Melnyk likes Senators’ chances, suggests many felt team was better than Cup-winning Kings last season
According to Eugene Melnyk, the NHL lockout dragged on so long, the Senators owner felt he need to “reintroduce myself.”
OTTAWA — The Hockey New Year arrived late Saturday night with as much anticipation by many fans, at least in Canada, as the ball drop at Times Square in New York City.
Once the mountain of paper work was taken care of with the Memorandum Of Understanding signed between the NHL and its players to complete the new collective bargaining agreement, the season was unleashed in a torrent: the long-awaited schedule, player trades, player releases … and in Ottawa, Day 1 of a mini-training camp Sunday with an array of bells and whistles to appease angry fans.
If the lockout hurt, and it did, on a variety of fronts, the Senators are offering treats for the afflicted: extra game tickets for season ticket holders, a chance for subscribers to meet their hockey heroes face to face, merchandise discounts and free entrance for fans 14 and under for four games, including the home opener on Jan. 21 versus the Florida Panthers. Did we mention the free parking on the first night (lots 5, 6, and 9 only) and $1 popcorn for kids in seven of the first 10 nights?
With NHL teams beholding to their lifeblood source after what Senators owner Eugene Melnyk termed a “brutal” 119-day lockout, there has never been a better time to be a fan.
The hockey club was out in force to remind everyone of that Sunday morning — with all team players looking on from the back, a full-court press was executed by Melnyk, club president Cyril Leeder, head coach Paul MacLean and captain Daniel Alfredsson, after which about 2,500 enthusiastic fans poured into Scotiabank Place to watch the first camp practice.
In the stands, one woman cried when a TV reporter asked her how it felt to see the Senators back on the ice, an emotional reaction to a four-month withdrawal from the game. As another pitch to fans, training camp will be open to the public all week, leading up to Game 1 in Winnipeg on Saturday, an afternoon match against the Jets that will be the first of a Hockey Night in Canada triple header.
“Ready for More (Toujours Plus!),” as the new slogan says.
Melnyk said he thinks of himself as more of a owner-fan than business operator, saying he couldn’t be more pleased that the lockout is over, if only so he doesn’t have to make do with watching games from the East Coast Hockey League, a low-tier pro circuit, any longer.
As usual, Melnyk is thinking big with his squad, even as he cautioned that this is just Year 2 of a rebuild. Had they survived Game 7 of the quarter-finals against the New York Rangers, according to the owner, the Senators believed they could have gone a long way in the 2012 playoffs.
“We saw who won the Stanley Cup last year (the eighth place Los Angeles Kings), and many of the (Senators) players thought we were a much better team.”
Regaining fan loyalty won’t be a slam dunk, Melnyk acknowledged, but the greatest lure is “for these players to come out every night, and … deliver you a winning team. That is the best possible gift I can think of … if we can do that, we’ve accomplished more than any free hotdog or anything else we can give away.”
According to coach MacLean, the key is to “get our identity back,” by which he meant a reputation as a young, hard-working team that “plays 200 feet” — in other words, from end to end of the ice surface.
“Winning is fun, but it’s hard to do,” MacLean said. It will be that much harder without standout defenceman Jared Cowen, who watched the first skate from the sidelines, recovering from hip surgery expected to keep him out of action all season.
At 40, captain Alfredsson is back, though, rested and healthy — vowing the players are highly motivated to give this community the kind of hockey team it deserves.
“I can’t wait to put on a Senators jersey again and skate out at Scotiabank Place and really find out if I’m too old or if I can still keep up with these young guys,” Alfredsson said.
For many fans in Ottawa, watching No. 11 in what could be — is likely — his final NHL season is reason enough to let lockout bygones be bygones.
How will fans respond on Jan. 21 when the home gates open on the season? Leeder said his hope is for a “full building,” but he admitted “we’re not sure what’s going to happen.” And remember, it’s the Florida Panthers, not the Canadiens or Bruins or Penguins or Maple Leafs.
Tickets for the first 10 home games go on sale Monday.
“As we move forward, we know it’s going to be important to earn back the trust of our fans, and that starts with our most committed fan base — our season seat owners,” Leeder said. More than half of Ottawa’s season ticket holders have been with the club for more than 10 years, and some for as long as 20.
The all-in crowd that showed up Sunday to watch simple camp drills might be a small study sample, but would suggest fans in Ottawa have desperately missed their local heroes and will welcome them back.
Once the action starts on Saturday, it will barely stop, with 48 games packed into three months ending in late April. With the short season, playoff “races” essentially Saturday, as the Senators and 29 other teams play every other night on average in a compressed slate.
“It’s the last man standing,” Melnyk said. “Who can survive such a gruelling schedule?”
We’ll know soon enough.
wscanlan@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/HockeyScanner
If I had to guess, I would think that thing they did not get from the CBA that was on their wish list would be an lower cap next season, probably in the 60 million rage. The Sense have cap space and a lot of great up and coming talent, so a lower cap would have made them an instant serious contender. When teams were selling off in the offseason the Sens could have picked up whatever pieces they figured they still needed and it would be off to the races. As it stands there will still be a selling off of talent to squeeze under the cap, but a 63.7 million cap will not be as severe beause it is the same as last season’s cap.
well it is hard to say but I would venture it has something to do with the cap ;it still favor mtl,to,ny etc but we are going to have hockey
RE: “We saw who won the Stanley Cup last year (the eighth place LA Kings), and many of the Senators thought we were a much better team.”
I guess he hasn’t seen Jonathan Quick play?
“We saw who won the Stanley Cup last year (the eighth place Los Angeles Kings), and many of the (Senators) players thought we were a much better team”
This is the funniest line ever… The Sens don’t just think they’re better, they think they’re “much better”?? Because if they were better they would’ve won the Cup. The Kings didn’t exactly stumble into the Finals…they beat the #1, #2, and #3 seeds before beating the team (NJ) that beat the team which eliminated the Sens (NYR)*
*I’ll admit that last line isn’t exactly brilliant analysis, that’s how a tourney works, but you get the message.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda, but didn’t.
I’m all for an owner and players being optimistic about their club, but those sorts of empty lines can be dangerous, because it lulls the Sens players into being complacent (“we’re better than the Cup champs”) versus being hungry (and thus asking here is what we have to do better)
And please don’t mentioned how many Senators were ballot-box stuffed into being all-stars last year as proof of how good the squad is….
Good luck Ottawa. You’ll need it.