Last week, we called upon the McConnell family to face the public, and perhaps change the way they are doing business from the top down. Instead, the Blue Jackets cut another beloved employee from the organization today. Is it time for the McConnells to just admit they can no longer afford an NHL team?
The offseason from hell.
The offseason that was touted by many as the most important in franchise history, has left many of us feeling quite let down. The Columbus Blue Jackets look like an organization that is beginning to break apart at the seams. Meanwhile, the team's ownership sits casually by and has nothing to say. Actually, maybe they're just letting their actions do the talking.
The two best players on the roster have both informed the team's general manager that they have little intention of sticking around beyond the end of their contracts. At the very least, unless the team can shape up and start winning games.
But instead of going out and improving, the Blue Jackets look like a team stuck in the mud. Don Waddell was able to acquire Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche, and he should be a nice (small) upgrade for the top line. Assuming he can stay healthy.
Gone is captain Boone Jenner, who wanted more term than the team was willing to divvy out. That's understandable. Otherwise, the team has decided to run it back with the same defense corps and goaltending from a year ago. That's it. No other major roster changes, no significant upgrades.
Meanwhile, the long desired #1 center that this team waited 23 years to be able to draft, still sits idly without a contract. Somehow, he hasn't signed an offer sheet elsewhere. Maybe that's a sign of his loyalty. Or, maybe this franchise just got some stupid luck for once.
All of that to say, it's pretty difficult to look at this team's roster and have anything more than a glimmer of hope that they might actually be a smidge better. Hopefully the coaching staff can squeeze more out of them. That's our only hope.
So, what are they going to do to ensure they can keep their star players around? What makes us think this roster build is any different than the nonsense we have been sold in the past? I suppose the answer to these question lies in the way this team is handling business over the last week.
The organization is cheaping out.
Even if you aren't a huge fan of Bob McElligott or Jeff Svoboda, it's pretty hard to look past the writing on the wall here. The Blue Jackets are pinching pennies, in what seem like unnecessary areas. That could be an indicator of things to come.
The NHL is in the entertainment business. That's why these teams show up to play games. They don't do it for any reason other than competition and entertainment. If they don't have fans to entertain, there is no sport.
With the team being terrible most every season, we could at least have some pride in the way things were presented to us. There was news to follow, interviews, and original content-all provided to us free of charge (with some ads), from people we love.
All of that is going out the window, in favor of gutted broadcasts and AI driven articles. Has anyone let ownership know about this? Are they even aware? My favorite line from the movie Casino feels applicable here:
"...either he was in on it, or forgive me for saying this, he was too dumb to see what was going on."Robert De Niro as Sam "Ace" Rothstein
As De Niro says in the movie: either way, it's time to move on. I'm talking about the McConnell family, here.
Clearly, they can no longer afford to foot the bills that come with owning an NHL team valuated at over a billion dollars. They are letting go of some of the faces at the very front of the organization, in order to cut costs.
If they aren't able to cover the bills now, with the league's salary cap set at $104 million dollars, what happens in a few years' time when it has gone up significantly higher? Does this team start operating on an internal budget?
We've seen that before, and I'm not in a hurry to get back to it. So, it feels like it's time for them to come out and admit that they have failed. They simply can't afford to operate an NHL franchise.
At this point, just sell the team.
I've long been on the side of "be careful what you wish for", especially with the knowledge that other cities are jockeying for an NHL team as we speak. But at this point, do we really want to see our Blue Jackets get lapped by another expansion team from the south?
I'm not sure we do. Cities like Vegas, or Raleigh (I live happen to live there), Dallas, and Miami; aren't any better than Columbus. There are positives and negatives to each place, but the one thing that remains consistent: if the hockey stinks, nobody will want to play there. If you spend a little money to make the team good, you can compete and win.
How has the McConnell family not figured this out yet? You have to spend money to improve your product, if you want people to buy it. That's business 101. That's all the teams I just listed have done. They've iced better hockey teams. They've given better entertainment value.
The city of Columbus and its NHL fanbase deserves far better than this ownership group is willing or to provide. It's hard to see anything changing, as long as they are the cash flow behind this organization. After 26 years of letting us down, maybe it is time for them to sell the team.
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