Wednesday News and Notes: Games in Quebec, Friedman on the Senators' Future, Claude Giroux Insight
It only took two days for someone to stoke the fires and fuel some fear-mongering in regard to the Senators’ future.
According to an article in La Presse, the NHL and the Ottawa Senators are in negotiations with the Quebec provincial government and Quebecor to discuss the possibility of relocating five regular-season home games to Quebec City.
The article made it very clear that the underlying premise of this proposal was not to suggest that the Senators were are a realistic candidate for relocation. It simply detailed how Quebec would use this opportunity to showcase itself as a prospective and viable destination for a future NHL franchise — whether it is through expansion or relocation.
What would be in it for the Senators?
Money. The proposal would allow the Senators to effectively punt five regular seasons against opponents who are typically poor attendance draws while being heavily compensated for it.
In a Postmedia article that followed shortly thereafter, Senators president of business operations Anthony LeBlanc indicated that the organization has only held discussions with Quebec City about the prospect of entering a joint bid to host the 2023 IIHF world junior championship.
The tournament was to be held in Russia, but after their invasion of the Ukraine, they were stripped of the privilege to host and compete.
“Are we have discussions with the Quebec government and Quebecor? Yes, we have in the last couple of weeks, purely about the potential of hosting the world junior championship,” LeBlanc said Wednesday from the Canadian Tire Centre.
LeBlanc admitted that the Quebec parties did express an interest in hosting neutral site NHL games, but that was as far as the spitballed idea got.
Deput Commissioner Bill Daly acknowledged this expression of interest in an email to Bruce Garrioch, but he echoed LeBlanc’s comments about it just being a preliminary idea.
Obviously, the timing of the news should not come as a surprise given Eugene Melnyk’s passing. Any opportunity to boost revenue streams will inevitably be explored.
The organization may simply be using this possibility as a leverage tactic, similar to how the Tampa Bay Rays have used Montreal, to try and drum up more local support and sell tickets.
Even if the discussions were innocuous and centred solely around the prospect of the world juniors, it probably wasn’t a great look for LeBlanc to admit that the prospect of moving a few games to Quebec City was “interesting” - especially at a time when the organization is currently engaged in its ticket renewal drive for season seat holders.
At the same time, maybe we simply have to be less sensitive towards the issue because rumours and speculation about this team’s future are going to run rampant. And with reports that there multiple buyers who are interested in buying and keeping this team in Ottawa, there is no immediate cause for concern.
Friedman on the Jeff Marek Show
With this morning’s news linking the Senators to Quebec City, Elliotte Friedman jumped on the Jeff Marek Show to share some insights into the Senators’ future.
Here is what Friedman had to say on the matter:
“I think we’re going to hear a lot of rumours. I wasn’t… the Quebec City story that the Senators have now debunked, I wasn’t surprised. Not because I didn’t believe, but because in a vacuum, I think we’re going to start hearing a lot about this. I think we’re going to start hearing about options.
Now, I have to tell you, I wasn’t expecting that one to be one of the first stories to come out. But, I think we’re going to start hearing about who’s interested, what’s going to happen here, attempts to buy the team. In a vacuum, unfortunately, I think that’s a bit normal.
What I kind of go by is that, I think the league really looks out for Ottawa. I think the league is protective of the organization. I wouldn’t compare it exactly to Arizona, but what I would say is that it’s similar in the way that it’s an organization that’s kind of been up and down. It’s had some really good runs, but it’s also had some major on and off-ice issues.
During those times in my dealings with the league, they were very protective of the Senators. They would always say, ‘Don’t assume that this team is going to move.’ I don’t think they ever really supported that. I think they have a vision for a strong hockey team in a downtown arena.
Recently, the bids were submitted again for LeBreton Flats. Although no one has confirmed it, it’s believed the Senators applied to be part of that process. I have always believed that the NHL thought that Ottawa would figure it out long-term and was kind of protective of making sure that that eventually did happen.
So, that’s kind of the way that I look at it. I don’t think the team is moving. I think eventually, they’re going to be downtown. I think the question is, and I think this is probably as much his daughters’ decision as it is anyone’s decision, what is the long-term ownership going to be?
I think that there are people out there who kicked the tires on it before. I think Eugene Melnyk wanted not a lot to do with that. I think there was one lowball bid, but I’ve always believed that that team was going to be in Ottawa and was going to be downtown at some point. It was just a matter of getting there.”
That Friedman believes the Senators submitted a bid should not come as a surprise. More than anything, it was probably a formality to ensure that they did not lose the opportunity outright.
Kimmo Timonen on Claude Giroux’s Future
Broad Street Hockey had an excellent transcription of a podcast episode that former Flyer Kimmo Timonen recorded with his co-host Antti Mäkinen on March 24th.
The episode focused predominantly on the NHL trade deadline, but the conversation briefly shifted towards Claude Giroux and his future.
Here was the exchange:
Mäkinen: (Giroux’s) 34 years old. No matter what happens this spring, I think it’s very likely that he’ll re-sign with the Panthers, let’s say two years and six million. Three million per season. And he’ll remain in Florida because this team has the window open, they will have it open the next season and even the one after that, and he wants to be in on that.
Timonen: I see this as one possibility, but the other is—He’s from Ottawa, his wife is too, and they go to Ottawa every summer for a few months, so I’m not ruling out the possibility, that if Florida doesn’t work out, he’ll sign a two, three year deal with Ottawa and kind of settle there for the rest of his career. That’s probably the other possibility.
Mäkinen: Do these things matter? You know these guys better than me, you tell me.
Timonen: I think so, yeah, especially with knowing the family… It matters.
I don’t know how much stock to put into Giroux’s former teammate’s reflections. Giroux himself probably hasn’t narrowed down his decision to two teams like Timonen believes. In saying that, between Elliotte Friedman’s ‘32 Thoughts’ column stating that Giroux is actually doing research on Ottawa and Timonen’s belief that Ottawa’s a realistic possibility, that is some pretty damn encouraging news.
For a franchise that desperately needs to improve the talent level surrounding this team’s young core, the prospect of adding Giroux is exciting. Not only is he a local product, but he’s also a leader who can still play at a high level on one of the team’s top two lines. Best of all, as an unrestricted free agent, Giroux would not cost the Senators anything but money to bring him into the fold. Meaning, the Senators could use their draft picks to continue supplementing their system or they could allocate some of those assets to address another weakness.