The “Evil Empire of Sports” title usually belongs to Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. The Empire marches to a terrifying soundtrack, exuding fear, dominance, and order. They obliterate planets, pit families against each other, and kill mindlessly on their way to the apex. Although their methods are frowned upon, they are effective, and one has no choice but to bow down to them.
What Make a Successful Empire
The Empire has always been the bad guys. They are the default favorite and get away with ludicrous things such as releasing star players, deflating game equipment and spying on opponents.
Eugene Melnyk dreams of such power. He yearns for the day that no one questions anything he does. As Emperor Palpatine said “I AM THE SENATE!“, Eugene Melnyk sat in his home theater mouthing “I AM THE SENATORS!”
Unfortunately for Melnyk, his radical ownership style has yet to pay dividends. His track record isn’t looking pretty, and the Death Star looks like it might be about to explode… for a second time.
What Melnyk Does
Aside from the striking physical similarities between Melnyk and Ian McDiarmid, and the owner’s desire to be like the Emperor, he’s yet to enter the same galaxy. He’s scared no one but his own fans. His inability to find a home for his empire (something Palpatine himself has struggled with) is inexcusable. He blames his fans for not showing up to games when the arena is located in a distant suburb; and then threatens to relocate the team, saying these exact words:
“It’s a franchise. Imagine if you own a McDonald’s franchise. But you can move it. Why would you sell it?”
Eugene Melnyk, 2017
If his goal when saying this was to alienate fans, players, the NHL, and the mayor of Ottawa, then he did so astonishingly well. If his goal was instead to sell tickets and increase local interest, maybe even get on the city’s good side, then I am dumbfounded.
Ottawa continues to sit near the bottom of the league every year in both on-ice and financial standings. They are on an upward trend ever since hitting a wall in 2017 though, but that success has not been harnessed and turned into dollars, the fundamental goal of an NHL owner. Per ESPN, the Senators sat dead last in attendance this year by a huge amount, and per Forbes they are the 26th most valuable team.
The previously disastrous Erik Karlsson trade looks better than it did a year ago, as San Jose has completely imploded on itself. They’ve drafted well and have two more high picks this year. But whenever I see Mark Stone in a Knights jersey or Karlsson with the Sharks, I can’t help but think how wasteful the Senators have been.
To the city of Ottawa, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that your city was the one stuck with perhaps the most incompetent billionaire in hockey. Keep doing things like this, and hopefully, the Senators will stay in Ottawa.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsBillboards won’t shame Eugene Melnyk into selling #Sens, but they might help eventually https://t.co/1ExxAaDtIR pic.twitter.com/BFazJHgY8k
— National Post (@nationalpost) March 21, 2018
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