It has been a week since The Athletic dropped its bombshell article detailing the complexities of Eugene Melnyk’s legacy here in Ottawa.
From those decrying the timing of its publication to those praising the investigative journalism being done to add substance and detail to many of the rumours that swirled around the organization for the last decade, there certainly has been no shortage of opinions in regards to the piece.
One entity that has been conspicuously silent is Bell Media. To date, the official broadcast partner of the Ottawa Senators has not acknowledged or analyzed any of the reported information from that article. The closest instance we have had was Ian Mendes’ last-minute stand-in on the Senators’ pre-game show when he indicated he would not talk about the article and that if listeners were interested, they could get his post-publishing thoughts on ‘The Athletic’s Hockey Show’. Given the silence across their different platforms, it seems fair to believe that this is a directive from their legal team.
There has been a slower trickle of acknowledgment in the media, however. Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne discussed the article on Sportsnet’s Fan 590 radio station. Jeff Marek asked Elliotte Friedman to communicate his thoughts on the matter during a ‘32 Thoughts Podcast’ episode. Chris Johnston shared his thoughts on his podcast. Pierre LeBrun waited a few days after the article was published to post his reaction to the piece.
The Senators can be “irate” with the timing of the article’s release, but more of their energy and efforts should be channeled towards ridding itself of its toxic work environment. LeBrun’s right to believe that the NHL’s ‘Respect Hockey Initiative’ can help play a lead role in facilitating this change.
On yesterday’s episode of the ‘Bob McCown Podcast’, hosts John Shannon and Bob McCown brought up the article with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch. Considering how chummy Melnyk was with McCown during his time at the Fan 590, it was not surprising to see the hosts come to Melnyk’s defence.
John Shannon, in particular, was bothered by the timing of the article and the lack of consideration given to Melnyk’s family. Shannon indicated that the timing “sucks” and took issue with its “character assassination” of a man who cannot defend himself. McCown admitted that he had not read the article at the time of the recording, but expressed a belief that difficult to attack someone so soon after they passed away — believing that there was no point or upside to it. McCown would go on to say that he was suspicious of the sports journalists here in Ottawa because Melnyk treated his program much better than the local alternatives.
Richard Deitsch did an excellent job of championing the journalistic quality of the piece while downplaying many of the concerns raised by Shannon and McCown. Interestingly in the segment, John Shannon stated that he heard The Athletic piece was the culmination of 18 months of work.
I understand that Shannon and McCown were friends with Melnyk, so everything has to be taken with a grain of salt there. But, in listening to the segment, I find it ironic that the same people who routinely invited Melnyk on the air in hopes of an embarrassing viral soundbite would refuse to acknowledge that the dysfunction could extend behind the scenes at the team’s offices.
As one astute reader (@KJ_Kucharik) noted, their “staunch revisionism helps to preserve one of their well-worn narratives that serves their audience well: that the Senators’ problems are indicative of a poor market rather than poor ownership and mismanagement.”
Locally, Wayne Scanlan has taken a leading role in sharing more information about The Athletic’s article. Ian Mendes acknowledged to Scanlan that the piece pivoted after Melnyk’s passing. According to Mendes, “the tone and arc of (The Athletic’s) story changed quite drastically after he passed away.”
That detail may help explain why one of Scanlan’s sources believed “that the tyranny of Melnyk is somewhat understated in the piece.”
One of the other significant pieces to Scanlan’s story was that he admitted to facing pressures from the organization about his written work. After a potential lawsuit was threatened in the wake of Scanlan’s coverage of Peter O’Leary’s lawsuit, the Ottawa Citizen's editors eventually calmed the owner down.
Speaking on 'The Athletic Hockey Show’ podcast, former Senators beat writer Hailey Salvian admitted that she left Ottawa and stopped covering the team for “reasons”. Like Scanlan, Salvian admitted that a piece she had spent considerable time working on had to be abandoned because of the likelihood of litigation being pursued if the story ran. If you have not had a chance to listen to the episode, do it. Without getting too much into the details of what transpired here, Salvian sounded bothered by the events.
It sounds like fear and intimidation are a la a part of the playbook and it sounds like it goes beyond the treatment of employees.
One of the things that bothers me in the wake of the Melnyk article is how casually some disregard his treatment of his employees and other people if their background and values did not align with his own. Instead of focusing on the validity of the claims, the individuals who are critical of the piece focus on its timing.
It is okay to feel empathy for Melnyk’s family and friends while still recognizing the importance of understanding how those affected by his mistreatment feel. And after The Athletic article explained how a documented case of harassment was forwarded properly through league channels, it is astonishing how little attention this detail has received.
Greenberg Expresses Interest in Owning the Senators
After a segment on CTV Ottawa Tuesday to discuss his family’s donation of $25 million as part of the launch for the Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s new fundraising drive to build the new Civic campus on Carling Avenue, Roger Greenberg was asked by Graham Richardson about whether he had any prospective interest in owning the Ottawa Senators.
“First things have to come first, and that’s a decision by the family that they’re going to sell the team. Because until that happens, nothing can really happen.
“So let’s get that decision first and then we’ll see where things go from there.”
Greenberg would go on to state that he was part of a group led by Rod Bryden that tried to buy the team out of bankruptcy in 2003.
“So yes, we’d likely participate, if that’s something that’s feasible, when the time comes,” Greenberg admitted to Richardson.
Eugene Melnyk had often portrayed that there were no other parties who were interested in buying the Senators and keeping them here. Doing so helped create and preserve this savior-like image that earned him a lot of equity with the fans. As Chris Stevenson pointed out on Twitter, cash was king. Melnyk’s money ruled the day, but perhaps we can finally put to bed this narrative that there were no other interested groups.
What are the Plans for a Sale?
Following Greenberg’s interview with CTV Ottawa, the only sports journalist in Ottawa to have an article pulled in the past week (the irony!) chimed in with a crack regarding Greenberg’s interest.
Had Bruce read the headline of the article, let alone the first few paragraphs of the CTV story, he would have seen Greenberg’s acknowledgment that the family would obviously have to express an interest in selling the club before anyone could move forward. With that said, I don’t understand why anyone would want to dump on a local businessperson who expresses interest in buying the Senators and keeping them in the nation’s capital.
The organization and Melnyk’s daughters have not openly discussed what their plans for the franchise are.
Postmedia’s James Bagnall believed that the franchise had accrued $250 million worth of debt. If that is the case, it is hard to imagine that this franchise will be able to move forward in its current state. After being refinanced with presumably high-interest rates, without any significant revenue boosts coming into the fold, I just don’t understand how this current group can stabilize this franchise and help realize the long-term vision of an arena at LeBreton Flats.
Other News and Notes:
With their win last night over the Toronto Marlies, the Belleville Senators have slid into third place in the AHL’s North Division.
Since arriving from Europe, Viktor Lodin has tallied four goals and an assist in seven games. Lodin scored twice yesterday, including the game-winner with 1:19 left in the third period.
The Senators have recalled Mark Kastelic from Belleville.
How the HELL was Chris Johnston that ignorant of what was happening in Ottawa? He sounds shocked that Melnyk didnt fart roses in that podcast. NHL insider...?