I don't really see Ottawa as a small market for hockey.
We're no Toronto or New York, but we're also in a lot better of a position than probably 20 of the teams in the league.
A city of 1 million where hockey is king has to be in better financial shape than a team that is a distant 4th in pro sports importance, even with a much greater population.
Melnyk crying poor is BS. Don't buy into the lie. This fanbase is easily conditioned due to the early years when they really were broke.
Think about it. We've never had a star walk in their prime. Hossa re-signed, Spezza, Heatley, Karlsson, Anderson, etc... have all been retained, some with gigantic deals.
Smolinski stuck around when he could have walked, as did Kuba, Neil, Phillips, etc...
We wasted a ton of money of Kovalev & Gonchar as well.
The Euge was also reportedly willing to take on Rick Nash's monster contract.
He still says now that "if it makes sense" he'll spend.
We're not a cash strapped team.
I think your history lesson is filled with your opinions and quite frankly void on facts.
While there is no substantiated proof Melnyk is or isn't losing money with the Sens, it is pretty clear he isn't spending as much as he was 3-4 years ago.
Your opinion of Ottawa, where hockey is king, is not supported by the current attendance. According to ESPN the Sens have dropped to 15th in attendance from 6th last season, down almost 2000 per game. At an average of $50 a ticket that is $4M less ticket revenue, not counting the effect on other revenues.
Regarding the stars not walking, Hossa was the Bryden era and he didn't walk because he got the deal he wanted, then of course he was traded for a cheaper Heatley. It was the plan though never shared with Hossa.
After Bryden went bankrupt, Melnyk took over with visions of SCs in his head and definitely spent, but during that time there were consistent reports the team was losing money and Melnyk always acknowledged without two rounds of playoff games the reports were true.
Even during the spending years of Melnyk, the team never had a cap higher than the mid $50M level.
I humbly suggest you think about this, the stars that didn't walk were before Melnyk decided he wasn't going to underwrite the team's financial losses out of his own pocket.
While there were rumours Murray was kicking the tires on Nash, Melnyk was never faced with the reality of a deal and therefore Murray wasn't faced with how he would fit Nash into the budget.
Of course that whole exercise was purely academic since Nash never even hinted he would be willing to take a trade to Ottawa.
I believe his recent actions speak louder than your assumptions. Faced with having both Alfie and Ryan at market value, he clearly told Murray he could have just one.
True Melnyk has said if it makes sense he will spend, but he usually qualifies it with when he would be willing to do that and that Brian has assured him this player would help them make a playoff run.
Eugene has continuously told the media, the Sens will continue to spend wisely, develop its players and will be a mid-cap spending team.
Of course if his revenues drop I am sure those statements will change.
