Back on the Sauce

Written by Nichols

Thursday, 18 December 2008 21:12

Over the past week, it's evident that there's quite a gap in communication between the members of the Senators' management group. First, there was this quote from GM Bryan Murray after JP Barry indicated that Mats Sundin would not be signing in Ottawa:

"I'm sure it had something to do with the standings, but I'm sure it had lots to do with Ottawa vs. Toronto and obviously with him wanting to sign with a team that will be a finalist, if nothing else." ~ Bryan Murray, The Ottawa Sun

Then there was yesterday's interview with Eugene Melnyk on The Fan 590:

"Are you kidding?" said Melnyk when asked if he thought the Senators are still a legitimate contender. "I fully expect us to be in the top four teams in the conference."

"Nobody is going to remember the first 25 games. What everybody will remember is what happens in March, April in May. Let's get this out of the way. Let's get this perfected. I can tell you right now, mark this down: Come March they are going to talk about the miracle turnaround of the Ottawa Senators. I'm telling you right now it's no miracle turnaround, it's just grinding, grinding, grinding." ~ The Ottawa Sun

Weird, on one hand, Murray is inclined to believe that Ottawa's not a finalist for anything. Meanwhile, the Euge is having delusions of grandeur. Not to take anything away from Euge, he obviously seems to be a smart and diligent businessman. But where the fuck is he coming from on this? Had he stayed for the duration of the Thrashers game, maybe he would have seen the general malaise that strikes this team right now.

Sure, the core of the forwards group remains relatively unchanged since the 2007 Stanley Cup run. However, all of these forwards have had their contracts renegotiated and all are earning more money. Guys like Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza are now earning (poor choice of word?) almost double what they were making at that time. With less money to spend on complimentary players, Ottawa's been unable to improve the supporting cast of players. Senators management chose to retain their players rather than trading the players when they had maximum value on the market.

For whatever reason - and there are many to allude to - the current group is underachieving and thus far, there has been little room for optimism. And that's why Melnyk's comments are so intriguing.

Has anyone the painting that you see on some greeting cards where all of the animals are sitting together, stoic and proud in the forest, and there in the background, rising in the sky, it's the earth? You have to ask “Why aren't the animals trying to fight and eat each other? They are fucking enemies!” and “Why is the earth rising into the sky? If the earth is in the sky, then where the fuck are we?”

That picture, in a nutshell, is our Ottawa Senators Hockey Club. So many fucking complex questions, no fucking answers, and we're left wondering what fucking planet Eugene Melnyk is on. It's pretty lame, but gripping and interesting at the same time.