The Official Ottawa Sports Radio Thread #7

[DaveMatthew]

I doubt they're going to go out and say "this team sucks! Worst team in the NHL! Now please sit back and watch the game so our sponsors don't kill us!" They've got to hype up the product they're trying to sell.

Have you listened to talk radio in Toronto, Montreal, New York, etc? Listen to how local hosts talk about the Knicks or Bills... and yes, we're that type of franchise now.

It's okay to call a spade a spade.

 

[DaveMatthew]

How about a follow up question like: if you are hoping to sign all 3 UFAs and Duchene and Dzingel would likely require significant raises to retain, does that mean if you are unsuccessful with signings that you would be willing to take on salary for similar established players via trade, or maybe shore up significant shortcomings by putting those planned salary dollars into free agents?

Exactly.

"If you're unable to re-sign Stone, Duchene and Dzingel, do you foresee being a major player on July 1st to replace that offense?"
"There's been a lot of talk about the impact of signing bonuses and lockout protection this past year, and just today, we saw Matthews get a large bonus. How does that affect Ottawa, a small-market team, when negotiating with high-end players?"
"You mentioned that you thought this team would compete for a playoff spot this year, but injuries set you back. At the same time, going into the season, the organization was pretty clear about this being a large-scale rebuild, and typically, rebuilds take several years to pay off. What is the expectation for next season? Are you looking at is as a development year, or do you expect to be a playoff team?"

Instead, we get:

"Are there any updates on the negotiations with Stone, Duchene and Dzingel?"
"We hope to sign them."
"Okay great! What are your thoughts on this season's results?"
"We thought we'd be competing in the playoffs, but ran into some bad injuries."
"Okay great! Thanks Pierre! We really appreciate you!"

 

[BatherSeason]

Never thought AJ and Mendes would ever join the propaganda machine yet here we are.

 

[ianmendes]

I completely understand the frustration from the people on this board. I got 10 mins with Pierre today. I thought I would ask about UFAs, Anderson, Condon, Boucher -- being in 31st place -- and some of the prospects (Brown/Batherson/Norris). If I had more time, sure I would have asked a bunch of other questions. But I had 10 mins and tried my best to ask some wide-ranging questions and take a big picture look a this team.

He hadn't done an interview in about 2 months, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Clearly some stuff was going to be missed. Just trying to give you guys/girls a little bit of context, but all of the criticism lobbed my way is completely fair.

Thanks.

 

[stempniaksen]

I completely understand the frustration from the people on this board. I got 10 mins with Pierre today. I thought I would ask about UFAs, Anderson, Condon, Boucher -- being in 31st place -- and some of the prospects (Brown/Batherson/Norris). If I had more time, sure I would have asked a bunch of other questions. But I had 10 mins and tried my best to ask some wide-ranging questions and take a big picture look a this team.

He hadn't done an interview in about 2 months, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Clearly some stuff was going to be missed. Just trying to give you guys/girls a little bit of context, but all of the criticism lobbed my way is completely fair.

Thanks.

Thanks for coming in here and facing the music at a less than ideal time, I'm sure most of us appreciate the extra context.

I'm still disapointed in the "fluffy" nature of the interview, but understand where you're coming from.

I have no issue with you playing the middle man at this stage, given the lack of answers we have. I'm hoping you'll show a little fire if/when the UFA's are moved (not unlike you did the day EK was traded, so credit where credit is due).

 

[JD1]

@ianmendes

I heard your interview today, or most of it anyway, I might have missed a minute or two at the start

personally I appreciated hearing PD's perspective on the various prospects. it appears I missed the bit on the UFAs.

I wouldn't lose much sleep over the commentry here, it's par for the course in here. I don't think 1200 even makes it onto the top 5 things to bitch about list around here.

 

[BK201]

Thanks for coming in here and facing the music at a less than ideal time, I'm sure most of us appreciate the extra context.

I'm still disapointed in the "fluffy" nature of the interview, but understand where you're coming from.

I have no issue with you playing the middle man at this stage, given the lack of answers we have. I'm hoping you'll show a little fire if/when the UFA's are moved (not unlike you did the day EK was traded, so credit where credit is due).

I thought it was fine. It was obvious he (GMPD)was answering things in a round about way and tbh if its been 2 months shit still needs to hit the fan so relax guys he was fine, wait til the trades come and they can still get him on.

 

[BatherSeason]

I completely understand the frustration from the people on this board. I got 10 mins with Pierre today. I thought I would ask about UFAs, Anderson, Condon, Boucher -- being in 31st place -- and some of the prospects (Brown/Batherson/Norris). If I had more time, sure I would have asked a bunch of other questions. But I had 10 mins and tried my best to ask some wide-ranging questions and take a big picture look a this team.

He hadn't done an interview in about 2 months, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Clearly some stuff was going to be missed. Just trying to give you guys/girls a little bit of context, but all of the criticism lobbed my way is completely fair.

Thanks.

Appreciate the honesty Ian. The fact that you are aware and concerned about how we feel shows that you at least partially believe that there is a foul stench coming out of the offices at the CTC. The fanbase stills needs a voice, someone needs to standup to the Evil Empire and voice of the real 75% if the fanbase.

 

[BondraTime]

I completely understand the frustration from the people on this board. I got 10 mins with Pierre today. I thought I would ask about UFAs, Anderson, Condon, Boucher -- being in 31st place -- and some of the prospects (Brown/Batherson/Norris). If I had more time, sure I would have asked a bunch of other questions. But I had 10 mins and tried my best to ask some wide-ranging questions and take a big picture look a this team.

He hadn't done an interview in about 2 months, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Clearly some stuff was going to be missed. Just trying to give you guys/girls a little bit of context, but all of the criticism lobbed my way is completely fair.

Thanks.

Cheers, and thanks again for taking the time to speak to those on this board.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

We knew nothing of substance would be said ahead of time regarding specifics on negotiations or trades.. One question I have is whether all 3 UFAs are in that indecisive frame of mind as to whether they want to stay or not, assuming money is not a stumbling block. I would think Duchene is for sure, Stone most likely, and it would not surprise me if Dzingel was in the same boat, although he would be the most maliable.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I completely understand the frustration from the people on this board. I got 10 mins with Pierre today. I thought I would ask about UFAs, Anderson, Condon, Boucher -- being in 31st place -- and some of the prospects (Brown/Batherson/Norris). If I had more time, sure I would have asked a bunch of other questions. But I had 10 mins and tried my best to ask some wide-ranging questions and take a big picture look a this team.

He hadn't done an interview in about 2 months, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Clearly some stuff was going to be missed. Just trying to give you guys/girls a little bit of context, but all of the criticism lobbed my way is completely fair.

Thanks.

It's obvious they're controlling the message and have been for a long while now, so I can understand that puts you in a tough spot, especially with the affiliation. I feel that TSN and TSN1200 won't paint the true picture because they have a vested interest in fans not checking out completely. I'm envious of your position and would do the same if I were in your shoes, but I feel we've already had the "big picture" non specific opinion from them and I think other than about 4 or 5 posters here, we want to hear something from them other than rainbows and butterflies. We had a poll recently with options of "do you believe this is an honest rebuild" or "is this a financially motivated firesale" and the latter won handily with a tally of 62 to 2. They lied for months about the Karlsson situation and there's been zero accountability from them this whole time for the position they're in and they haven't given any room for those questions to be put to them.

I think we're all just a little tired about the message from the organization being either non existent or everything is fine, sit down and shut up like Melnyk's infamous fireside Boro chat. As fans, we can handle some honesty and sometimes it takes the media to dig it out of them, but again, they're putting you in a tough spot if all they're willing to do is one 10 minute interview every couple months. We saw the CBC interview with Dorion and Ruszcowski during camp, and I can only assume they're protecting themselves from interviews like that with hard hitting questions, follow up questions, and generally making themselves look bad.

Appreciate your work Ian and in years prior I enjoyed tuning in and felt you guys had some leg room to do exactly what I and many others are looking for. Hopefully that changes again some day.

 

[Tuna99]

Confusing because Dorion presented Melncyk with a plan (that got him a 3 year extension) that included trading EK, but then they offered him a contract.

Now it seems the team wants to sign the players, so they must be part of this rebuild plan, but they didn’t negotiate when they had the chance and can’t seem to get pen to paper.

So the indecisiveness and lack of a coherent plan, coupled with Dorion’s misevaluation of the teams NHL competitive level (a Sens GM tradition going on since we made the finals) - it just seems like this is pin the tail on the donkey style management. Kinda blindly trying to get things done but they aren’t sure what the big picture looks like let alone the micro picture.

Anyways, Dorion sounded serious and focused, Which is good, I have to give the man credit, his hockey team is a red-Hot-mess and he keeps trudging forward. Dorion’s ability to always believe in the Senators I think comes from his desire to win, and his belief in his abilities to turn it around is an endearing quality.

You just hope this is the best 2 weeks of his GM career.

 

[Canadian Time]

I don't think this is the Sens that are "controlling the message" and limiting the questions but rather a decision by TSN not to press them or try to embarrass the team. It's normally media organizations that make these decisions whether it be politics, sports, entertainment, whatever. Ian, et al can only really be as investigative as their directors allow. It's easier for CBC, they are publicly funded.

 

[Artanis]

I completely understand the frustration from the people on this board. I got 10 mins with Pierre today. I thought I would ask about UFAs, Anderson, Condon, Boucher -- being in 31st place -- and some of the prospects (Brown/Batherson/Norris). If I had more time, sure I would have asked a bunch of other questions. But I had 10 mins and tried my best to ask some wide-ranging questions and take a big picture look a this team.

He hadn't done an interview in about 2 months, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Clearly some stuff was going to be missed. Just trying to give you guys/girls a little bit of context, but all of the criticism lobbed my way is completely fair.

Thanks.

You did a good job man, keep up the good work.

 

[Inkling]

I don't think this is the Sens that are "controlling the message" and limiting the questions but rather a decision by TSN not to press them or try to embarrass the team. It's normally media organizations that make these decisions whether it be politics, sports, entertainment, whatever.

If that's the decision, it's made at the local level and not "TSN" as an organization. When the Habs were a joke in previous years, Bergevin got raked over the coals during interviews on TSN690. Other stations don't seem to have the same issue.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

You're right that it would often be the network itself, and may be in this case due to the affiliation since they're essentially selling the same product, but it goes both ways. Many interviewees will not agree to an interview without getting a say over what's going to be put to them. You hear about it all the time in the political and entertainment news world.

I don't think this is the Sens that are "controlling the message" and limiting the questions but rather a decision by TSN not to press them or try to embarrass the team. It's normally media organizations that make these decisions whether it be politics, sports, entertainment, whatever. Ian, et al can only really be as investigative as their directors allow. It's easier for CBC, they are publicly funded.

Not directed at you...

In over a year now, I haven't heard a single question put to Dorion about specifics of the rebuild. Interesting non confrontation things fans would be interested to hear such as...

How many years do you foresee before you're competing for playoffs?

Do you feel you have the pieces in place to turn the corner, or do you think significantly more work is needed?

Do you have the high end pieces needed to compete for the cup?

Do you have any plans to bring in any outside help?

Or, do you intend to fill all roles internally as we saw this summer?

How do you envision your D core falling in to place?

And on and on and on.

Fans have no faith in this rebuild because we've heard nothing other than generic stuff like "we're a team." What ever happened to talking hockey, talking prospects, talking plans or potential. Dorion and Murray have done that for many years. I'm not asking for serious confrontation, I'm looking for them to engage again, but instead their answer to the fan revolt has been to hide away and only give controlled interviews.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

You're right that it would often be the network itself, and may be in this case due to the affiliation since they're essentially selling the same product, but it goes both ways. Many interviewees will not agree to an interview without getting a say over what's going to be put to them. You hear about it all the time in the political and entertainment news world.

Not directed at you...

In over a year now, I haven't heard a single question put to Dorion about specifics of the rebuild. Interesting non confrontation things fans would be interested to hear such as...

How many years do you foresee before you're competing for playoffs?

Do you feel you have the pieces in place to turn the corner, or do you think significantly more work is needed?

Do you have the high end pieces needed to compete for the cup?

Do you have any plans to bring in any outside help?

Or, do you intend to fill all roles internally as we saw this summer?

How do you envision your D core falling in to place?

And on and on and on.

Fans have no faith in this rebuild because we've heard nothing other than generic stuff like "we're a team." What ever happened to talking hockey, talking prospects, talking plans or potential. Dorion and Murray have done that for many years. I'm not asking for serious confrontation, I'm looking for them to engage again, but instead their answer to the fan revolt has been to hide away and only give controlled interviews.

I think when you only hear what you want to hear.

Does anyone really think that the station that pays $$$ to the team is going to stop supporting the team and turn into a bunch of negative nellies and attack the organization?

I am sure they would rather help show the brighter side than go full “revolt”.

You NEVER go full revolt!

 

[Stylizer1]

You're right that it would often be the network itself, and may be in this case due to the affiliation since they're essentially selling the same product, but it goes both ways. Many interviewees will not agree to an interview without getting a say over what's going to be put to them. You hear about it all the time in the political and entertainment news world.

Not directed at you...

In over a year now, I haven't heard a single question put to Dorion about specifics of the rebuild. Interesting non confrontation things fans would be interested to hear such as...

How many years do you foresee before you're competing for playoffs?

Do you feel you have the pieces in place to turn the corner, or do you think significantly more work is needed?

Do you have the high end pieces needed to compete for the cup?

Do you have any plans to bring in any outside help?

Or, do you intend to fill all roles internally as we saw this summer?

How do you envision your D core falling in to place?

And on and on and on.

Fans have no faith in this rebuild because we've heard nothing other than generic stuff like "we're a team." What ever happened to talking hockey, talking prospects, talking plans or potential. Dorion and Murray have done that for many years. I'm not asking for serious confrontation, I'm looking for them to engage again, but instead their answer to the fan revolt has been to hide away and only give controlled interviews.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what they say.

 

[Sensung]

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what they say.

Actions do speak louder than words, but their dishonesty in dealing wth their fanbase is a contributing factor to the complete breakdown in the relationship.

Fans don’t trust the plan, nor do they trust the Sens to be honest about the plan.

We don’t win and are unlikely to do so for years to come, so the fanbase needs hope. The lies and unwillingness to be honest about the financially motivated firesale have squashed hope for the vast majority of fans.

Meanwhile the press , who should be holding them accountable on behalf of the fanbase, choose to carry the mail for the org and appear to be complicit in the blatant deceptions the Sens are trying to put over on the fans.

 

[Inkling]

It was an odd time for Dorion to appear on the station given that actual, real, news that is worth talking about will be happening in the coming weeks and not now. I'm assuming the timing is because he thinks it's easier to appear in front of the media now (especially if he's thrown softballs) compared to what he sees coming in the days leading up to, and immediately following the trade deadline.

 

[BatherSeason]

Who has the time to listen to TSN690, and TSN1200?

Oh, a Habs fan might?

Here is how its possible to listen to another station:

7:00 hour of TGOR:

7:00-7:16 Commercials, news, sports update
7:16-7:25 Sports Talk
7:25-7:37 Commercials, Sports Updates
7:37-7:40 Baseball chit chat
7:40-7:48 60 second shootout
7:48-?? Commerical break (I got to work)

Gonna give them 3 minutes here in the last 12, so a grand total of 15 minutes in an hour 15 MINUTES??? That means 75% of the hour was commercials/sports updates. Maybe cut the Sportscentre updates, the station basically just replays the exact same soundbites anyways.

This is why we all have plenty of time to see the quality sports radio they have in Montreal, where I bet there is at least a 50-50 split of air time/commercials.

 

[branch]

I think when you only hear what you want to hear.

Does anyone really think that the station that pays $$$ to the team is going to stop supporting the team and turn into a bunch of negative nellies and attack the organization?

I am sure they would rather help show the brighter side than go full “revolt”.

You NEVER go full revolt!

People with this line of thinking are the first person to attack the impartial observers and independent journalists by saying what they write means nothing. It's obvious that 1200/Sun media is under the thumb of the organization by way of the team feeding them scoops to break. It's the biggest thing in journalism, to break a story. The team rubs the journo's back and vice versa. The only thing true you read about the team comes from outside the circle. To think otherwise would be 100% ignorant.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

HAHAHAHAHHAHA OH PLEASE "I ONLY HAD 10 MINUTES TO INTERVIEW!!"

Here is what an actual interview with a real journalist looks like

Sens GM Pierre Dorion on Karlsson trade

Cry me a river. The best interview this year and possibly the last 10 years was done by CBC Ottawa radio where they took the 2 bullshit artists (Dorion and the COO) to town and held them accountable, and that was 10 minutes long. It was the first time in the Murray/Dorion era where someone asked them a tough question, and they weren't prepared because this town's sports media has been giving them a free pass over and over again.

f***ing pathetic representation of the fanbase. I have seen more preparation going into the left-over 5 or whatever low substance crappy sports radio game that the station plays then that interview.

 

[Icelevel]

HAHAHAHAHHAHA OH PLEASE "I ONLY HAD 10 MINUTES TO INTERVIEW!!"

Here is what an actual interview with a real journalist looks like

Sens GM Pierre Dorion on Karlsson trade

Cry me a river. The best interview this year and possibly the last 10 years was done by CBC Ottawa radio where they took the 2 bull**** artists (Dorion and the COO) to town and held them accountable, and that was 10 minutes long. It was the first time in the Murray/Dorion era where someone asked them a tough question, and they weren't prepared because this town's sports radio has been giving them a free pass over and over again.

****ing pathetic representation of the fanbase.

Thanks I’ll listen to that. It seems the reality is that Pierre is a very fragile and emotional person and can not deal with tough questions so maybe the only way he agrees is with the safety agreement like pre recorded and no toughies.

Edit: yeah she did an excellent job there. It’s a different style of interview. Asking the tough questions like that sort of putting them on trial and asking them to defend all decisions.
I don’t know if it’s better. It’s interesting for sure. I mean all Pierre needs to do really is SOUND more confident. He just comes across as so guilty, unsure and defensive but I believe there is a decent plan for the future in place. Under the circumstances that is (melnyk). They just do a terrible job of instilling any confidence.

 

[BatherSeason]

Eugene Melnyk statement basically dodged all morning. Shawn Simpson even stated at one point "The pulse around the Ottawa Senators is positive, and it starts at the top with ownership and downward" .

(To Simmer's defence, he generally has no idea where his commentary are going)

The least these guys could do was try their best to not make it so obvious that the message is being controlled.