Report: Sens admit defeat in search for team president, reach out to NHL for help

It’s not exactly a secret that the Ottawa Senators have gone through a tough calendar year. Without getting into the entire mess that includes trading their captain, trading their two leading scorers, having their assistant GM get arrested and having owner Eugene Melnyk effectively kill any chance of a new arena… let’s just say it’s been a rough go for Sens fans.

But, credit where credit is due, the Sens have obviously realized the importance of good public relations throughout the entire fiasco they’ve created for themselves over the past year. A week ago reports started to surface out of Ottawa that the team was looking to hire a team president to act as a buffer between Melnyk and general manager Pierre Dorion. In theory, this new president would also share media duties with Dorion, who has demonstrated himself to be not up to the task, at least not while overseeing his duties as GM in a full scale tear down of the NHL’s 31st ranked franchise.

But, here’s the problem… no one wants the gig.

Former Vancouver Canucks president Trevor Linden reportedly turned down a request to interview with the Sens, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Trevor Linden declined the opportunity to interview in Ottawa. I think Joe Nieuwendyk is on the radar as well. - Elliotte Friedman

Other names have been bandied about… yet still no hire and no reports of any confirmed interviews. 

Friedman’s Sportsnet colleague and former NHL GM/president Brian Burke reports now that the Sens have reached out to the league for help in their search. The league has reportedly assigned an executive from another NHL team to help the Sens lure in potential candidates.

Yeah… that oughtta work. After all, we know that Melnyk won’t make it worth anyone’s while with a fat pay check. May as well get Gary Bettman and the NHL to do your bidding, Eugene…