Senators Chair Rod Bryden said last week that "while
the club could technically move after this season, logistics
and business sense would make it a more likely possibility"
after the '99-2000 season, according to Jeff Blair of the
Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. Bryden: "It wouldn't be practical or
sensible business judgement to rush around and try to move
the team this year. We're not going to move in a hurry in
order just to get out of town, but if the governments all
decide that there are going to be no changes, then this
franchise will move." Bryden noted that he would have to
get NHL permission to move, and that league rules prevent
teams from relocating before the schedule is announced.
More Bryden: "But it (the franchise) is certainly here this
year and it's here next year, and then we'll see if we get
sufficient response in the near term so that we can
responsibly plan for future years" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
2/20). In Ottawa, Gare Joyce wrote under the header "Bryden
Remains Master Of Timing," and said that he "is keenly aware
that threats of franchise relocation are heard best and
conditions heeded in the good times, not the bad." Joyce
called Bryden's case for public support "riddled with
holes," and said it would have "carried more weight" if it
was timed with an announcement of a "meaningful" NHL
revenue-sharing plan (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 2/20). Bryden
"refused comment" on the rumor that the Senators have a
$120M offer from an American city (NATIONAL POST, 2/20).
REAX: In Ottawa, Rick Gibbons wrote that the "Canadian
government at all levels are playing a dangerous game of
chicken by refusing to believe that teams like the Senators
will one day pack up and leave unless something is done to
lower costs" (OTTAWA SUN, 2/21). In Toronto, Jim Proudfoot
says the "insoluble financial crisis makes the Ottawa
Senators an acute embarrassment for pro hockey because
they've become a truly excellent team." Proudfoot writes
that once again the NHL is left with "a good club its
community can't afford" (TORONTO STAR, 2/22).
