8/25/13 HockeyBuzz.com - Travis Yost - Gene Melnyk Money V
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Gene Melnyk Money V Mike Augello writes... Like Be the first of your friends to like this. Leafs Prospects Impressing At World Junior Exhibition
July 11, 2013, 9:58 PM ET [92 Comments] SharSeharSeharSeharMeore0 Richard Cloutier writes... Which NHL Team is the Most Interesting? Part 1 Travis Yost Richard Cloutier writes... Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT Which Team is the Most Interesting in the NHL, Part 2 Eklund writes... Make sure to follow Travis on Twitter! The Most Shocking NHL Trades in My Memory... Give Me Your Most Surprising.. Bill Meltzer writes... I've been paying a bit of attention to the George Zimmerman trial down in Florida. The arguments tend Meltzer's Musings: WJC Camp, Knuble, to intrigue me far more than the facts do in litigation, and this particular trial isn't really an exception. Brind'Amour, Team of 2000s Line Combos GARTH writes... One thing I thought was sort of interesting during closing arguments was how the prosecution tried to Eyes Fore Okposo lay out a number of inconsistencies in what George Zimmerman had either done or said from the time of GARTH writes... Future Consideration Trayvon Martin's death until present. Lying is sort of an art form, and the best way to corner a liar is by Jan Levine writes... presenting two or more instances where the individual (or organization) has represented completely Offseason 20+ Questions: How Much Money and opposing points or arguments. Years in Bank for Hank? Ian Esplen writes... It's funny, because the one flaw I found in the prosecution's outlining of Zimmerman's flawed timelines The cupboard is filling up Top 10 Canucks is that prosecutor Bernie De La Rionda who presented his closing argument on Thursday tried to prospects inject emotion into the inconsistencies. I get that the prosecution wants the jury to connect with Adam French writes... Top10 Prospects : Oilers (110) Trayvon Martin on a certain level, but it came off as a guy sort of pleading rather than showing.
I think it's a personal opinion of mine, but speaking from the heart when dealing with material facts and the like seems to be highrisk, lowreward. The indictment, which is really the end goal of an arguer in this instance, comes from the statements themselves. When the jury's been presented with such incongruities, you have to believe they can draw the logical conclusion that the inaccuracies are manifesting for a reason. CNN paraded a halfdozen legal analysts on national television, and a few held that same sentiment. Lay it out, and let the statements speak for themselves.
Which, naturally, brings me to Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Menlyk, who fired off a dozen salvos in the direction of the city of Ottawa, et al. after his casino plan for Scotiabank Place/Canadian Tire Centre went awry.
Melnyk is upset about the way the bidding process was handled. It's his opinion that there was a distinct lack of transparency, one designed to shift the proposed casino to the Rideau Carleton Raceway on Albion Road, and only the Rideau Carleton Raceway on Albion Road. Melnyk's plan was shot down by a 101 vote by city council's finance committee.
I believe there are legitimate questions about whether or not Melnyk received a fair shake in this whole ordeal. What I'm more interested in, though, is the line of quotes he delivered in what can more or less be called a tirade in front of the media.
In pertinent part: webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tVxV-LHtZGsJ:www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php%3Fpost_id%3D52764+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#.Uho… 1/4 8/25/13 HockeyBuzz.com - Travis Yost - Gene Melnyk Money V
Melnyk was asked if the the hockey team makes a profit. "Substantial losses."
We're trying to compensate lack of capital by changing the way we conduct our hockey operations. And that is develop young players.
I can't spend another $5M$6M dollars on a player. The revenues aren't there. The team will not be viable."
On the one hand you have fans screaming 'why aren't you spending this?' Well guess what. We don't have the money for it.
There's only 30 teams. People are after these properties. But they're not after losing properties.
And this threat:
Melnyk was adamant he won't sell the team or leave Ottawa. "Leave where? Here? No no no no. I just won't spend any more money."
If Eugene Melnyk is to be believed, he's essentially arguing that Senators Sports and Entertainment is hemorrhaging money annually. I find this interesting for a number of reasons.
How do these quotes line up with, well, what's already been said about this team in instances where an owner wasn't been grieving on his casino loss? What about in instances that predate his recent financial hardships? [Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, Exhibit D Eugene Melnyk, April 2009:
"To compete these days, you are pretty much committed to spending to the cap," said Melnyk, who met with the players in the dressing room following a team photo at Scotiabank Place yesterday. "(But) you can only do that for so long and you need a winning team to be able to support that.
Senators president Cyril Leeder, March 2010.
“The factors are pretty straightforward,” he said. “(When you miss the playoffs) your season ticket base typically trails for one year. So if you have a bad year, you’ll often see that follow on during the next season. And conversely, if you have an improvement in the year, you’ll see that carry into the next season as well.”
Eugene Melnyk, September 2011:
Q: You’re now paying much less in payroll, can you break even without being a playoff team this year?
A: Yes. Put it this way. We should not be in business if we have to make the playoffs, just to break even. That’s not fair. That’s your bonus. That’s your bonus.
Eugene Melnyk, September 2011 webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tVxV-LHtZGsJ:www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php%3Fpost_id%3D52764+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#.Uho… 2/4 8/25/13 HockeyBuzz.com - Travis Yost - Gene Melnyk Money V
ou guys make the playoffs, I make money. And I make a lot of money. But we shouldn’t have to do that. I shouldn’t have to do that every year.
Eugene Melnyk, March 2012:
“Up until this year, we had to make two rounds of playoffs just to break even,” he said in a telephone interview Thursday. “Now, we are doing well enough that we break even, pretty much, just finishing off the season, and everything else kind of gets ‘bonused’ out.”
Days (!) later, via Cyril Leeder, March 2012:
We operate right at the very margin in Ottawa, we have for 20 years.
Eugene Melnyk, March 2012:
Melnyk said that once his team clears up the financial “hangover” from previous contract buyouts for players like Jonathan Cheechoo and Ray Emery, “things can all come together where the business of hockey actually pays.
Jonathan Cheechoo and Ray Emery are no longer on the books.
Eugene Melnyk, one month later:
In a yearend conference call with the Ottawa media on Monday, Melnyk said the Senators can’t go “toetotoe” in spending with the bigmarket teams, suggesting that players, and in particular Karlsson, will have to take a haircut to play in Ottawa.
Eugene Melnyk, July 2012:
Owner Eugene Melnyk told the Sun in an exclusive email Tuesday night he has no issue with spending money, however, he only wants players who want to play in Ottawa.
Erin Crowe, Executive VP/CFO, Winter 2012:
We’re not making widgets or software, we’re putting on hockey games and concerts, but you still need that infrastructure behind an operation to support the generation of $120million in revenue each year.”
Emphasis added.
Eugene Melnyk, July 2013:
“I have no financial issues whatsoever,” the Ottawa Senators owner told councillors Tuesday.
I'll end with a pair of quotes from Eugene Melnyk on another venture with the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors, May 2011. webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tVxV-LHtZGsJ:www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php%3Fpost_id%3D52764+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#.Uho… 3/4 8/25/13 HockeyBuzz.com - Travis Yost - Gene Melnyk Money V
It’s going to take money, commitment and I’m prepared to do that and the City has to, and they have to date, be sidebyside with us in making sure that that happens.
The second, date unknown via Sunaya Sapurji
Eugene Melnyk once told @Mkor1980 & I that he would own the team until the day he died.
Eugene Melnyk sold the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in May 2012.
Thanks for reading!
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