It was a no-win situation. Our silence only amplified things within our market and fan base.<\/p>\n
Our local media asked for a comment or statement. And then the national media mocked us for making a statement.<\/p>\n
But as an organization, we simply weren\u2019t going to stand on the sidelines much longer and watch a player who was on personal leave be the receiving end of a ridiculous narrative. We asked for privacy around his personal leave and he wasn\u2019t afforded that luxury.<\/p>\n
So we came out swinging.<\/p>\n
National reporters can mock us all they want. But our obligation is to protect our players and make sure the truth is out there in our market. That\u2019s all we can do.<\/p>\n
I thought Ron MacLean and Elliotte Friedman had a fair analysis of the situation in Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada.<\/a><\/p>\n As always, we love to hear from you and I\u2019m open to hearing your feedback on our handling of our situation. The email address is [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just don\u2019t take any personal shots at my family and I think we\u2019ll be fine.<\/p>\n Trivia time:<\/p>\n Mads Sogaard appeared in a game for us this week in Denver, marking the fifth straight season that he\u2019s played at least one game for the Senators. Can you name the other five goalies in franchise history to play at least five consecutive seasons for the Senators?<\/p>\n Answer at the bottom of this column.<\/p>\n Absolute Non Sens podcast guest: Cyril Leeder<\/p>\n Our next episode of the Absolute Non Sens podcast is set to drop on Wednesday of this week and we\u2019ve got our president and CEO Cyril Leeder as our guest.<\/p>\n As we approach the 30th anniversary of Canadian Tire Centre, we ask Cyril:<\/p>\n Were there alternatives to Bryan Adams as the opening act for the building in January of 1996?<\/p>\n The Palladium name only lasted a couple of months on the arena \u2013 were there other options on the table?<\/p>\n Are there any features of the arena that he wishes he could have changed?<\/p>\n Can he estimate how many slices of pizza he\u2019s eaten at the building since it opened in 1996?<\/p>\n Cyril also gives us a small update on LeBreton Flats, so if you\u2019re into arena-related stuff, this will be a fun episode.<\/p>\n Media roundup: Looking back at some interesting and fun Senators stories you might have missed over the past seven days.<\/p>\n Shane Pinto has accepted a sponsor\u2019s exemption to play in the PGA Tour Americas Commissionaires Ottawa Open at The Marshes this summer. Adam Stanley from Sportsnet has all the details<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jordan Spence is midway through his first season with the Senators. Our Andrew Wilimek does a midseason check-in with the defenceman<\/a> \u2013 who is having a solid season when he uncovers the underlying numbers.<\/p>\n