NHL plans to contact Melnyk over lockout comments
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk can expect to hear from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. And it won’t be to talk about the weather.
By Ken Warren and James Gordon
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk can expect to hear from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. And it won’t be to talk about the weather.
Melnyk broke the NHL’s internal policy against individual team personnel speaking about the on-going NHL lockout and collective bargaining agreement negotiations during a Wednesday interview on Toronto radio station The Fan 590. Among other comments, Melnyk said, “we should be playing hockey by now. Everybody knows it, and we’re not.”
Bettman and Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, are the only two league executives who have permission to speak publicly on the lockout-related matters.
“The league has a long-standing policy against club personnel speaking on collective bargaining matters,” Daly wrote in an email to the Citizen Thursday night. “It’s a serious policy and one that is well-founded in purpose and rationale.”
Daly says, however, that the league employs “discretion” and “common sense” in determining whether specific comments cross the line. He says the league will remind Melynk of the policy, but so far, the Seantors owner has not been fined or disciplined.
“We intend to talk to Eugene and understand the circumstances and context of his comments before determining next steps which, depending on their nature, are generally maintained as internal league matters and not disclosed publicly in any event.”
In other words, if Melnyk is fined or even slapped on the wrist, it won’t be made public.
While Melnyk’s words weren’t overly controversial, he came across sounding more like a passionate hockey fan than an NHL owner. He says fans don’t want to play the blame game over the NHL lockout — they just want to see some hockey.
“I’m extremely disappointed, like any fan, of where we are,” Melnyk said. “We should be playing hockey by now. Everybody knows it, and we’re not. Everybody can fingerpoint all they want, but at the end of the day, I don’t think anybody cares who’s at fault. All they know if we’re not playing hockey, why aren’t we playing hockey?”
Melnyk was also asked about the apathy some youngsters who may not even grasp the issues behind the impasse are feeling towards the league are feeling towards the league.
“I think of these kids too, 14 and under, kind of thing, they don’t even understand the concept of what’s going on. All they know is, there’s no hockey. So it’s a huge disappointment. You know, this should not happen, but it did, and you gotta do the best you can and live with it and hopefully resolve it and get back to playing.
Melnyk also revealed he was a rabid baseball fan when he was younger, but after the 1994 strike that wiped out the World Series, he was “gone.”
Now his baseball knowledge amounts to knowing “a guy named Rodriguez” and that he “makes a lot of money.
“I’m telling you, I couldn’t name another player and I don’t care.”
Major League Baseball suffered a great deal at the time and needed 10 years to get attendance back to where it was pre-strike.
As for the Winter Classic, which is expected to be cancelled Friday, Melnyk said: “Well I think it’s an important part of the game. It’s very widely, you know, it’s got a huge, huge audience. It’s extremely profitable for the NHL, which means its also profitable for everyone else. It is, you know, it has become a marquee event. It’s something that I think is very very important to everyone to promote the game everywhere. I mean, it’s a big, big deal.”
Melnyk also said he didn’t take advantage of the NHL’s window that allowed owners and general managers to talk to the players.
“Personally, I didn’t do any kind of outbound calls.”
Good on Mr. Melnyk for speaking out.
If there’re any fines or slapping to be handed out it should be to the weenies who are responsible for creating the lockout situation.
I’d be delighted if Mr. Melnyk had said
” Enough of this nonsense. Let’s play hockey. I propose that all of the Canadian teams drop out of the NHL and we create a new league that doesn’t pay players 8-figure salaries/year, capping them instead at the number that Alfie consented to on his last contract. If any player considering playing in this new league wants more than that, he’s welcome to go and play in the “NHL” and good riddance to the greedy bastids (sic). And if any of the Original Six teams want to come along, they’re welcome.”
I nominate Mr. Melnyk for the new NHL Governor.
Melnyk is correct!!
The league is damaging the game on their own! they could have let the players play hockey while negotiating and by keeping the current contracts the same, and the negociating would have brough changes to the owners and players by january or next year. So really, the league is loosing money big time, not only that, they are the ones to blame for people loosing their jobs, arena staff, media coverage, ect…you think the NHLPA will win more money thinking the league will continue making 3.3B per year, I seriously doubt, they will loose some fans, more problems with some team in the states not making any money and russian players staying home, the profit will go down, people are tired of seeing lockouts, both Bettman and Fehr needs to go, we need new professional people who are more passionate about the game than business itself. Shame on you Bettman!!!
If the players were allowed to play during negotiations.. there was a pretty good chance of a player strike right before the Winter Classic or right before the Playoffs.
That is Fehr’s way to go.. He did it in baseball. It took them 10 yrs to recover. They survived due to the large TV revenue they get. NHL’s TV revenue pales in comparison to what MLB has. If the NHL has to take 10 yrs to recover from another season lost…how many teams will be left.. and within those 10 yrs there would be more labour unrest due to another CBA expiring..
But agree, the players should keep their contracts as is… they were negotiated that way. The big issue is how to do that and get the share of HRR at 50-50.
Best way to do it is a 3 yr gradual decline starting like 55% – 53% – 50%. IF the league can continue to grow they should be able to keep their salaries with minimal escrow payments. But to do that.. this has to be settled quickly.
Stop the posturing. Stop the delay. RESPECT your fans who are your meal ticket. This is primarily a gate-driven league.. Gate driven means fan financial support. Get this done now, or suffer the consequences of much less HRR and then there would be no one to blame but themselves.
I wish I could create a website. I’d start a site where season ticket holders could pledge to cancel their season tickets and where individuals could pledge not to buy tickets for any games or watch any games on TV until the Fall of 2013, if the matter isn’t resolved by say, Nov. 15. I have no sympathy for the owners and little sympathy for the players. It is completely frustrating that they aren’t at least meeting daily until they come up with a solution.
Melnyk is right. He’s a billionaire who owns the team. Nhl policy can suck it – he has a right to talk about his property, and things that affect it.
Melnyk is right. If there’s no nhl this year, i won’t watch it again. I’ll keep my love of the game to the local rinks and leagues that value the sport.
Melnyck did a good job of expressing disapointment without specifically stating who was at fault. The only thing that might get him in trouble is his comment about how he lost interest in baseball following the 1994 labour unrest. That comment will not help the leagues position. Having said this, I hope he sticks to his guns and that other owners follow suit. Perhaps Bettman would understand that some small market teams do make money (if in a hockey market) and they simply NEED to get back to business.
BTW – Melnyck really seemed to understand the plight of those impacted by the spinoff effect of hockey (or lack there of).
We support you Mr. Melnyk. Please speak your mind, It’s what everyone else is thinking anyway!
I applaud you! Please keep speaking up! LET’S PLAY HOCKEY!
It is ridiculous and if the owners think that the Canadian Fans are just lemmings that will keep coming back…keep in mind that everyone has a breaking point and once it’s reached there are no “do-overs”. Let’s try not to get to that point.
Mr. Melnyk is right. And guess who was the player’s union rep during the baseball strike to which he refers in his comments?