Speculation: Sens finances discussions

[Do Make Say Think]

Those companies don’t have Ottawa branches and reps?

Branches and reps aren't the big wigs you want to mingle with at corporate e events.

"Oh, hi Bill, glad you could make it! So about the renewal of your company's sponsorship agreement with us..."

"Mr. Melnyk, thanks for inviting me to this event, I've never seen such luxurious waste, but you do know I just oversee this branch right? The boss is in Toronto"

 

[Sensung]

Branches and reps aren't the big wigs you want to mingle with at corporate e events.

"Oh, hi Bill, glad you could make it! So about the renewal of your company's sponsorship agreement with us..."

"Mr. Melnyk, thanks for inviting me to this event, I've never seen such luxurious waste, but you do know I just oversee this branch right? The boss is in Toronto"

Good point.

The problem is that Melnyk chose this event to make a public announcement about the future of the team after months of radio silence in Ottawa.

If it was a just a corporate thank you then it would have gone unnoticed.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Good point.

The problem is that Melnyk chose this event to make a public announcement about the future of the team after months of radio silence in Ottawa.

If it was a just a corporate thank you then it would have gone unnoticed.

No. He said something to his corporate partners and reporters reported it.

There was no public statement made.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Those companies don’t have Ottawa branches and reps?

Do you actually think those companies would let local branches handle corporate sponsorships?

 

[Sensung]

No. He said something to his corporate partners and reporters reported it.

There was no public statement made.

I’m sure he was unaware that reporters were in attendance and this would not be used as PR...

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I’m sure he was unaware that reporters were in attendance and this would not be used as PR...

Irrelevant.

You said he made a public statement out of Toronto and that it was a "faux pas".

He did no such thing: he communicated his desire to spend more on the roster in the near future to his corporate partners.

Melnyk is a scum but not every single thing he does, not every particle of air he breathes in, warrants a blistering rebuttal.

 

[Sensung]

Irrelevant.

You said he made a public statement out of Toronto and that it was a "faux pas".

He did no such thing: he communicated his desire to spend more on the roster in the near future to his corporate partners.

Melnyk is a scum but not every single thing he does, not every particle of air he breathes in, warrants a blistering rebuttal.

Melynk’s statement was intended for public consumption and the club made sure that it got major airplay.

 

[Yak]

I put as much weight in this as his town hall meetings. What he says and does is two different things. Corporate sponsors however have a little more power with their big check books.

Is obvious some type of damage control after what has been a crazy last year and what looks to be a another rough year.

Obviously pending UFA situation and it maybe not going the way they want damage control, stadium stuff and the tons of bad press.

His timing for the spending to the cap is around the time the current roster will mature and hopefully some future picks will start to mature. He is really trying to buy time with the sponsors who also probably put a bit of pressure as well as to where things are going with this team.

Wonder if Melynk thinks new CBA will help his situation , arena and Seattle cash.

Mmmmm.....

I don't believe anything he says...show me the money Melynk!

 

[edguy]

I put as much weight in this as his town hall meetings. What he says and does is two different things. Corporate sponsors however have a little more power with their big check books.

Is obvious some type of damage control after what has been a crazy last year and what looks to be a another rough year.

Obviously pending UFA situation and it maybe not going the way they want damage control, stadium stuff and the tons of bad press.

His timing for the spending to the cap is around the time the current roster will mature and hopefully some future picks will start to mature. He is really trying to buy time with the sponsors who also probably put a bit of pressure as well as to where things are going with this team.

Wonder if Melynk thinks new CBA will help his situation , arena and Seattle cash.

Mmmmm.....

I don't believe anything he says...show me the money Melynk![/QUOTE]

Serious question.. If he does sign Stone/Duchene, and follows through with his plan of contending by 2021 and makes that financial commitment to winning, would you still be calling on him to sell?

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

This is PR to deflect from the upcoming loss of Stone and Duchene.

WTF was this done IN TORONTO!

Because it is where the money and sponsors are located. He is not going to have them fly up to Ottawa

Not too difficult to see the real money is from here in Toronto... the COTU

 

[Sensung]

Because it is where the money and sponsors are located. He is not going to have them fly up to Ottawa

Not too difficult to see the real money is from here in Toronto... the COTU

Having the event in Toronto makes some sense.

Choosing to make a public proclamation about the Sens future plans in Toronto after months of silence in Ottawa demonstrates how out of touch this owner is with his fanbase.

 

[Micklebot]

Having the event in Toronto makes some sense.

Choosing to make a public proclamation about the Sens future plans in Toronto after months of silence in Ottawa demonstrates how out of touch this owner is with his fanbase.

Under normal circumstances, nobody would give a damn where he made this announcement. It wasn't a live event where the public could attend, location is largely irrelevant. They could have done this through a press release in print only and had the same effect. Releasing this in person to sponsors is about getting their buy in, because at the end of the day, it's sponsors that dictate how much the team can afford to spend, and who will keep the finances as close to the black as possible during the lean years.

Complaining about where he held this event is making a mountain out of a mole hill. It would be different if it was a press conference where the media could have some back and forth with him, and he only invited TO media.

 

[Rand0m]

Serious question.. If he does sign Stone/Duchene, and follows through with his plan of contending by 2021 and makes that financial commitment to winning, would you still be calling on him to sell?

That’s the thing, he’s done this before and it was a complete lie.

Regardless of what he does, he MUST sell or we might as well just move this team, there’s really no point having an AHL team in Ottawa so they might as well just leave. I couldn’t care any less of this teams moves.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

We have to wonder whether this owner has the financial clout to continue to own an NHL franchise in this environment of ever increasing salaries & cap. At some point enough will have to be enough & he will need to sell to owners with much deeper pockets regardless if the fans ever do come back. If nothing else does I would guess that the cap could force him to sell as it approaches $80 mil & beyond in future. It doesn't seem sustainable especially in a small market.

So if you're suggesting that the Ottawa market can't generate enough revenue to sustain a NHL Franchise, and the only way a NHL franchise can compete "in this environment of ever increasing salaries & cap" is with an owner "with much deeper pockets" AKA their own money... I kind of agree with you

And that's what makes last night statement, from the owner, about "spending close to the cap for 5 seasons" was so baffling.

Where is this extra money going to be coming from?

Does the NHL expect their piece of the action from legal sports betting is going to bring in more revenues?

Does the NHL expect to gain some concessions from the NHLPA, through a new CBA that closes some loopholes and allows smaller market teams to compete on the same level as the larger markets?

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

This is PR to deflect from the upcoming loss of Stone and Duchene.

WTF was this done IN TORONTO!

What difference does it make where the statement was made?

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

This is PR to deflect from the upcoming loss of Stone and Duchene.

WTF was this done IN TORONTO!

I know you spend pretty much all your time here, bashing the owner ..... so you might have missed this... it was in all the news papers, on the radio, covered on local TV and maybe even on the internet.

Eugene Melnyk and partner John Ruddy of the Trinity Development Group, were already in Toronto, for several days of meetings, that started Monday in an attempt to try to the save RendezVous LeBreton’s deal with the National Capital Commission.

Then there was the Scheduled Corporate Sponsorship event, on Tuesday, at the Hockey Hall of Fame, where he made this commitment to those in attendance.

The Senators then released the Commitment, to the public the next day (Wednesday).

 

[Upgrayedd]

Can anyone point to any commitment Eugene has ever followed through on successfully? Im not seeing much in his business nor personal life.

 

[NorthCoast]

So if you're suggesting that the Ottawa market can't generate enough revenue to sustain a NHL Franchise, and the only way a NHL franchise can compete "in this environment of ever increasing salaries & cap" is with an owner "with much deeper pockets" AKA their own money... I kind of agree with you

And that's what makes last night statement, from the owner, about "spending close to the cap for 5 seasons" was so baffling.

Where is this extra money going to be coming from?

Does the NHL expect their piece of the action from legal sports betting is going to bring in more revenues?

Does the NHL expect to gain some concessions from the NHLPA, through a new CBA that closes some loopholes and allows smaller market teams to compete on the same level as the larger markets?

Bottom-line...whatever it is he is pulling it out of his a$$.

Sure, there could be something legitimate behind the statement, but nothing concrete. Lebreton is not done, no announcement of a minority owner, CBA still to be renegotiate, new TV/other revenue streams still to be determined...etc, etc.

1- I don't see how it could be Lebreton or a new minority Owner. Simply because, if this project is such a difficult negotiation over money, how does someone have an extra 100 mil that they are willing to dump into the player budget at the end of it all?

2- Has he been lying about the finances the whole time, and the team is profitable enough that we can spend to the cap?

3- He is just lying.

If it is not one of the above, then it is something outside of his control, and if it is then this is purely grasping at straws to appease players/sponsors, because whatever it is could totally fall apart.

 

[aragorn]

Let's be fair here, the Count is not defending EM he is simple stating some facts of what happened. I think most here don't trust EM or believe much of anything he says but he's in TO to negotiate Lebreton & made this announcement at the HHOF in front of his corporate sponsors. Whether either of those two things work out remains to be seen of course but that's what is happening & that is what the Count reported. Sending vitriol his way for reporting facts isn't fair & let's face it all we have without the facts are opinions & speculation.

However, we still don't know if any of this includes signing the top UFAs on this team or what it means going forward really. It does leave the door open for more speculation & that is never a good thing. Whether it's enough to keep Duchene & Stone here or not also remains to be seen in the very near future. While it's good to hear he will eventually spend some cash there is so much wrong right now it's hard to believe it will change over the next few yrs or whether fans are willing to wait that long. We're still left with lots of questions unanswered.

 

[BondraTime]

Ya i went looking for it...thats kind of odd...maybe the HQs of the sponsors are primarily in TO? Or they took local sponsors on a road trip?

I'd be lying if I said i knew much about that side of things, I'd think he'd want to do that in Ottawa, but I guess most places are located in the GTA.

I know very little outside of hockey and hockey ops stuff, I'm a layman when it comes to the business side of things.

 

[Sensung]

No. He said something to his corporate partners and reporters reported it.

There was no public statement made.

It appears that it was in fact a public statement.

Eugene Melnyk's plan for Senators brings cynicism and doubt - Sportsnet.ca

A Statement released by the Senators, concerning comments by owner Eugene Melnyk at a corporate event last night in Toronto...

 

[aragorn]

Most of the headquarters or decision makers of the top corporations are probably located in TO & with the lack of corporate sponsors in Ottawa it would make some sense that some of these sponsors are located in TO. It would also be an interesting avenue to pursue to acquire corporate sponsors in other markets whether that is part of a plan remains to be seen. If a company cannot get good promotional space from the Leafs because bigger companies own it than they may be able to get it from the Sens.

 

[Micklebot]

Ottawa's big corporate sponsors:

Bell : HQs - Toronto (Bell Media) and Montreal (Bell Canada)
Canadian tire : Toronto
Coca-Cola Canada: Toronto
Tim Horton's: Toronto
Pizza Pizza: Toronto
Molson-Coors: Montreal (Toronto has the Canadian operations HQ)

He made the announcement at a sponsors event likely because he's trying to get buy in from the sponsors at a time when they are probably questioning their investment in the team, and made it public through a release likely because it was going to get out regardless so this allows them to control the message.

 

[GrantLemons]

Would have been wiser for him PR wise to have the announcement come from Ottawa and not Toronto, but overall I don't really give a shit. He's such a PR disaster at this point something like this is such a small blip on the radar.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

The reaction to the announcement pretty much sums up everyone's feelings on Melnyk. Nobody believes it. Actions speak louder than words, and we've had these words before only for it not to happen.