Management GM Pierre Dorion/Front Office Thread - Part IX [Mod Warning in post 1)

[Sweatred]

Bad product, drunk meddling owner, brutal GM, awful marketing.

Please find a NA pro sports franchise that fits that profile and then compare the fans.

The only 2 comparable franchises I can think of other than Bill Wirtz’s BlackHawks, are bullet proof markets.

1970s and 80s Leafs.
Current New York Knicks.

Who knows - I’m just saying as a fan base we’ve given our GM the least amount of money to make our team better - yet we have all these expectations when our Gm is competing against 31 better funded teams in a contest filtered by “quantity of money”.

Bad product, drunk meddling owner, brutal GM, awful marketing.

Please find a NA pro sports franchise that fits that profile and then compare the fans.

The only 2 comparable franchises I can think of other than Bill Wirtz’s BlackHawks, are bullet proof markets.

1970s and 80s Leafs.
Current New York Knicks.


With pandemic restrictions in the rear view mirror revenue is not the problem. Maybe Dorion makes good moves but if he doesn’t it’s not the fans fault.

I’m sure A&O are relieved that you’ve declared that revenue here is no longer a problem.

Hopefully they don’t take a peak at the current ticket sales.

 

[GCK]

Who knows - I’m just saying as a fan base we’ve given our GM the least amount of money to make our team better - yet we have all these expectations when our Gm is competing against 31 better funded teams in a contest filtered by “quantity of money”.



I’m sure A&O are relieved that you’ve declared that revenue here is no longer a problem.

Hopefully they don’t take a peak at the current ticket sales.

We have a far superior local broadcast package than most other teams, the organization has said sales and advertising are going really well. Unless the org is lying there is no revenue problem. Word is Dorion has 76M this year which is a ton for a team at our current state of development.

 

[umma gumma]

Dorion is not savy enough to work with a small budget. He might fit in well where his mistakes could be buried in the AHL, but I don't think he'll ever be a GM in this league again once he's done in Ottawa.

 

[Sweatred]

We have a far superior local broadcast package than most other teams, the organization has said sales and advertising are going really well. Unless the org is lying there is no revenue problem. Word is Dorion has 76M this year which is a ton for a team at our current state of development.

Sorry where did the org say we didn’t have a revenue problem? Or is this you speculating because we sold some commercials and brutal tickets sales are “up”.
?

The org has $76 to spend because A&O + low income rev sharing is funding the expense.

 

[DaveMatthew]

I’m sure A&O are relieved that you’ve declared that revenue here is no longer a problem.

Hopefully they don’t take a peak at the current ticket sales.

Anthony Leblanc has come out and said that ticket sales are booming, and Pierre Dorion has said he has the green light to spend. Rumours from "insiders" have us in the mix for numerous high-priced players, and Brucey himself reported that the team had no problem going to $7.9M for Fiala (they just didn't want to sign him to a deal into his 30's - which is a reasonable perspective to have).

Not sure what you're still going on about.

Heck, this isn't the first summer where Dorion, reportedly, has money to play with. Remember when he signed Murray and Dadonov? Let's just hope Ryan Bowness stops him from making mistakes as stupid this time around.

 

[umma gumma]

Anthony Leblanc has come out and said that ticket sales are booming, and Pierre Dorion has said he has the green light to spend. Rumours from "insiders" have us in the mix for numerous high-priced players, and Brucey himself reported that the team had no problem going to $7.9M for Fiala (they just didn't want to sign him to a deal into his 30's).

Not sure what you're still going on about.

Sure you do. We all know it.

 

[Tuna99]

Anthony Leblanc has come out and said that ticket sales are booming, and Pierre Dorion has said he has the green light to spend. Rumours from "insiders" have us in the mix for numerous high-priced players, and Brucey himself reported that the team had no problem going to $7.9M for Fiala (they just didn't want to sign him to a deal into his 30's).

Not sure what you're still going on about.

Anthony Leblanc loves having Anthony Leblanc in the media. He’s been blowing sunshine up Sens nation since the day he arrived - the other pro teams he’s worked for are the Arizona Coyotes and a CFL that doesn’t exist. He doesn’t know what good looks like but he does know how to positive spin a pile of hot-poo

 

[Sweatred]

Anthony Leblanc has come out and said that ticket sales are booming, and Pierre Dorion has said he has the green light to spend. Rumours from "insiders" have us in the mix for numerous high-priced players, and Brucey himself reported that the team had no problem going to $7.9M for Fiala (they just didn't want to sign him to a deal into his 30's).

Not sure what you're still going on about.

Heck, this isn't the first summer where Dorion, reportedly, has money to play with. Remember when he signed Murray and Dadonov? Let's just hope Ryan Bowness stops him from making mistakes as stupid this time around.

Booming ? Booming from a base of 4000 to what ? 6000? 8000? Even doubling doesn’t solve this teams revenue problem.

The building can be full of $25 tickets and we still our under funded vs most franchises.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Booming ? Booming from a base of 4000 to what ? 6000? 8000? Even doubling doesn’t solve this teams revenue problem.

So the President of Business Operations of the Senators is lying about ticket sales while A&O have given the GM the green light to spend on players and have committed to a new arena project that will require hundreds of millions in capital expenditure?

Odd that all this is happening with massive revenue problems. You should write them an email and alert them about this dire situation!

 

[Cosmix]

Last summer, many wanted to tie it to Gus and didn't like us extending Forsberg for 1 year. Yet, here we are...

Goalies are weird. We need to keep as many irons in the fire as possible. Murray has shown flashes of brilliance. We need to keep both Murray and Forsberg.

No. We need to acquire a very good goaltender who can remain healthy. Murray is not that. Neither is Forsberg. Neither is Gustavsson.

 

[Sweatred]

So the President of Business Operations of the Senators is lying about ticket sales while A&O have given the GM the green light to spend on players and have committed to a new arena project that will require hundreds of millions in capital expenditure?

Odd that all this is happening with massive revenue problems. You should write them an email and alert them about this dire situation!

Geez … he said a few positive things … no idea how you take they too assume all money issues are solved here.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Why is it Dorion’s fault that players choose better funded markets to play in?

If Dorion is the GM of the Kings and Blake is GM here do you think Fiala gets traded and signed by Ottawa or LA?

Because at some point you need to find a way to retain UFA's if you want to win anything in this league. GM's have done it here in the past. Dorion's excuses are going to run out eventually.

 

[GCK]

Booming ? Booming from a base of 4000 to what ? 6000? 8000? Even doubling doesn’t solve this teams revenue problem.

The building can be full of $25 tickets and we still our under funded vs most franchises.

Dude just stop. Dorion apparently has 76M for payroll this year, that is more than enough to get a lot of business done. Many here doubt he can pull it off, I’m in wait and see mode along with others, you are in a camp by yourself blaming fans for Dorion’s work.

 

[Sweatred]

Dude just stop. Dorion apparently has 76M for payroll this year, that is more than enough to get a lot of business done. Many here doubt he can pull it off, I’m in wait and see mode along with others, you are in a camp by yourself blaming fans for Dorion’s work.

As I said - our fan base has given our GM the least amount of money heading into this UFA buying period - thankfully A&O and league low income revenue sharing appear willing to float some payroll.

The fan base that gives their GM the smallest contribution should tempter their expectations … the fan base that fill their ownerships coffers should have big expectations.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Geez … he said a few positive things … no idea how you take they too assume all money issues are solved here.

When Bruce Garrioch, aka the mouthpiece for the Melnyk family and management, is talking about the Senators having no problem spending upwards of $7.5M a free-agent or trade acquisition and ownership has committed to a new arena that will have a price tag of $600M+... I'd take much of that to believe that the money issues aren't all that severe.

It's beginning to look like the team wasn't spending because Eugene Melnyk was cheap, not because "expenses had to be tied to revenues and revenues were so low".

Luckily for fans, his daughters seem to be taking a much different approach and are very willing to spend.
They'll be rewarded with ticket sales.

Unless, of course, you think A&O (along with the board) are stupid and have no idea what they're doing? That seems to be what you're saying...

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Dude just stop. Dorion apparently has 76M for payroll this year, that is more than enough to get a lot of business done. Many here doubt he can pull it off, I’m in wait and see mode along with others, you are in a camp by yourself blaming fans for Dorion’s work.

Has that been speculated on publicly/on the record?

 

[PlayOn]

No. We need to acquire a very good goaltender who can remain healthy. Murray is not that. Neither is Forsberg. Neither is Gustavsson.

There aren’t really any goalies without question marks available. Teams that have them hold onto them. I think it’s a bit early to say Forsberg or Gus isn’t that - we need a larger sample size from both to be sure either way but I don’t think they are worse gambles than anyone else out there really.

 

[Sweatred]

When Bruce Garrioch, aka the mouthpiece for the Melnyk family and management, is talking about the Senators having no problem spending upwards of $7.5M a free-agent or trade acquisition and ownership has committed to a new arena that will have a price tag of $600M+... I'd take much of that to believe that the money issues aren't all that severe.

It's beginning to look like the team wasn't spending because Eugene Melnyk was cheap, not because "expenses had to be tied to revenues and revenues were so low".

Luckily for fans, his daughters seem to be taking a much different approach and are very willing to spend.
They'll be rewarded with ticket sales.

Unless, of course, you think A&O are stupid and have no idea what they're doing? That seems to be what you're saying.

I think the girls are prepared for larger than usual losses with the hope they can rekindle some fan interest before they make any decision going forward.

The team is worth more if it has 13000 fans attending vs 8000.

13000 fans at bottom 1/3 ticket prices is hardly a cash windfall.

 

[DaveMatthew]

I think the girls are prepared for larger than usual losses with the hope they can rekindle some fan interest before they make any decision going forward.

The team is worth more if it has 13000 fans attending vs 8000.

They don't have an interest in selling, though. That's been said over and over by many.

From what I gather, they view the Senators and Capital Sports as a lucrative business that they want to hold onto and grow.

 

[Sweatred]

They don't have an interest in selling, though. That's been said over and over by many.

From what I gather, they view the Senators and Capital Sports as a lucrative business that they want to hold onto and grow.

Every franchise gets sold at some point - this team is miles away from turning a profit if spending is anywhere near the cap.

I wonder what UFA is dreaming of scoring goals in front of 7000 screaming fans in OTTAWA ?

 

[2CHAINZ]

Every franchise gets sold at some point - this teams is miles away from turning a profit if spending is anywhere near the cap.

If only the fans would buy more tickets and merch

 

[DaveMatthew]

Every franchise gets sold at some point - this team is miles away from turning a profit if spending is anywhere near the cap.

I wonder what UFA is dreaming of scoring goals in front of 7000 screaming fans in OTTAWA ?

The team hasn't been sold in 20 years, and at this point, there's no real reason to believe it'll be sold in the next 20 years, considering how young the new owners are.

And I don't think free agents are making decisions based on their childhood dreams. They're not 11-year-olds. They'll go where they can make the most money, get an opportunity to play prime minutes to set them up for their next contract, and hopefully win some games.

And from what I can tell, ownership is now willing to give out big contracts and, as many on here have said, Pierre Dorion has put together a roster of great young players that's on the precipice of winning.

The number of fans at games over the last few years is pretty low on their list of concerns when evaluating Ottawa as a destination.

 

[bert]

They don't have an interest in selling, though. That's been said over and over by many.

From what I gather, they view the Senators and Capital Sports as a lucrative business that they want to hold onto and grow.

There are lots of current buyers, I think they are absolutely interested in selling. What they are doing is actively building the organization so has more value in a sale.

 

[Sweatred]

The team hasn't been sold in 20 years, and at this point, there's no real reason to believe it'll be sold in the next 20 years.

And I don't think free agents are making decisions based on their childhood dreams. They're not 11-year-olds. They'll go where they can make the most money, get an opportunity to play prime minutes to set them up for their next contract, and hopefully win some games.

And from what I can tell, ownership is now willing to give out big contracts and, as many on here have said, Pierre Dorion has put together a roster of great young players that's on the precipice of winning.

The number of fans at games over the last few years is pretty low on their list of concerns when evaluating Ottawa as a destination.

Most of the players we want have multiple teams presenting offers. For the most part all 31 other teams can financially match anything Ottawa can do…

So it comes down to the same money and things like taxes, city, and environment become important.

We have a stale hockey environment, in a smallville city, with bad taxes and cold winters.

Not a lot to push their beyond skiing at Pakenham and living in Carp.

It’s ignorant to think those kids don’t love hearing fans cheer - they comment about how fun it is playing on the road because the buildings have energy (even though it is for the other team).

 

[DaveMatthew]

There are lots of current buyers, I think they are absolutely interested in selling. What they are doing is actively building the organization so has more value in a sale.

Maybe. But either way, all signs point to this organization not being the cash-hemorrhaging business in a terrible market that certain people on this board believe it to be.

Anna and Olivia starting to invest + there being many interested buyers if it's put up for sale leads me to think that there was one major problem that held this franchise back, and his name was Eugene.

Many smart, rich people seem to view a team in this market as a very profitable opportunity.