I thought she left him because all this time he has really been Howard BUrger.
- Aetherial

You just never know when the Booger will strike. He's a HB season ticket holder...

So sad to hear about Karlsson's son

Gees Ek , our picks mirror each other againhttps://youtu.be/lyUfKyDJ9N0

Gees Ek , our picks mirror each other againhttps://youtu.be/lyUfKyDJ9N0
- Allforhim12

Go away.

So sad to hear about Karlsson's son
- AlfieisKing

Me too. I don't wish that on anyone. Prayers for him and his family.

Farm fresh

- Doogs

Who needs a dump truck full of boneless, skinless chicken breasts?
That's right, YOU DO!!!!!

Me too. I don't wish that on anyone. Prayers for him and his family.
- gergeswillems

yeah... well said

All went south after the Duchene trade, which was bound to happen (although I didn't expect it to go like this). I'm not pro Melnyk but he's doing all right.

Ceci will be a 1D in this league
Lazar will be Taylor Hall
Cowen is following the same development path as Chara
Lehner will be the next Rask
Ryan Dzingle can be compared to blake wheeler based on goals this year

Yeah hes the stupid one
- DDM-Coga

wow, u take a lot of out of context

Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do Dee Do Dee Do.



(in a lower octave) Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do Dee Do Dee Do.

Me too. I don't wish that on anyone. Prayers for him and his family.
- gergeswillems

Probably on of the worst feelings to ever experience. High of highs... to low of lows.

Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do Dee Do Dee Do.



(in a lower octave) Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do. Do Dee Do Dee Do Dee Do.
- glove_was_stuck

- gergeswillems

- glove_was_stuck

Geno's jacked.

You just never know when the Booger will strike. He's a HB season ticket holder...


- gergeswillems

We've got Bush....

I have no idea how Ottawa fans think this is going to do anything, if it does anything, it makes Melnyk more apt to move the team. A straight F U to these dumb billboards, maybe if the fans were so fair-weather they show up to the damn games, my Sabres have better attendance and we haven't made the playoffs in like forever.
- Sabres1523

It's not Melnyk's decision alone to move the team. The NHL has final say and would probably force a sale to local ownership, or someone committed to keeping the team in Ottawa. Given the Lebreton development, this team isn't going anywhere. That's a goldmine and everyone knows it, Melnyk included. IMO that's why he's handing on. The question is can he keep this team afloat until puck drop in the new rink. As per all sorts of local and national reporting, it appears he doesn't have the funds right now, let alone the next few years till they move to Lebreton Flats. The only other option is to sell off players. Fans tend to not like that, nor do they like the way he addresses the fan base. He spends most of his time on Fan590 because he doesn't have the balls to say what he says on local radio.

I live in Southern Ontarion and remember buying tix to Sabres games not that long ago (pre-Pegula) and the place was empty most nights (against big draws)....so yes a new owner can make a difference.

Geno's jacked.
- gergeswillems

MALKAMANIA

wow, u take a lot of out of context
- AlfieisKing

nothing was taken out of context, this is how your dumb brain works when you are annoying people unwelcomely trying to talk trade about your crappy sens players that no one wants.

Enters a thread randomly...hi guys I think Cowen and Lehner would make the oilers a contender next year, you should trade your best picks and prospects for them.

Alfie no one wants them

Oh ok, let me follow up with 20 consecutive posts responding to everyone explaining how awesome and elite they are given the right situation and development.

Example ....Coga: Ceci is trash and isnt going to get any better he is what he is and thats a borderline 2nd pairing Dman. Alfie: He lots 23 minute a game hes a Top Pairing Dman!

nothing was taken out of context, this is how your dumb brain works when you are annoying people unwelcomely trying to talk trade about your crappy sens players that no one wants.

Enters a thread randomly...hi guys I think Cowen and Lehner would make the oilers a contender next year, you should trade your best picks and prospects for them.

Alfie no one wants them

Oh ok, let me follow up with 20 consecutive posts responding to everyone explaining how awesome and elite they are given the right situation and development.

Example ....Coga: Ceci is trash and isnt going to get any better he is what he is and thats a borderline 2nd pairing Dman. Alfie: He lots 23 minute a game hes a Top Pairing Dman!
- DDM-Coga

Completely taken out of context.

Completely taken out of context.
- glove_was_stuck

the guy lives in a fantasy land.

First I thought it was an act, but no....hes just that stupid

Come on Ek. Time to get out of bed. Daylight is burning. Vegas is waiting for your picks. Gallant especially.

How are the sharks still on the outside looking in?

It's not Melnyk's decision alone to move the team. The NHL has final say and would probably force a sale to local ownership, or someone committed to keeping the team in Ottawa. Given the Lebreton development, this team isn't going anywhere. That's a goldmine and everyone knows it, Melnyk included. IMO that's why he's handing on. The question is can he keep this team afloat until puck drop in the new rink. As per all sorts of local and national reporting, it appears he doesn't have the funds right now, let alone the next few years till they move to Lebreton Flats. The only other option is to sell off players. Fans tend to not like that, nor do they like the way he addresses the fan base. He spends most of his time on Fan590 because he doesn't have the balls to say what he says on local radio.

I live in Southern Ontarion and remember buying tix to Sabres games not that long ago (pre-Pegula) and the place was empty most nights (against big draws)....so yes a new owner can make a difference.
- Jamesonlover

First off, as a sens fan that has had plenty of criticism for Melnyk the past few months I think the billboards are petty, bring the fans down to his level, and will have zero impact on anything because as stated in the quote above, Melnyk isn't selling while the Lebreton goldmine is in his sights.

Second, all the comments that the sens have had it good over the years are correct. Good roster management, drafting, and an owner (Melnyk the billionaire) that was willing to let the team run on the operating income led to decent success for a small market. Translation, the sens made money every year minus the exhorbonate interest on the team debt from purchase when Melnyk decided not to buy the team outright (ala Vinnik in TB who took on 0% debt) and instead kept 50% of the team value in debt. For years he paid the interest on the debt (10-20 mil per year) because he would make it back in team value and playoff rev. (this happens in many markets and it's the exceptions: Harold Ballard, Bill Wirtz, etc that prove the rule that you can gurantee not losing money and suck, or invest and sometimes lose money, sometimes make money, but have a chance at success on the ice.)


Things were good. So what has changed.

Melnyk is now a millionaire, not a billionaire. He cannot cover the debt interest on his own and fund lebreton, divorce payments, and his lifestyle. Therefore now team income has to cover the team operations, and 10-20 million in debt interest every year. Hence the need to drastically reduce player payroll as soon as it was apparent that playoffs were out of the question. (The sens budget just for the reg season so anything in the playoffs is bonus cash)

He is moving the team to Lebreton but it's mostly not with his money. His chip in the game is the team which the city wants as part of the project. Other billionaires and the city are footing the billions for the development.

He is an idiot when it comes to PR but he was before all the issues (remember the Cook investigation, lol) but the fans didn't care. The fans, most of them, also didn't care that we were a budget team because we are a small market and that's just reality.



The real reason why sens fans are upset

Melnyk is just simply does not have the means, or worse is not willing, to fund the team as needed. Look at Vinnik in TB. He invests in the team and covers the loses because he knows that over the long term he will make it back in playoff and team value. But this takes cash flow because you might have to cover 30-40 million in debt until you go on a long playoff run or you are able to parlay your fan support into a lucrative tv contract, land development around the stadium, etc, etc.

Melnyk no longer can provide the cash flow. And as a result, all of the valid points other fans are making about how the sens have had it good, lots of playoffs, generational talent in Karlsson, affordable tickets, etc, etc is going away. If you had it good, and you were now going to not have it good, solely because the owner will not swallow his pride and take on a part owner when plenty are available (one rumor is that Alfie left the management team because he brought over some swedish investors to help prop up the team and melnyk wouldn't even meet with them, and then there is the other Lebreton group that is willing to buy and backed by billionaires, or one of his Lebreton partners John Ruddy, or the RedBlack ownership consortium, or many other investors that would line up for part of a business that trippled in value over the past decade.)

Maybe Menlyk is just waiting until after Lebreton to sell. Maybe the new rev from a relocated franchise will allow him to fund the team properly again. But for the next few years Ottawa will see the team decimated in order to reduce costs because Melnyk wants to sell for 700 million instead of 500 million. Hard to tell a 10 year old kid in a Karlsson sweater that he is being traded because of the owners ego. righ or wrong, the frustration is enough for some to put up billboards.


On Attendance

One final note on attendance. I'd be careful when criticising the Ottawa fanbase. Half the teams in the NHL have failed to sellout a playoff game at one point or another with much smaller stadiums than that in Ottawa. Easy to look up and you would be suprised who is on that list. Another fun fact. Paid attendance in Ottawa hasn't changed. The reg season attendance is mostly due to the sens deciding to no longer paper the stadium (free tickets to community groups) because you guessed it, Melnyk needed more $$$.