|
Town Hall meetings allow Melnyk to show true colours |
|
|
|
|
|
As I start wrting this, the second of 3 scheduled Town Hall meetings is well underway. By the time I am finished, the third one could be over, so bear with me as there has been a lot of things said. Since audio recording wasn't permitted (although you can find some copies out there of people who apparently just put their phone on record), the limited media present was allowed to tweet, so I will be posting some of those and responding to them. This morning's session was supposed to be closed to the media, but somehow CBC's Dan Seguin was there and I will use some of his tweets as well. (Seguin later tweeted out that he was only allowed in because he is a season ticket holder)
First off, the positive...Parking will be cut by about 40% next season.
Now the negative, and there is a list of that so long that I won't be able to cover everything.
First off, there is the blaming of the media from Eugene Melnyk for misconstruing his comments at the alumni game ahead of the NHL100 Classic.
OK whatever. It's not like it wasn't aired in its entirety or anything. You can hear the whole conversation unedited on TSN1200's twitter feed, as they have reposted the whole 11 minute conversation. I re-listened to the whole thing and there wasn't much to misconstrue, and I had even missed the Trump-ism "I don't bluff" the first time around.
He said what he said, and then when he was pressed further on the issue, he offered this gem:
Not apologizing for making the comments, but for the fact that it was mis-characterized, and apologizing not for himself but essentially on behalf of the media.
He indicated that there are no circumstances under which he would sell the team, and then on Wednesday he turned around and said:
And perhaps the cherry on the sundae from Tuesday night was the Erik Karlsson issue.
Pierre Dorion asserted he will not trade Karlsson before, or at the draft and that they would be offering him an 8 year contract on July 1st but Melnuk hedged the comment with the phrase
Dorion also tried to affirm that they didn't shop Erik Karlsson, and that teams called so they listened, and again tried to say it was not a fact and blamed the media and bloggers until it was pointed out by a couple of those bloggers that the source was a little closer to the situation
That is very concerning to those who want the captain to remain. The fact is, the team has a full year window for exclusive negotiating rights with the Captain, and (as I have been saying for months) although it might not be the best hockey move for the long term based on the age he will be at, business-wise the club can't afford another backlash from the fan base like the one that happened when they let Daniel Alfreddson reach free agency over a couple of million dollars. That gaffe cost Melnyk far more than the contract would have, in terms of dollars, reputation and trustworthiness, and that incident was the precursor to what is going on now, and that will be just a tremor compared to the earthquake of reaction if Karlsson is not brought back for financial reasons and if the perception is that "as far as they can go" isn't far enough.
Basically my take is that their attitude is something along the lines of "we will offer him a contract, if he turns it down then its on him and he has made the decision to leave"...which is pretty much what happened when Alfredsson left for Detroit.
What makes me laugh almost more than anything else in this process is that a large portion of the fan base thinks the media (especially the mainstream) is too easy on the club, yet Melnyk's take on the situation is summed up as..
And for those looking forward to a quick resolution to the LeBreton Flats arena situation, there is more bad news
A few weeks ago I wrote a piece comparing Melnyk to Donald Trump and these past two days, reading different accounts of what was said during these first two town halls, that opinion hasn't changed.
And yes, it is still his team and he has the final say, but if these meetings were supposed to bridge the gap that has appeared, I think it has had the opposite effect and if anything that gap is now a chasm and I don't know if there is a bridge that can bring it back.
If it was ugly before, it just got uglier and this is going to be a tough ride. These meetings provided the opportunity to clear the air, provide the plan but did neither.
It has made me angry from a fan perspective, and also as a member of the digital media that the two of them can stand there and spew such nonsense and expect the public to accept it as the truth. I am far more frustrated with the organization today than I was yesterday, and that was already at a pretty high level.
There was also an apparent split in terms of supporting and being adversarial, where the older attendees were supportive while the younger ones challenged. I think it might come down to the younger generation not knowing what it was like without an NHL team and expecting more, while the older group remembers the pre-Senators and really just appreciate having a team in the city and realizing that Melnyk is indeed the big reason why it is still here, and they are conscious of that fact and as a result probably more forgiving.
Age-wise I probably fall into the latter (I was a teenager when the team played its inaugural season, and that makes me feel very old), but I don't understand Melnyk's attitude and decision-making process and I don't understand how that thinking made him a billionaire. But he did, and he has a shiny toy to play with and like it or not, it is his to do what he wants with.
I am close to declaring free agency myself quite frankly, so I wouldn't blame Karlsson, Mark Stone or Matt Duchene if they decide to jump ship when the opportunity presents itself.
If you made it to the end, thanks for doing so. I know this one was a little choppy and all over the place, but that is where my mind is at the moment as well.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»