Tomorrow Melynk and the mayor get together for informal meetings. To discuss i would imagine lebreton flats.

So probably a little more nothing to report will fuel the inter net after the meeting. as to the impending doom of the Sens. Over under odds of that happening...... even vegas wouldnt touch that slam dunk.
- spazzbot

Would love to be a fly on the wall. No secret that Melnyk and Watson dislike each other and are on opposite sides of several issues going back to the days Melnyk wanted a casino licence for Kanata. Remember it was at a Watson kick off event for reelection early in this summer where Alfredsson (a Watson supporter) gave the interview saying that a group he was associated with was hopeful of closing the deal to buy the Sens. He later said he thought the interview was off the record.

Worst case scenario is Ek , Stone and Duschene walk at the end of the year Tkachuk flakes out on you guys and you have no 1st round pick in 2019.

That would be a disaster.
- HonkyTonkMan

They'd get a lot back for each of them is the silver lining, each would be traded I imagine.

Tkachuk's a family name in the NHL now. Don't think the flake out narrative people keep pushing is all that likely. He said he'd announce his decision on which team by the 12th, wouldn't be surprised if it came today as it's friday.

But no matter what happens, this team is going to be a disaster for a while.

They'd get a lot back for each of them is the silver lining, each would be traded I imagine.

Tkachuk's a family name in the NHL now. Don't think the flake out narrative people keep pushing is all that likely. He said he'd announce his decision on which team by the 12th, wouldn't be surprised if it came today as it's friday.

But no matter what happens, this team is going to be a disaster for a while.
- david22

Most likely. I think if I were management I would be using this last years malarkey to initiate a full rebuild. Get as much as you can. Sucks not having a 1st and that may be the one thing that causes hesitation to tank/firesale. A full scorched earth rebuild only works if you stock up on assets, unlike what Edmonton did relying on 1 high draft pick per year.

Most likely. I think if I were management I would be using this last years malarkey to initiate a full rebuild. Get as much as you can. Sucks not having a 1st and that may be the one thing that causes hesitation to tank/firesale. A full scorched earth rebuild only works if you stock up on assets, unlike what Edmonton did relying on 1 high draft pick per year.
- HonkyTonkMan

I think this is right. 1st overall can give you a generational player (McDavid). But a lot of top 10 picks even those in the top 3 do not always blossom as top line players.

Once you have a strong base of prospects you have a lot more flexibility in bringing your talent along.

I prefer the Bruins model. They will keep a young rookie players on their roster and accelerate their development. Others get sent back to junior or the minors to grow their game.

Teams like Detroit that insist that all players need to spend extended time in the minors do a good job of growing NHL talent but I wonder if they miss on the opportunity of growing a superstar.

If you think that most NHL superstars have their best offensive production at or before age 25, I wonder about keeping a guy down until he is 22 or 23 years of age.

I thought it was a mistake to jerk Chabot around last year. He has great talent and I am not sure that the slower grinding play of the AHL helps in his development. I also think that Formenton demonstrated NHL speed, strong defensive skills and good hands. I would have kept him up last year as well.

I think this is right. 1st overall can give you a generational player (McDavid). But a lot of top 10 picks even those in the top 3 do not always blossom as top line players.

Once you have a strong base of prospects you have a lot more flexibility in bringing your talent along.

I prefer the Bruins model. They will keep a young rookie players on their roster and accelerate their development. Others get sent back to junior or the minors to grow their game.

Teams like Detroit that insist that all players need to spend extended time in the minors do a good job of growing NHL talent but I wonder if they miss on the opportunity of growing a superstar.

If you think that most NHL superstars have their best offensive production at or before age 25, I wonder about keeping a guy down until he is 22 or 23 years of age.

I thought it was a mistake to jerk Chabot around last year. He has great talent and I am not sure that the slower grinding play of the AHL helps in his development. I also think that Formenton demonstrated NHL speed, strong defensive skills and good hands. I would have kept him up last year as well.
- spatso

All prospects are different regardless of draft position. In today’s NHL defence is such a premium that it seems you need 2 or 3 studs developing before you start a tank. They take so much longer to develop. That’s why Chicago was so successful, Keith and Seabrook were ready by the time Kane and Toews took the ice.

Found the Melnyk statement interesting after his meeting with Mayor Watson. He says he is confident the downtown arena will proceed. All the necessary financing is in place. No public monies are required or included in the plan. Project approval is in the final stages and should not encounter any resistance. A public proposal is coming and there will be a chance for review before council votes on the proposal.

Mayor Watson, for his part, says he will do everything he can to eliminate all red tape to avoid anything that would slow down the beginning of the construction phase.

I do not believe that Melnyk is capable of leading the financing of this project at $4b.

I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I will not be disappointed if I am proven wrong. But, I still expect that once the shovels go in the ground we will find that the real developers are some of the names we have heard in the background.

If, on the other hand, Melnyk has actually pulled this off as the lead developer I will have to eat humble pie.

I think even once the deal is 100% sealed. We will hear what role Melynk is going to have , moving forward. At least today when he talked with positivness. Thats refreshing. I truly believe he is huge hockey fan and his emotions about the team get in the way many times.
Sooner hopefully they will start to show us what the actual plan is for the roster. I believe as it stands now until trade deadlins. Depending on goaltending they are going to be in the mix of competitiveness. Really not much has changed roster wise. Last year was a disaster beyond talent capability. Regardless even if they miraculously are in first place and Karlsson Duchene Stone are not signed ..you have to trade them at deadline. That would be an interesting scenario. Yikes

I think even once the deal is 100% sealed. We will hear what role Melynk is going to have , moving forward. At least today when he talked with positivness. Thats refreshing. I truly believe he is huge hockey fan and his emotions about the team get in the way many times.
Sooner hopefully they will start to show us what the actual plan is for the roster. I believe as it stands now until trade deadlins. Depending on goaltending they are going to be in the mix of competitiveness. Really not much has changed roster wise. Last year was a disaster beyond talent capability. Regardless even if they miraculously are in first place and Karlsson Duchene Stone are not signed ..you have to trade them at deadline. That would be an interesting scenario. Yikes
- spazzbot

I agree.

Ruddy (Melnyk's development partner) counting the side by side LeBretton and Bayview developments has close to $8b in financing needs for the two projects. We know that a great deal of the land around Preston street has also been bought up in anticipation of development all along the LRT corridor.

The Sens are a small part of the overall project. Yet they are the key piece in establishing an attractions/concert centre in the downtown core. I am surprised Melnyk has hung in as long as he has.

Its a beautiful piece of land. I was admiring it from a rooftop on Slater/Lyon. Supposedly the city is building a state of the art library there too. That area os going to become the heart of downtown eventually.
I am beginning to think Melynk is going to accept close to 700 mill. Yes that seems outrageous for the Sens. But like you said its beyond the Sens. If that happened both him and Bettman would be very happy people. What did he buy them for 95 mill? Including the building. Not too bad of an investment.
But who really knows. The ultra rich hate leaving any money on the table , especially future forecasts of billions. So we potentially could be with him for a very very long time.

Its a beautiful piece of land. I was admiring it from a rooftop on Slater/Lyon. Supposedly the city is building a state of the art library there too. That area os going to become the heart of downtown eventually.
I am beginning to think Melynk is going to accept close to 700 mill. Yes that seems outrageous for the Sens. But like you said its beyond the Sens. If that happened both him and Bettman would be very happy people. What did he buy them for 95 mill? Including the building. Not too bad of an investment.
But who really knows. The ultra rich hate leaving any money on the table , especially future forecasts of billions. So we potentially could be with him for a very very long time.
- spazzbot

The original proposal included a new public library but that seems to have been changed to a french language public school (i assume the city controls that decision). It also includes an 800 room hotel (it would be the largest in Ottawa by far). Office and retail space are included as well as 4,400 residential units. Estimates are 12,000 people would work in the complex and 7,000 would live there as permanent residents.

The actual arena is about equal distance between the Bayview and Pimisi LRT stations. The same development group (Ruddy) owns the Bayview lands where the development scale seems large, far more commercial and much farther along in the planning process.

I do wonder if the city can sustain that concentration of development in a narrow time frame.

Mrs. Spatso and I live in the country. She is a huge gardiner. Interesting she says if we were ever to move back into the city LeBretton would be her first choice. I work with a colleague that owns a condo in LeBetton. It really is a neat area.

Found the Melnyk statement interesting after his meeting with Mayor Watson. He says he is confident the downtown arena will proceed. All the necessary financing is in place. No public monies are required or included in the plan. Project approval is in the final stages and should not encounter any resistance. A public proposal is coming and there will be a chance for review before council votes on the proposal.

Mayor Watson, for his part, says he will do everything he can to eliminate all red tape to avoid anything that would slow down the beginning of the construction phase.

I do not believe that Melnyk is capable of leading the financing of this project at $4b.

I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I will not be disappointed if I am proven wrong. But, I still expect that once the shovels go in the ground we will find that the real developers are some of the names we have heard in the background.

If, on the other hand, Melnyk has actually pulled this off as the lead developer I will have to eat humble pie.
- spatso

You've not been disappointed in a long long time