Melnyk remains tight-lipped on Sens future
Posted April 8, 2011 11:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Eugene Melnyk answered questions from the Ottawa media on Friday morning, but the owner did not shed any new light on the job security of Bryan Murray and Cory Clouston beyond this weekend.
Melnyk would only indicate that he had a meeting scheduled with Murray on Friday, at which time he hoped to have a better idea of what decisions need to be made in the front office.
“I will be meeting with Bryan shortly and at that point, we’ll have a first discussion and go from there,” Melnyk said. “There’s a lot of things to discuss. The history, how we got here, where are we and where are we going. The moment that we shake hands, we’ll make it public. And I hope it’s shortly,”
Murray, 68, is completing his fourth season as the club’s general manager. He signed a one-year contract extension last February that will expire on June 30.
While he would not commit to Murray returning for a fifth season as general manager, Melnyk did indicate that he would be open to seeing him return in a senior advisory role, similar to what Kevin Lowe has done in Edmonton.
“That’s an interesting idea that we talked about earlier. No matter what, in some way, I’d like to see Bryan a part of the organization,” Melnyk explained. “But it’s a discussion that has to take place. I can say only good things about Bryan Murray. He’s a quality individual who’s been loyal to the organization.”
One key item on the agenda during the Melnyk and Murray meeting on Friday will be how long Murray would be willing to stay if he’s offered a new contract. Melnyk is making it clear he does not want to hand out another one-year extension.
“You want to be able to have him (Murray) – or whoever the next GM is to place their stamp on the team. To me, that’s got to be at least two or three years before you see that gel. You’ve got to go through a draft, do some trades, see how the team gets put together. Get a new coach in and get them acclimatized and I think that’s the term I’d be looking for.”
The fact that Melnyk said that the next general manager will need to “get a new coach”, seems to indicate that Cory Clouston’s tenure in Ottawa is all but over. But Melnyk declined to answer a direct question about Clouston’s performance as head coach – leaving things unclear.
“That’s tough for me to assess because I’m not as close to the hockey ops as you might think. I am going to punt that question,” Melnyk said.
In parts of three seasons as head coach, Clouston has compiled a 95-82-20 in 197 games behind the bench.
Like Murray, his contract expires at the end of June. Melnyk was asked about potential new head coaches, including Dave Cameron – who is guiding the St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League. Melnyk owns that junior club as well and has a long-standing history with Cameron, which has led to plenty of speculation that he will be Ottawa’s next head coach.
“I think there are a number of quality people, including Cory – let’s not knock him out of the box,” Melnyk said. “But Dave is a very special individual to me. He would be someone that we would certainly consider.”
The Senators, who will finish in last-place in the Northeast Division, play their final regular season game in Boston on Saturday afternoon.
