MAYBE IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE
Will billboard campaign backfire?
If only it were that simple.
Many believe the Senators are in dire need of fresh, new ownership, but fans aren’t going to chase Eugene Melnyk out of town overnight by putting up a few billboards.
All it might do is aid what may well be a long, drawn-out process.
You’d like to think the signs, with the hashtag MelnykOut displayed in bold, would embarrass the team owner-CEO -president into selling the Senators for the half-billion dollars he could probably get in return, and that it would happen while they still have an exciting superstar such as Erik Karlsson and hope of a sparkling new facility at LeBreton Flats.
But then you’d also prefer things had never reached this stage, where what was once a proud hockey market is now the home of a building where seats are covered in tarp.
Melnyk didn’t have to see the signs to know many want him gone. You’d think he would have realized it when he drove five hours down the highway to Toronto in a weak attempt to mend fences from his Parliament Hill routine in December, instead of offering an apology in the nation’s capital.
He can’t really be naive enough to believe his threats of cutting payroll and relocation would be forgotten by later shrugging that he scratched a “nerve,” and saying the very people he insulted and whose loyalty he dismissed are suddenly “great hockey fans” again.
He has to know everyone saw his true colours that cold night before the outdoor game and he has to know there’s no turning back from that mistake.
No, the only thing billboard creator Spencer Callaghan and his GoFundMe contributors can hope for is that their cause leads to more attendance problems at Canadian Tire Centre.
That’s what will hit Melnyk where it hurts. That’s what will turn him angry and drive him to some sort of action. I imagine that he’ll scream at the hired help and then start swinging his axe.
First, I’d bet, he’ll use the lack of support as justification for not signing Karlsson to an extension, and trading him. Next to go will be Matt Duchene, whose contract situation is similar to the captain’s. If Melnyk is cutting the player payroll, it stands to reason he’s also not going to sign Mark Stone to the long-term deal he should get when he becomes a restricted free agent in July either.
It’s only a matter of time, in my opinion, before he loses the team’s most talented players — and then, as stated, he’ll investigate moving the team.
The problem Melnyk will encounter is the National Hockey League, which doesn’t want the Senators to go anywhere.
At some point, somebody should be able to appeal to Melnyk’s senses, whether it’s an official with the league or one of his few friends.
Hopefully, it happens before the axe-swinging begins.
Selling the Senators would set Melnyk up for life. He just won’t be the owner of an NHL team anymore, which is what he used to love more than anything. But how much fun can that be for him now?
The billboards aren’t going to do it by themselves, but the word they spread just might add to a fire Melnyk started himself.
Expect change will come, that the Senators are going to get the fresh, new ownership many think they so direly need. But don’t believe for a second that it’s going to be simple.
The only thing billboard creator Spencer Callaghan … can hope for is that their cause leads to more attendance problems. … That’s what will turn (Melnyk) angry and drive him to some sort of action. DON BRENNAN, see story opposite
Mark Borowiecki came to Eugene Melnyk’s defence Monday.
The rugged Ottawa Senators blue-liner made it clear he’s not sure why a small portion of the fan base has spent money to buy billboards with the hashtag #MelnykOut to try to force club’s owner to sell the team.
Borowiecki, 28, grew up a slapshot away from the Canadian Tire Centre in Stittsville, was here in 2003 when former owner Rod Bryden put the team into bankruptcy, and noted that Melnyk stepped forward to purchase the franchise so it would stay in Ottawa.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” Borowiecki said. “I will say I don’t think running a sports franchise is quite as easy as some people think it is. There’s a lot to it that people can’t understand and don’t appreciate.
“Eugene’s stepped up big for this city. I remember growing up and being a fan when there was a real danger of losing this team. Fans might have gripes — certain sections of that fan base especially might take issues with things. But there was a real possibility a few years ago we wouldn’t have a team here.
“I’d much rather have a team and take small issues with it than not have a team at all.”
Borowiecki said he hasn’t paid any attention to the campaign and only broached the subject because he was asked about it after billboards went up in various locations around the city.
His focus is preparing to play the Florida Panthers on Tuesday to start a three-game homestand.
“I honestly had no idea,” Borowiecki said.