Speculation: Sens, Lebreton, and the NCC part II

[pzeeman]

From what we were told by a few on here here family is very wealthy and she's a daddy's girl. This played no small part in getting a bunch of us (myself included) that Karlsson was more likely than not staying.

So far so good on that front.

Thanks for the reply.

Next step: Is the family "house in Rockcliffe/Westboro, vacation in Italy, drive Ferrari" wealthy or "NHL team owner" wealthy?

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Apropos of nothing, I think I remember hearing that Melinda Currey's family has quite a bit of money? I couldn't find any reference to it in a quick Google. Did I hear wrong?

Normally, I wouldn't care...

They own a family run Insurance company called Currey Insurance and Law. Not sure how much money is that company worth.

 

[mysens]

They own a family run Insurance company called Currey Insurance and Law. Not sure how much money is that company worth.

They have a good size portfolio of realm estate holdings. They are well respected .

 

[Flamingo]

They have a good size portfolio of realm estate holdings. They are well respected .

Hmmm, no outright denial. That's new.

 

[pzeeman]

Hmmm, no outright denial. That's new.

To be fair, it's only answering the "are they rich?" question. Not the "how rich?" question.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Hmmm, no outright denial. That's new.

 

[TkachukNorris79]

Any thoughts on when this goes down? Is it all just waiting for things to go through?

Melnyk purchased the sens on August 26th, 2003. Wouldn't surprise me if he wanted to wait until then so he could say he had the team for 15 years, cause that just seems like a melnyk thing to do.

T minus 6 days???

 

[Flamingo]

To be fair, it's only answering the "are they rich?" question. Not the "how rich?" question.

Yes, that will give him cover. But I'm going to take it as a confirmation for now. Great guess, pzee!

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Thanks for the reply.

Next step: Is the family "house in Rockcliffe/Westboro, vacation in Italy, drive Ferrari" wealthy or "NHL team owner" wealthy?

I doubt it's the latter but I like how you think

 

[pzeeman]

Yes, that will give him cover. But I'm going to take it as a confirmation for now. Great guess, pzee!

The give away would have been if mysens said they had real estate holdings in the past tense.

I'm just throwing it out there. When more than once source has mentioned that the fans would be really happy with the name of the potential owner with Ottawa connections, and all the really rich families had been crossed off the list, I started to wonder who would fit.

Great way for daddy to make sure his little girl is happy. I am a similar sucker, but my real estate holdings are not extensive.

 

[coladin]

With a promising owner/management at the top it brings encouragement. The way I see it, it’s similar to one going to work everyday and dealing with a terrible boss. In this case, the person still goes as they have to make a living, but likely will keep looking for another opportunity, as no matter how hard the person works, the boss will remain terrible. Not quite the same situation obviously, but nonetheless, a good example. If the boss is replaced by someone with a good attitude and a positive outlook, it reflects on the employee who, in return, will start enjoying going to work everyday and likely stop looking for a different option.

I’m not liking the idea of a rebuild either, but that’s what taking place, or at the very least, a retool. If we’re going through that, and we are, wouldn’t you rather go through it with a solid and promising owner who brings a feeling of trust and respect towards the fans or what we currently have? Personally, I would feel much more encouraged with the previous. I can’t speak for everyone of course, but I’d be willing to bet that most fans would feel the same.

I understand your point about workplace harmony. The thing is, this workplace of NHL hockey is unlike 99% of the other business models, from a sales standpoint, a business standpoint, and a workplace standpoint. Hockey players just play hockey and Melnyk signs the cheques. All these players care about is their contracts and what is stipulated in them, whether it be per diems, rest days, etc...and their relationship with the coach and GM. To think Melnyk is in the dressing room everyday, or roaming the hallways (not that you are saying this, but there is a perception that he is a meddling owner), when he usually is in Barbados, kind of brings to a head the toxicity of the fan landscape. It just isn't the way it has been.

I have been clear that part of the problem with this franchise is not enough ownership presence. he shouldn't be in Barbados as much as he is, then storms in wanting answers from the people who are running the franchise. That is on him to devote more time to this business. I think he is now, and is in Ottawa probably more than he has ever been. For many, that will give them diarrhea, but I think if he is more aware of the business landscape, then he will be better informed and aware of how to make it better.

I am all for retooling. I just don't put as much weight in solid ownership as I do in areas of actual hockey decisions. The fan in me is more concerned about the GM and coach and players. I understand many want to focus on other things...

 

[mysens]

The give away would have been if mysens said they had real estate holdings in the past tense.

I'm just throwing it out there. When more than once source has mentioned that the fans would be really happy with the name of the potential owner with Ottawa connections, and all the really rich families had been crossed off the list, I started to wonder who would fit.

Great way for daddy to make sure his little girl is happy. I am a similar sucker, but my real estate holdings are not extensive.

It's definetly not them, they are wealthy, but when you are looking at an investment to buy a sizeable piece of the franchise, you need to have waaaaay more than what they have. Would have been cute though. But it's not them.

 

[harrisb]

I just want to know if any sale happens are they trying to get it done before puck drop of the regular season?

 

[coladin]

Scanlan had an article that had an estimate of 8000 for last year



Scanlan: A breakdown of the Senators attendance issues in a challenging market

8000 season tickets is really bad, considering we used to sell between 10,000 and 13,000 most years (13500 being the teams record, and we were). Attendance was down and a big part of that is the drop in season tickets, if it's true that we're heading for 6700 this year, it's going to be pretty sad this year.

Here's what I was able to find on Season ticket sales when I searched last;

2007-08	13000-13500
2008-09	~10000
2009-10	Unavailable
2010-11	10000
2011-12	11300
2012-13	pacing at ~13000 in june, Up 15% at the same time last year, but I doubt they hit 13000 given there was the lockout that year,or maybe that helps, idk

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Of note, 2007-08 and 12-13 were both following really strong years and fans were really excited for the future. 2017-18 with it's 8000 tickets seems an outlier given the run we had, but when you look at the offseason losing Methot, and MacArthur with no replacement, it was harder to get excited than in 2008 for example

Tickets are high following strong years because during a playoff run, if you want to be able to purchase playoff tickets at a decent price, as they were scarce back then, they sell season tickets. And that is why the following season , season tickets sales were high.

They were not able to sign anyone during the 2017 playoffs. That was a very worrisome sign which is why it was anticipated by the purchasing of tarps.

 

[coladin]

The guy you're responding to enjoys putting everyone down while standing up for some anonymous jerk. I wouldn't bother.

Funny, and rich, since you do the exact same thing.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

It's definetly not them, they are wealthy, but when you are looking at an investment to buy a sizeable piece of the franchise, you need to have waaaaay more than what they have. Would have been cute though. But it's not them.

Back to the drawing board people.

 

[pzeeman]

Back to the drawing board people.

It was fun while it lasted

 

[Sensung]

I understand your point about workplace harmony. The thing is, this workplace of NHL hockey is unlike 99% of the other business models, from a sales standpoint, a business standpoint, and a workplace standpoint. Hockey players just play hockey and Melnyk signs the cheques. All these players care about is their contracts and what is stipulated in them, whether it be per diems, rest days, etc...and their relationship with the coach and GM. To think Melnyk is in the dressing room everyday, or roaming the hallways (not that you are saying this, but there is a perception that he is a meddling owner), when he usually is in Barbados, kind of brings to a head the toxicity of the fan landscape. It just isn't the way it has been.

I have been clear that part of the problem with this franchise is not enough ownership presence. he shouldn't be in Barbados as much as he is, then storms in wanting answers from the people who are running the franchise. That is on him to devote more time to this business. I think he is now, and is in Ottawa probably more than he has ever been. For many, that will give them diarrhea, but I think if he is more aware of the business landscape, then he will be better informed and aware of how to make it better.

I am all for retooling. I just don't put as much weight in solid ownership as I do in areas of actual hockey decisions. The fan in me is more concerned about the GM and coach and players. I understand many want to focus on other things...

Purposely obtuse or just completely out of touch?

The decisions the Sens owner makes are having a direct and extremely negative impact on all aspects of hockey operations.

No other team in the NHL would even think twice about signing EK. Not a single one.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Purposely obtuse or just completely out of touch?

The decisions the Sens owner makes are having a direct and extremely negative impact on all aspects of hockey operations.

No other team in the NHL would even think twice about signing EK. Not a single one.

Well maybe if they actually couldn't afford it they might look at that option, let's look at the Arizona Coyotes for example, a team and market that has had a prolonged struggling period which I think most fans could agree on....I could be wrong but I assume the money is not rolling in there, now if they say had a premiere young dman it would make sense for them to consider dealing for futures and continue the infinite cycle rather than pay out on a hefty longterm contract.....wait,what's that you say?

 

[Sensung]

Well maybe if they actually couldn't afford it they might look at that option, let's look at the Arizona Coyotes for example, a team and market that has had a prolonged struggling period which I think most fans could agree on....I could be wrong but I assume the money is not rolling in there, now if they say had a premiere young dman it would make sense for them to consider dealing for futures and continue the infinite cycle rather than pay out on a hefty longterm contract.....wait,what's that you say?

Exactly...The Arizona Freaking Coyotes can re-sign their stud D (who is about half as good as EK) and yet we hesitate to do whatever it takes to re-sign the best player in franchise history and one of the top players in the NHL.

The fact that we even considered moving EK is a colossal embarrassment.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I think Alfie is involved in this.

Too many people saying fans will be happy. Not a lot of fans know much about the deep pockets in town so it has to be someone with a high profile. We know Alfie was/is directly involved in matters of ownership of the Ottawa Senators.

I think it makes a lot of sense: someone puts up the cash, Alfie gets to be the face of the new partner and makes fans happy. Alfie leaving in 2013 is what started all this attendance trouble, him coming back and stabilizing everything would be poetic

 

[Sensung]

I think Alfie is involved in this.

Too many people saying fans will be happy. Not a lot of fans know much about the deep pockets in town so it has to be someone with a high profile. We know Alfie was/is directly involved in matters of ownership of the Ottawa Senators.

I think it makes a lot of sense: someone puts up the cash, Alfie gets to be the face of the new partner.

It makes sense only if Melnyk is gone. Can't see Alfie coming back in with Eugene still with controlling interest.

 

[Samsquanch]

I think Alfie is involved in this.

Too many people saying fans will be happy. Not a lot of fans know much about the deep pockets in town so it has to be someone with a high profile. We know Alfie was/is directly involved in matters of ownership of the Ottawa Senators.

I think it makes a lot of sense: someone puts up the cash, Alfie gets to be the face of the new partner and makes fans happy. Alfie leaving in 2013 is what started all this attendance trouble, him coming back and stabilizing everything would be poetic

God what a freaking beautiful dream this would be. Its so unbelievably good and perfect that I refuse to get my hopes up and start believing this is a possible scenario.

I agree with Sensung that the only possibility of this happening would be a full blown expulsion of Melnyk from this franchise though, which I dont feel is likely at this point.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Exactly...The Arizona Freaking Coyotes can re-sign their stud D (who is about half as good as EK) and yet we hesitate to do whatever it takes to re-sign the best player in franchise history and one of the top players in the NHL.

The fact that we even considered moving EK is a colossal embarrassment.

Personally im a big fan of OEL, he's on in the second tier of elite dmen for me and I wouldn't say half as good but I digress, I can understand that if we were to sign EK to an 8 year contract that the likely hood off all those years being great to even good value is extremely low even for a player like EK, honestly in a shrewd business sense and even with the goal of creating a championship I could listen and even agree with the argument that the best move is to trade him, however under the current conditions with all we know and who is responsible for the trade and further more the motivation behind it, i can't get behind a move and believe it would be catastrophic loss for the franchise.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

God what a freaking beautiful dream this would be. Its so unbelievably good and perfect that I refuse to get my hopes up and start believing this is a possible scenario.

I agree with Sensung that the only possibility of this happening would be a full blown expulsion of Melnyk from this franchise though, which I dont feel is likely at this point.

So you think that Alfie could have a shot at being directly involved with ownership but would pass up on it if Melnyk was also in the picture?

That seems very unlikely to me: if you can get in, you get in, don't be picky. Some of you people project like drive-in theatres