Running Head: HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS

How the Ottawa Senators Can Fix Their Ownership Issues

Sport Organization Paper

SPMA 1P91

Luke O’Brien 6877500

Mr. Van Bussel

Brock University

November 19, 2020

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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

Over the past three years, the Ottawa Senators have become one of the National Hockey

League’s worst teams both on and off the ice. They went from a consistent playoff team with a

very passionate fan base to a team repeatedly in the hunt for a top draft pick and a fan base that

has lost interest in the team. There have been numerous scandals over the past few years that

have severely damaged the franchise’s reputation and lost the fans’ trust, and many of them can

be linked back to Eugene Melnyk, their owner. Melnyk has been a lightning rod for criticism

amongst the local and national media for many years now, and he is the person who received all

of the blame for the unfortunate events that have happen in Ottawa recently. This paper will be

investigating what went wrong in the Senators’ organization and it will offer solutions for how

their situation may be fixed. I will be taking a look at a few of the major scandals and

controversies that have happened over the past few years and look at how they affected not only

the players on the ice, but the management and the fans as well. This way, I will be able to

determine exactly what went wrong and how things could have been handled differently and

prevented in the future. I will also be investigating other teams’ organizational cultures and how

they compare and contrast to Melnyk and the Senators’ ways, as well as what a model sport

organization would look like. This will show how the Senators can improve their own team

culture. Lastly, I will be exploring how Melnyk’s management style has not only negatively

affected the on-ice product and staff around him, but also had an impact on the local fan base.

After examining these problems, potential solutions will be stated, and these solutions will be a

good plan for the organization. By following these steps, they can move on from their past

scandals and prevent any future ones, they can change their organizational culture, and re-engage

the fan base in the team and community. This will allow the Senators to return to being a

successful and well-respected franchise.

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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

To begin, there have been many major events and scandals that have impacted the team

and the fans of the Senators. Thing started to go downhill in December of 2017. As part of the

NHL’s hundredth year celebration, the Ottawa Senators hosted the Montreal Canadiens in an

outdoor game played at TD Place, the home of the CFL’s Ottawa Redblacks. Prior to the start of

the alumni game which was played on Parliament Hill, team owner, governor, and chairman

Eugene Melnyk made some interesting comments about the state of his franchise. When asked

about the state of the franchise and if there is any possibility of relocation, he replied, “If it

becomes a disaster, yes. If you start not seeing crowds showing up, yes” (Fox, 2017). This shows

that Eugene Melnyk, even on days of celebration such as this outdoor game, will put his own

interests in front of the fans’. Threatening to move the team in front of fans is an interesting

move, as Melnyk’s words were not taken well by Senators fans. The response to this proved to

be substantial, as only a few months later four billboards went up around the Ottawa area with

the phrase #MelnykOut on them, which has been a popular hashtag among Senators fans on

social media for the past few years as a public effort to push owner Melnyk to sell the team to

better ownership. The billboard campaign was organized by Spencer Callaghan, a fan who raised

over ten thousand dollars for these billboards. This ties back to Melnyk’s possible relocation

comments a few months prior, as some fans stopped buying tickets in an effort to reduce team

revenues and force Melnyk to sell due to financial losses. Callaghan explains, “They [Senators

fans] are happy that there’s a way now for them to have a voice and be heard, because

unfortunately, if you simply don’t buy tickets, your empty seat doesn’t speak” (“#MelnykOut

billboards go up,” 2018). By using the billboards, Senators fans were able to come together to

voice their displeasure in a different way than not buying tickets, which has not had an effect

since Melnyk still owns the Senators to this day. Voicing displeasure in this public way will
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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

allow for people who are not hockey fans to take notice of the issue and may be inclined to learn

more about what has been happening in the organization, since the people who will be driving

past the billboards could be casual hockey fans who go to a game once or twice a year. Another

issue regarding Melnyk’s leadership has been the rotating door of front office executives in the

organization. In March of 2018, Melnyk took over as the franchise’s third CEO in the past

fourteen months (CBC 2018). That was coming off of the firing of Tom Anselmi, who was hired

into a similar role but left after just over a year after replacing long time executive Cyril Leeder

who was fired in January of 2017 (Scanlan 2017). It was unclear what caused his departure, as

Anselmi was brought in to help with the LeBreton Flats arena project and boost ticket sales, both

of which were long term projects but were not completed at the time of his departure. (Garrioch

2018). This sense of uncertainty in the Senators’ organization remained after Jim Little was hired

as CEO in January of 2020 but fired only two months later. Although the team never commented

on what happened that caused such an abrupt firing, Little did later issue a statement saying that

he had a disagreement with Melnyk that led to his dismissal. (“I swore at Melnyk,” 2020). The

content of the argument was unknown, but still not a good sign of how things are being run in the

Senators’ executive offices. Another controversy regarding Melnyk is the arena proposal at

LeBreton Flats in downtown Ottawa. Many people want this arena as it is much more accessible

for Ottawa residents compared to their current arena in Kanata. This could lead to more ticket

sales as the arena is closer to more people. In 2018, Melnyk sued his business partner, John

Ruddy, for seven hundred million dollars because their arena negotiations were not going

according to plan. However, Ruddy countersued Melnyk for one billion dollars in December of

2018 (Willing 2018). This is one of the biggest examples of how Melnyk is very difficult to

cooperate with, as he only wants things to go his way and has a low tolerance for things when
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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

they get out of line, as shown by these lawsuits. This way of running an organization can be very

detrimental if the person in charge does not have their priorities straight and does not listen to

anyone. Melnyk is an example of this because he is focused on things that are not immediately

impacting his team, and it takes away priority from things that are important during a hockey

season, such as the team’s performance and keeping fans satisfied. If there is the possibility of

hiring someone to control Melnyk it could benefit the team a significant amount. He could be

taught how to limit any impulse decisions and how to properly act with the media. This way, the

Senators may be able to salvage their reputation and return to normalcy.

Furthermore, the Senators may be facing an issue of a negative organizational culture. A

key factor in a sport organization’s success is its culture, which can be defined as a set of values

that influence an organization’s behaviour (Cole 2018). In a 2018 study of the New Zealand All

Blacks, the country’s national rugby team that has won approximately three-quarters of all

international contests, it has found that the organization has an informal collective leadership

model. This means that there are not any designated leaders, and anyone is welcomed to pitch

any new ideas as the team would decide as a group what works and what does not (Cole 2018).

With a collective model, the organization would have a welcoming environment for those who

would like to try something new if something is not working, and not have all decisions left up to

the opinion of one person. This way, ideas could be modified by others until it works in a way

that suits the majority, not just one person in charge like the current system under Melnyk. One

All Blacks player said that they always try and set a good example for the younger players on the

team (Cole 2018). This is a vital part of any team culture regardless of level, and the Senators

may have suffered from leadership problems on and off the ice. In November of 2018 during a

road trip in Arizona, seven Senators players took an Uber and were recorded unknowingly. The
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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

video was later posted online without their consent. In the video, most of the players were seen

making fun of Marty Raymond, their special teams coach. While most of the players were

young, Matt Duchene, the oldest of the bunch, was one of the most vocal during this car ride. He

mentioned how he never pays attention while watching film and does not have to since Raymond

never changes their systems (“CANDID CAMERA” 2018). This is a poor example of how to be

a leader by Duchene, as he makes it seem acceptable for the young players to follow his lead in

not caring about improving certain aspects of the team’s games. It is unknown if this remark has

impacted the young players at all, but regardless, it is still setting a bad example for younger

players. Another example of setting a bad example in the locker room is the Erik Karlsson and

Mike Hoffman dispute. Hoffman’s fiancée allegedly sent harassing messages to Karlsson’s wife

over social media about their unborn child and eventual stillborn. This led to a lot of tension

amongst the team. Hoffman was traded in March of 2018 (Yogaretnam 2018). Although the

trade was said to be made for hockey reasons, it is not difficult to wonder if these off-ice issues

lead to Hoffman’s potentially premature departure. Karlsson and many other star players have

since been traded due to the Senators deciding to undergo a rebuild, but this incident was one of

the issues that started to seemingly tear the team apart. This rift between players would have

forced other teammates to pick sides and caused division and tension in the locker room, which

is not a recipe for success in pro sports. It is hard to change this negative culture, especially when

it is the veteran players who are supposed to be leading who are not doing their roles or setting

good examples. These negative attitudes can carry on for long periods of time. In the study with

the All Blacks, one of the participants mentioned how when a team’s culture gets in a rut it is

very difficult to get out of (Cole 2018). In this case with the All Blacks it was drinking, but if not

taken care of quickly, locker room issues like the ones the Senators had may not be resolved until
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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

most or all of the players have left the organization and they are able to start fresh, which is what

the Senators had to do. They have now traded or released almost all of their roster from the time

that all of these problems started, and no one is left to remember those issues. If they had not

traded all of their players, an alternative way of fixing this would have been to either punish the

players setting bad examples or to encourage positive leaders to step up and set a better example.

It is common knowledge that young players will do whatever they can to fit in and stay with the

NHL team, and the team needs to make sure that when those young players become old, they set

a good example for future players.

One of the side effects of these problems regarding Melnyk’s management issues and

lack of leadership and organizational culture is the effect it has on the fans of the team. As

mentioned earlier, fans have spoken up against Melnyk and have voiced their disappointment in

their favourite team. Some fans have stopped attending games in protest, and many have been

staying connected to the team and other fans through social media. A study of Senators fans on

Twitter published in 2017, right around the start of the downfall for the organization, found that

Senators fans on Twitter were able to easily find one another and communicate about the team

away from the team’s official Twitter account. This means that fans can potentially form

negative opinions on the team (MacIntosh 2017). A team’s social media page usually makes the

team look good, as the goal is to advertise the team and make fans want to go to games.

However, when fans can talk to other fans without the positive influence of the official team

account, these negative opinions of the team may lead the fans to not want to go to games and to

boycott the team. This is exactly what has been happening in the past couple years with all of the

drama surrounding the franchise. The study also shows that the more time one spends reading

tweets about their favourite sports team, the more likely they are to feel connected to the fan base
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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

and know what is happening in the organization (MacIntosh 2017). Melnyk has taken an

interesting approach to combat the issue of fan negativity on social media. Shortly after the

aforementioned Uber scandal, around twenty seemingly fake Twitter accounts surfaced, all

bashing the Ottawa Citizen newspaper for posting and reporting on the Uber video. These

accounts did not like the violation of the players’ privacy and many of them positively

mentioned Melnyk in their tweets. All of these accounts said very similar things at similar times,

leading people to believe that they were bots. Since the bots that were not a part of the Ottawa

Senators Twitter community, they did not reach their desired target group. (Fenton 2018).

Attempting to weaponize a platform that is safe space for fans is not a good idea in trying to gain

the trust of fans. This will lead the fan base to not trust the owner, as it has now been shown that

he will do some questionable things in order to make himself and his organization look good. It

is important for an organization to paint itself in a good light in an attempt to sell tickets but

bashing local media and being unapologetic for something that one should apologize for is not a

good way to do things. A good strategy to help win back some Senators fans would be for

Melnyk to improve his own image by not meddling in social media communities, which will

encourage fans to support the team more as it will not have such a negative image attached to it.

Although winning is important and will help attract some fans, the best way to keep fans

satisfied is to keep the attendance up and keep them coming back to games (Gray and Wert-Gray

2012). Fans will be discouraged from attending games if they know that attendance will be low,

as the social aspect of going to sporting events is very important for fans as well. It is Melnyk’s

responsibility to ensure people think going to Senators games will be a worthwhile experience by

creating a welcoming atmosphere and organizational culture free of problems.

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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

In conclusion, the Ottawa Senators have been facing issues regarding their ownership

upsetting employees and fans, the organization having a negative culture, and having the fans

become disconnected from the team. A potential solution to Eugene Melnyk always making

people upset is to hire someone who is able to teach him how to behave while in front of the

media as well as not make such rash decisions. This way, even if Melnyk’s opinions towards

things do not change, the fans do not have to hear what he has to say, and they would be able to

focus on the hockey aspect of the team. Like most other sports organizations, the owner should

not have as much of a public voice and should not be making all of the decisions on both the

hockey and business sides as there are roles that people can fill who will do those jobs for him.

Additionally, by trading away players who caused problems in the locker room and set bad

examples for younger players, the Senators have fixed their issue of a negative organizational

culture amongst the player. If this issue were to arise again, they could solve it in a better way by

encouraging positive role models to step up and take on a bigger leadership role, or to sit down

any players that have an issue and allow them to talk it out without negatively affecting any of

the other teammates. Lastly, the Senators could repair their reputation among their fan base by

making the games a desirable event to attend once again. They can also repair their social media

reputation by not using obviously fake bots to encourage a certain narrative about some issues

and allow fans to come to their own opinions about things, and for Melnyk to understand that

even if he does the right thing not everybody will agree with him. By addressing these three main

issues, the fan base will become united and proud to cheer for their team once again. By making

everyone feel welcome at Senators games as well as icing a competitive team, the Senators

should be able to maintain a passionate fan base and be free of major issues for years to come.
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and Management: An International Journal, 7(3), 315-331. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-06-2016-0028

Willing, J. (2018, December 19). UPDATED: Ottawa Senators make proposal to salvage

downtown arena deal, developer files $1B counterclaim. Retrieved from

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-senators-owner-eugene-melnyk-hit-

with-1-billion-plus-counterclaim-over-failed-downtown-arena-bid

Wayne Scanlan, O. (2017, September 01). Senators reach severance agreements with Leeder and

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leeder-and-other-ex-club-executives

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yes'. Retrieved from https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/ottawa-owner-talks-moving-

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HOW THE OTTAWA SENATORS CAN FIX THEIR OWNERSHIP ISSUES

I swore at Melnyk, says fired Sens CEO Jim Little | CBC News. (2020, March 04). Retrieved

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CANDID CAMERA: Sens players caught on video joking about team, badmouthing coach |

(2018, November 06). Retrieved from https://ottawasun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/ottawa-

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Karlsson-Hoffman dispute became public. Retrieved from

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Fenton, D. (2018, November 17). How a collection of apparently fake Twitter accounts launched

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accounts-launched-a-troll-campaign-to-support-the-ottawa-senators

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