The owner of the Ottawa Senators isn’t happy with the team’s middling performance. Eugene Melnyk spoke to reporters and put his entire organization on blast, saying nobody is safe.
“I’m looking at all of it. It’s right across the board,” said Melnyk, who was made available to speak about the Senators’ 25th anniversary. “There’s nobody safe when you have a year like we just did. No way. The status quo will just get us back [here] again next year.
https://twitter.com/GinoRedaTSN/status/712300564672020480
In his comments Melnyk called the decision to start Matt O’Connor in the home opener as “dumb,” said his team looks like AHL players some days and dismissed the idea his team needed to spend more money. Melnyk has a right to be unhappy, but to publicly blast his entire organization is the wrong move.
The shots are harsh considering the Senators are technically in playoff contention, with a 34-31-8 record, seven points out of the wild card in the East with nine games to go. His comments won’t inspire his club, but instead make them despondent. I can’t imagine how awkward this situation is for head coach Dave Cameron, who was thrown head first under the bus. He has to get his group focused on the rest of the season with this hanging over their heads, which is no small task.
A more appropriate time to call them out would be when the season concludes and Melnyk knows for certain where his team stands. Instead, he made himself and the organization look bad.
