Dear Mr. Melnyk,I'm sure you need no alert from the deep cheap seats, as it were, but as of today nhl.com has Your Ottawa Senators a cheerful 10 points out of a playoff spot, with a logjam of teams closer to the coveted spot.
One of which is Toronto, but at this point Your Ottawa Senators can hardly be fussy about which teams are ahead of the them. As of today, this lofty distinction is shared by the
Further adding to the outlook is that the swing through the west is unlikely to bring much in the way of wins, while our competition is busy racking them up -- some of them not very quickly, granted, but at a rate which is probably faster than we are.
So how did we get here?
We have to start at the top. While I'm sure their work wasn't perfect, the fact of the matter is that the team which went all the way to the final was built by John Muckler and run by Jacques Martin. Brian Murray sure helped seal the deal, pushing the team to overachieve mostly on the back of a surprisingly good backup goalie in Ray Emery.
But what has happened since? The top line is now either neutered or split up. Secondary scoring has gone from practically non-existent to totally absent. The defense core that helped give the offense a chance to work has been gutted, and enough ink has been spilled on the subject of the goal tending to float a large boat.
All told, the team was probably flattered by the top line's production and the unbelievable performance of Emery. While good enough to go a round or two, the team was one with potential, not one which required a mere tweak, a dash of "character", and the confidence gained of a nearly-successful run at the cup.
In any case, the team has been "tweaked" in the wrong way. Instead of competing for the top, we're in a race to the bottom -- and it looks like we are going to beat the Leafs there.
I'll close with a not-so-veiled threat: Ottawa is a fickle town when it comes to sports franchises. Ottawa is in when you win; and out when you lose. The Senators do not have the luxury of being the only team in a three hour radius of the densest population in Canada; nor do they have a storied history which has the glory to match the lows. Toronto could continue to sell out the ACC even if they did nothing but draft Tim Bit hockey players; Montreal has an incredible history of accomplishment.
(Not to mention arenas within the metropolitan core.)
Ottawa has nothing to carry the fans through the wilderness. And that means that there will be fewer paying fans to carry the team through that same wilderness. And that means the bedrock of this team is going to be you, sir.
I won't presume to tell you what needs to be done, of course. This is your team, and it should have your mark on it. But it is time that an eye was cast to the future -- and by "the future" I don't mean the 2009 playoffs; that ship has sailed.
It is time for more than just words of hope from the bedrock of the Ottawa Senators.
Thanks for listening.
