The Ottawa Senators have been the talk of the NHL lately, because there have been alleged conflicts within in the Senators organization.
This past season, the Senators were second last in the NHL.
According to reports from Global News, the Senators have also been struggling to fill the seats this past season. They were dead last in attendance for Canadian markets and twenty-fifth league-wide.
“I went to more games this past year, but after all of the drama going on in that organization, I can see why more people would not go,” Sean Haakman, a fourth-year Carleton engineering student and Senators fan, said.
Throughout this season, a fan-led movement, dubbed “#Melnykout,” called for Eugene Melnyk, the owner of the Senators, to sell the team.
“If Melnyk sold the team, then I think more fans would be happy,” Haakman said. “I think more people would cheer for Senators if he did leave, but until they get some better players, and a better arena, it will be tough for some people to cheer for them.”
While Haakman thinks the team will lose fans this year, one former NHL player said he does not.
“It is going to have to take time,” Shaun Van Allen, a former Senators player and the head coach of the Ravens men’s hockey team, said.
Van Allen said to come from one goal of the Stanley Cup finals, and not making the playoffs this season is pretty tough.
He said he believes there is optimism for Senators fans because the team finished so low in the standings, they were able to get the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft.
“I really believe the Senators have a solid team. This year, Las Vegas went to the Stanley Cup final, and there is not a lot that separates these teams,” Van Allen said.
While Van Allen remains optimistic about the Senators’ fanbase, another fan said he agrees with Haakman that the team’s poor play as the reason why Senators fans are not following the team.
“Ottawa’s probably a bottom 10 team this year,” Roman MacDonald, a Senators fan, and Carleton alumnus said.
“The Senators need a new owner, a new general manager, and about a third of the roster gone if they want some following,” he said.
Aside from on-ice issues, the team has faced internal conflict too. CBC Sports reported Melinda Karlsson, Erik Karlsson’s wife, has issued a peace bond to Monika Caryk, Mike Hoffman’s girlfriend, because Caryk had been allegedly harassing Melinda online. Since then, there have been reports from local news outlets that Hoffman and Karlsson were seen arguing in the Canadian Tire Centre arena.
Since this reported incident, Hoffman has been traded to the Florida Panthers.
Van Allen said that today, it is hard to sort out problems within the organization because of social media.
“Usually, if there was a conflict when I played between a couple guys, there was a fight on the ice, and then everyone went back to being best buddies again,” he said. “If two guys did not want to talk about things, and it would linger on, then one of the veteran guys would usually stand up and say something, and we would handle it in-house like that.”
The NHL draft takes place on June 22, with Ottawa picking fourth overall.
