Senators placed on NHL watch list - the story continues

LeKing wrote:Man it is really boring in Ottawa in August 

The story was vehemently refuted by Melnyk.

"No chance," he said in an e-mail to the Sun. "It's all B.S. coming from a random useless blogger. All this stuff is nonsense. Kinda annoying as well ... doing just fine thank you very much!"

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly also said the story didn't hold water Friday night.

"Yes, it's all B.S.," Daly said in an e-mail to the Sun. "There is no 'watch list.' And there is no concern (about the Senators). And you can quote me."

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Ev wrote:Love it. Diddle Travis.

Ev wrote:Where is that article, though?

Ev wrote:Love it. Diddle Travis.

wprager wrote:

wprager wrote:James Bagnall's article on how the Sens have lost $94M since The Euge took over:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Under+Eugene+Melnyk+Senators+have+lost+million/8799118/story.html

OK, just finished reading it.

Although Bagnall wrote it, it reads like a PR piece paid for by Melnyk.  Puts him in a very favorable light.  Poor, poor Eugene, spending millions of his own money ($9-10M per year) to keep the wheels turning.

Thing is, he had initially financed half of the cost of the team as debt -- the team cost him $175M, so half of that is $87.5M.  Now the team is worth $300M and nearly half of that is debt.  That means that in teh 10 years he's owned the team, he has not repaid a penny of that debt and, in fact, has nearly doubled the debt!

Back when he bought the team he was sitting on $1.5B in Biovali stock.  10% of his holdings would have nearly paid for it outright.  Instead, he took out a loan, the stock tanked, he sold it for $600M (and it would be over $1.5B by now if he had held on).

Anyhow, the "nuke" article is coming tomorrow; looks like this one was put out to soften  whatever blow is coming.

So buckle up.

sandysensfan wrote:

wprager wrote:

wprager wrote:James Bagnall's article on how the Sens have lost $94M since The Euge took over:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Under+Eugene+Melnyk+Senators+have+lost+million/8799118/story.html

OK, just finished reading it.

Although Bagnall wrote it, it reads like a PR piece paid for by Melnyk.  Puts him in a very favorable light.  Poor, poor Eugene, spending millions of his own money ($9-10M per year) to keep the wheels turning.

Thing is, he had initially financed half of the cost of the team as debt -- the team cost him $175M, so half of that is $87.5M.  Now the team is worth $300M and nearly half of that is debt.  That means that in teh 10 years he's owned the team, he has not repaid a penny of that debt and, in fact, has nearly doubled the debt!

Back when he bought the team he was sitting on $1.5B in Biovali stock.  10% of his holdings would have nearly paid for it outright.  Instead, he took out a loan, the stock tanked, he sold it for $600M (and it would be over $1.5B by now if he had held on).

Anyhow, the "nuke" article is coming tomorrow; looks like this one was put out to soften  whatever blow is coming.

So buckle up.

IF the Sens are losing 10M a season... would they not be one of the teams getting revenue sharing?  I don't think they do... do they?

He said in the past that the Sens had to make the 2nd round of the playoffs to break even.  Now there were years he was spending to the cap limit and not making the playoffs... I would agree there he lost money.

Then he (reportedly) says not too long ago that the Sens don't have to make the playoffs to break even..

I'm sure 2 lockouts hurt him financially.. as most other NHL teams.

It's simple... raise ticket prices..  For those people that go to games.. I don't think an extra $5 or $10 a ticket will stop them from going..

This could just be a way to try to get pity from City Council to give him his Casino..  

The Senators are a private business that does not have to disclose their financial results publicly. The fact that they’ve chosen to provide an unprecedented level of detail suggests they see benefit in demonstrating to the public that a professional hockey team is more of a community asset than a hugely profitable venture.

There could be any number of reasons why the Senators feel it’s in their interests to present this financial picture. Perhaps it’s related to Melnyk’s argument that he needs another source of revenue, namely a casino, to make the team more sustainable. Maybe it’s about helping fans understand why the team didn’t splurge to meet Alfredsson’s demands and won’t be near the salary cap this year. Maybe it’s about setting the stage for future negotiations with the city about property taxes or even a new arena in 10 or 15 years.

Regardless of the reason, the future of the franchise is not in jeopardy. And Melnyk is right that the team can be competitive without hitting the salary cap every year.