News Article: The Eugene Melnyk era in Ottawa (The Athletic)

[OD99]

Seems like Eugene spent the last 10 years of his life as a crotchety, unpredictable, tyrannical ass. But, I think that was pretty well known. All that got published was a bunch of stories cobbled together that demonstrate his assishness (made up word alert). I'm no better off today knowing a bunch of examples of his behaviour.

What would interest me is a longer view of his life. He seems to have gone from being a fairly jovial fellow that had an interest in philanthropy to a maniacal tyrant. Examples of tyranny aren't that interesting if you'd already accepted he was a tyrant.

I didn't read the article so only going by the parts that have been covered but do we know he only started this behaviour in the last 10 years?

Wasn't he kicked out of Biovail? Who knows what work environment they had there but wouldn't shock me to learn that there are stories from that part of his life too.

 

[Micklebot]

Anyone have a link for the podcast?

Which one?

Here's the round table

The Athletic Hockey Show - Podcasts

The Athletic's flagship hockey podcast delivers daily insights, player interviews, analytics, prospect rankings, betting picks, and much more, Monday through Friday, all season long. Hosted by: Ian Mendes, Julian McKenzie, Craig Custance, Sean Gentille, Hailey Salvian, CBC's Rob Pizzo, Jesse...

theathletic.com

Mendes is doing something tonight at 8 I think, you get to it using the app,

 

[JD1]

I didn't read the article so only going by the parts that have been covered but do we know he only started this behaviour in the last 10 years?

Wasn't he kicked out of Biovail? Who knows what work environment they had there but wouldn't shock me to learn that there are stories from that part of his life too.

Kicked out isn't how I'd phrase his departure from biovail. He did leave though under a cloud of suspicion. But that all to securities issues. I don't recall seeing anything relating to behavioural issues and the 2000s.

 

[JD1]

Which one?

Here's the round table

The Athletic Hockey Show - Podcasts

The Athletic's flagship hockey podcast delivers daily insights, player interviews, analytics, prospect rankings, betting picks, and much more, Monday through Friday, all season long. Hosted by: Ian Mendes, Julian McKenzie, Craig Custance, Sean Gentille, Hailey Salvian, CBC's Rob Pizzo, Jesse...

theathletic.com

Mendes is doing something tonight at 8 I think, you get to it using the app,

Someone mentioned a podcast talking about the article

 

[Micklebot]

Someone mentioned a podcast talking about the article

The roundtable is discusing the article, but Mendes is doing a live open mic Q&A about it tonight, could have been referring to either one, but if it's something they heard on a podcast, likely the round table I linked.

Edit: Could be this one too with Mendes and Haily - Eugene Melnyk story fallout, Tampa Bay Lightning playing possum?, Vladimir Tarasenko’s bounce back season for the St. Louis Blues, Multiple Choice Madness, and more - The Athletic Hockey Show - Podcasts

 

[coladin]

The roundtable is discusing the article, but Mendes is doing a live open mic Q&A about it tonight, could have been referring to either one, but if it's something they heard on a podcast, likely the round table I linked.

Edit: Could be this one too with Mendes and Haily - Eugene Melnyk story fallout, Tampa Bay Lightning playing possum?, Vladimir Tarasenko’s bounce back season for the St. Louis Blues, Multiple Choice Madness, and more - The Athletic Hockey Show - Podcasts

There is a more recent one, I think the 19th , which we are referring to where just Ian and Hailey discuss the article. It was better than the roundtable, imo

 

[Micklebot]

There is a more recent one, I think the 19th , which we are referring to where just Ian and Hailey discuss the article. It was better than the roundtable, imo

Ya, I believe that's the one in my edit, it's from the 18th and leads off with Haily and Mendes talking about the article, Hailey shares some stores about her experience and basically anytime she'd rather not go deeper into it leaves off ominously with "for reasons"

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Upgrayedd]

Seems really bizarre there has been virtually no talk about this article at all from the corporate press, specifically because several of the direct allegations seem to go against the various things they routinely virtue signal with, race, gender and mental health being the mains. Other then Bruce's laughable defense which was quickly and rightfully axed has anyone else truly weighed in? I suppose that would require real journalists though which are few and far between these days.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Seems really bizarre there has been virtually no talk about this article at all from the corporate press, specifically because several of the direct allegations seem to go against the various things they routinely virtue signal with, race, gender and mental health being the mains. Other then Bruce's laughable defense which was quickly and rightfully axed has anyone else truly weighed in? I suppose that would require real journalists though which are few and far between these days.

It’s probably because he is dead. If the subject can’t respond to the subjects there really isn’t a lot of runway to the story beyond looking to pile on.

 

[slamigo]

Bottom line is that we all knew this. No matter what little tid bit comes out now, we will all likely shrug and say 'yeah, he had some issues'. It could have been mental health. It could have been due to the medical treatments. It could have been that he just wasn't a nice guy. Who knows? At this point though, who cares? Do people want to go and shake their fist at his grave? The man has passed. He's gone. Let him rest in peace.

I for one am far more interested in what comes next. What is the next chapter for the team. Does it stay in the family? Do they take on deep pocketed partners or sell? Will we get a new arena?

 

[HSF]

Doesn’t this pretty much confirm why duclair left? Cause it seems like Eugene was not for BLM

Pretty pathetic anyways by Eugene side.

Glad he is no longer the owner here

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Doesn’t this pretty much confirm why duclair left? Cause it seems like Eugene was not for BLM

Pretty pathetic anyways by Eugene side.

Glad he is no longer the owner here

Yep. This is a quote he gave Mendes on Feb. 27:

“I don’t want to go into too much detail about Ottawa, but the way I’m being treated here is unbelievable. To have the owner and general manager support whatever I want to do off the ice and to have that in the back of my mind is obviously refreshing,” Duclair said. “It makes me want to play harder for this organization, so I can stay here long term. Especially for a Black hockey player, there is nothing better than knowing the mindset of your bosses. It’s amazing.”

Source.

 

[HSF]

Yep. This is a quote he gave Mendes on Feb. 27:


Source.

Ya we needed new ownership

This is bad

 

[Upgrayedd]

It’s probably because he is dead. If the subject can’t respond to the subjects there really isn’t a lot of runway to the story beyond looking to pile on.

It's weird because I have seen topics discussed about people that have long been dead for years, decades and even centuries after without said people able to comment on it. I guess this article absolutely tells all and there's no need for further investigation right? Lol

 

[Masked]

Seems really bizarre there has been virtually no talk about this article at all from the corporate press, specifically because several of the direct allegations seem to go against the various things they routinely virtue signal with, race, gender and mental health being the mains. Other then Bruce's laughable defense which was quickly and rightfully axed has anyone else truly weighed in? I suppose that would require real journalists though which are few and far between these days.

Why would they promote the work of a competitor?

Assen na yo!

 

[Stylizer1]

Yep. This is a quote he gave Mendes on Feb. 27:


Source.

I take his comment with a grain of salt.

 

[Stylizer1]

Why would they promote the work of a competitor?

Assen na yo!

They report all the time on other news reported by other outlets. Why should this be different. In fact Most media derive their info from the associated Press, BBC, Thompson Reuters, ESPN.....

 

[Stylizer1]

.....

 

[Ice-Tray]

It's weird because I have seen topics discussed about people that have long been dead for years, decades and even centuries after without said people able to comment on it. I guess this article absolutely tells all and there's no need for further investigation right? Lol

Well, I mean if this is the depth of the issues, there really isn’t much more to talk about is there? I mean sure, if folks need more similar examples to consume I guess that’s a reason to keep going.

Have you considered that this is what the investigation turned up? These are the highlights of what was discovered?

From where I’m sitting, unless there is a deeper level, this article and the subsequent podcast pretty much tells it all.

What more do you want? Several news cycles of dirty laundry that all add up to the same conclusions? That sounds more like TMZ to me.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Well, I mean if this is the depth of the issues, there really isn’t much more to talk about is there? I mean sure, if folks need more similar examples to consume I guess that’s a reason to keep going.

Have you considered that this is what the investigation turned up? These are the highlights of what was discovered?

From where I’m sitting, unless there is a deeper level, this article and the subsequent podcast pretty much tells it all.

What more do you want? Several news cycles of dirty laundry that all add up to the same conclusions? That sounds more like TMZ to me.

They explicitly stated in the podcast that there is a deeper level they didn't report out of respect for the timeliness of it, I-T. C'mon.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Well, I mean if this is the depth of the issues, there really isn’t much more to talk about is there? I mean sure, if folks need more similar examples to consume I guess that’s a reason to keep going.

Have you considered that this is what the investigation turned up? These are the highlights of what was discovered?

From where I’m sitting, unless there is a deeper level, this article and the subsequent podcast pretty much tells it all.

What more do you want? Several news cycles of dirty laundry that all add up to the same conclusions? That sounds more like TMZ to me.

There is certainly much more to most of these stories and yes I expect extensive coverage of the absolute massive elephant currently residing in the city wearing a Sens jersey at the bare minimum, I question really anyone's motives who is looking to sweep this under the proverbial rug.

 

[DaveMatthew]

There is certainly much more to most of these stories and yes I expect extensive coverage of the absolute massive elephant currently residing in the city wearing a Sens jersey at the bare minimum, I question really anyone's motives who is looking to sweep this under the proverbial rug.

Not just sweep this under the rug, but there's a group of people who want to sweep it under the rug AND perpetuate a false reality that Eugene Melnyk was a great man who did nothing wrong and for whom we should all be grateful.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Well, I mean if this is the depth of the issues, there really isn’t much more to talk about is there? I mean sure, if folks need more similar examples to consume I guess that’s a reason to keep going.

Have you considered that this is what the investigation turned up? These are the highlights of what was discovered?

From where I’m sitting, unless there is a deeper level, this article and the subsequent podcast pretty much tells it all.

What more do you want? Several news cycles of dirty laundry that all add up to the same conclusions? That sounds more like TMZ to me.

I think most in here have been pretty reasonable, but I've been disappointed by your commentary on this from the get go. Having worked in environments and for bosses far less toxic, but still similarly toxic and traumatizing, you're downplaying the underlying seriousness of a boss that acts like a tyrant and/or doesn't respect lines that can't be crossed. You seem to be missing the point that these are stories that portray what was happening, what he was like as a person, including to those he treated well at times like the Ukrainian fellow, it's not about the isolated cases. You have a story about him literally trying to land the guy in jail, that would literally ruin their life over one mans delusional conspiracy! They said it could have been 10000 pages long if they could use everything. Just that one line in that email calling her a would have had me fired immediately from every job I've ever been in. He's only exempt because he's the owner which is what so much of stuff like this and the me too stuff is about; the power dynamics leaving these people with no option but to be abused or give up their livelihood and start over. You want to condemn the social justice commentary, without acknowledging that its been like this because it's the last resort people have in cases like this, and in this particular case they didn't even have that because the asshole in question extended his power and wealth to the court system to bully them, so they had to wait for the f***ing guy to die just to get that. Now it stays out there and gets talked about to honor those people that endured the shit from him, that's why. Nobody needs to make excuses for this asshole that seemed to think he could treat others however he wanted simply because he owned it. It's 2022 and people like that need to be exposed and held accountable and in this case f***ing embarrassed for a period of time as his daughters essentially take it on the chin for him and that's the legacy he left. Keep the stories coming because by all accounts there are a ton more out there and those people deserve to have their stories told since they weren't able to while he was alive. We want to say its too late for this, even though the subject of it seems to be the whole reason it waited until now.

 

[ksens]

Mendes is excellent on this Q&A so far. Too bad the people who most need to listen to it won't.