that serious about keeping the best player this team has ever had, so why should we be serious about supporting HIM or his organisation?
I'm saying that if the team doesn't offer Karlsson a contract with AT LEAST $10 million AAV, they aren't serious about keeping him. He's worth as much as any player in the league, and EVERYONE knows it.
I'm saying that Shea Weber's Cap Hit is ~$7.85 million, Subban's is $9 million, Brent Burns' is $8 million, and Karlsson is better than any of those 3 guys. He can get more than them if he goes to market. I'm sure he knows that, and I'm sure his agent knows it too.
But if Melnyk wants to throw away a generational talent, then he's throwing away the support of a lot of fans.
Now, IF they offer Karlsson a contract that is actually in the area of correct value, and he decides not to sign, then fair enough. I can accept that. I will be disappointed, but I wont rag on Melnyk & Co. if they actually try for real to sign Karlsson and he isn't interested or otherwise declines.