Melnyk bought Sens and their home in 2003 for $ 130 million when former franchise owner Rod Bryden went bankrupt. Melnik submitted the offer and reached an agreement with the creditors after Bryden’s agreement to regain the team was unsuccessful. The team reached its peak in the mid-2000s, culminating in a four-year trip to the Stanley Cup final owned by Melnyk. In the midst of belated performance and attendance in recent years, however, many disgruntled senators had openly criticized Melnik’s leadership and asked him – out loud – to sell the group. This discussion reached a fever at the end of a disastrous season in 2018, when a fundraising campaign raised more than $ 10,000 for billboards decorated with #MelnykOut in large letters. A billboard calling for Melnik to sell the team appears in Ottawa in March 2018. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press)
It happened after Melnyk hinted at the possibility of the team relocating and complained that they had to “please” fans to buy tickets before an open NHL 100 Classic match. The collapse of his bid to build a new NHL arena in 2019 in the heart of Ottawa in a reconstruction of LeBreton Flats – a large plot of land near the city center along the Ottawa River – was another black spot in his relationship. with their city. At the time, Mayor Jim Watson publicly condemned Melnik for being difficult to deal with. But in a post on social media on Tuesday, Watson wrote: “While we did not always look at certain issues face to face, I was always grateful that Mr Melnik stepped forward to maintain the [Senators] in Ottawa, consolidating the position of the organization as an integral part of our city. “My sincere condolences to his family and colleagues.” Mayor Jim Watson and Melnik publicly allied in 2019 as Melnik’s attempt to remake LeBreton Flats failed. (Laura Osman / CBC)
Ottawa Senators founder Bruce Firestone said Tuesday by telephone that he was saddened to hear of Melnyk’s untimely death at age 62 and that he chose to remember Melnyk as the handsome, “bean-filled” younger man he knew when Melnyk took over. franchise. . “Later, as the team performed worse, and as the players’ turnover increased, it became more difficult,” Firestone said. “I really checked in yesterday before I heard the news, and I was really disappointed to learn that the Senators are last in the NHL, out of 32 teams … in terms of participation. And there are many reasons for that, but it’s disappointing.” CLOCKS Bruce Firestone in Eugene Melnyk’s time as owner:

Melnyk deserves credit for rescuing Ottawa senators from relocation, says founder

Bruce Firestone, founder of the Ottawa Senators, says team owner Eugene Melnyk deserves some credit for saving the team from relocation 20 years ago. Melnik died Monday at the age of 62. 1:10
In Nashville, Tenn., Thursday as Senators prepare for tonight’s game against the Predators, team leader Brady Tkachuk called it a “sad day” for the organization and the city. “Ottawa lost a man who cared so much about the community,” Tkachuk told reporters, adding that it was “a great honor” to be named captain by Melnyk at the start of the season. Tkachuk said Melnyk focused on bringing the Stanley Cup to Ottawa and said he remained the team’s ultimate goal. “This is going to be something we want to accomplish and bring a cup back to Ottawa, and that was his mission and we definitely want to honor him for doing that,” Tkachuk said. pic.twitter.com/yMSL4lF6Jf – @ Senators

Emotional message from Senators GM

At a meeting of NHL general managers in Florida, GM Senator Pierre Dorion offered a moving tribute to Melnyk. “He is someone who brought stability to the Ottawa Senators franchise. If it were not for Eugene Melnyk, the Senators would not be in Ottawa,” Dorion said. “He committed to the city of Ottawa, to the franchise, to try to make a winner,” Dorion said, thanking Melnyk for entrusting him with GM work. “I am just grateful [to] which gave me this opportunity and I want to promise the fans in Ottawa that we will deliver a Stanley Cup one day. “ The Senators’ next home game is on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings. Fans invite each other to fill the stands at the Canadian Tire Center in Melnyk’s honor. Here are some of their online answers to Melnyk’s death. Hello #facts – @ pall_bunion
I love the energy to fill the CTC on Sunday. But the truth is that this arena must be filled every night from now on. Melnik kept this team in Ottawa. Many said if he sold he would go. Time to increase them – @ dailysensnews
Always grateful for Eugene’s steadfast determination to keep NHL hockey in our nation’s capital, while few others would have it. This 2007 Cup Final was the highlight of Sens’s fandom and we hope to be back there soon! https://t.co/R0sSxLsoA3 – @ CelticJackson
I was not a fan of Eugene Melnyk’s methods, but you can never take away the fact that he saved the organization on his own – @ TracyShouldice
… if not for Eugene Melnyk, Ottawa may have lost the team years ago. So thank you, Eugene, for giving me a team from her hometown to cheer for. RIP. Now let’s cross our fingers the next owners have deeper pockets, better hockey feel and the Alfredsson surname. – @ standupmonkey
RIP to its owner #ottawasenators – @ SignatureNation