Melnyk remembered after his death as 'great man' by Senators GM

MANALAPAN, Fla. -- The NHL general managers opened their meeting Tuesday with a moment of silence for Eugene Melnyk, the Ottawa Senators owner who died from an illness Monday at age 62.

Senators GM Pierre Dorion fought back emotion as he spoke about Melnyk, first to his colleagues in the meeting, then to the media outside the room.
"I think one of the saddest parts about his passing is he won't get to see, I think, all the work that we all did together to try to build a winner," Dorion said before sighing deeply. "A lot of you didn't know the great man that he was, just as far as how much he cared about Ottawa, the Senators.
"I'm so thankful to him on a personal note. He allowed me to be one of the 32 GMs in the League. It's an elite position, and I'm so thankful for him for giving me that opportunity, and I want to promise the fans in Ottawa that we will deliver a Stanley Cup one day."
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman expressed his condolences to Melnyk's daughters, Anna and Olivia, and the rest of his family and friends.
"It's a big loss," Commissioner Bettman said. "He died obviously young. Over the last few years, I think his illnesses have been well chronicled, and it's very, very sad.
"Eugene is an owner who was always very passionate about the game of hockey, about the Senators. He was a well-respected voice in the Board of Governors room. He was occasionally controversial in the media, but that was something that we admired and respected about him, and he will be missed. There's no question about that."
Melnyk bought the Senators in 2003 after the team had declared bankruptcy. The Senators returned to the NHL in 1992-93 after the original Senators ceased to operate in 1934.
"If not for Eugene Melnyk, the Senators would not be in Ottawa," Dorion said.
Commissioner Bettman remembered the meeting in his office in New York when they agreed Melnyk would buy the team.
"I think he will be remembered as somebody who purchased the franchise at a difficult time in the franchise's history, stabilized it, made it competitive and was always passionate about the game," Commissioner Bettman said. "And he loved the game, he loved the players, he loved the fans, and this was an important part of his life."

The Senators made the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, losing to the Anaheim Ducks in five games, and returned to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in double overtime of Game 7.
Dorion told a story about the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery to highlight Melnyk's kindness.
The Senators held two lottery picks and were hoping to select No. 1 and No. 2, but they ended up at No. 3 and No. 5 after the lottery. It was a disappointing outcome for Dorion and his staff, although, in the end, the Senators drafted forward
Tim Stutzle
and defenseman Jake Sanderson. To ease the disappointment, Melnyk gave Dorion an expensive bottle of red wine as a consolation prize.
"It was a really nice gift," Dorion said.
Dorion told another story about the road he and Melnyk were traveling together. Dorion and assistant GM Peter MacTavish drove to scout Belleville, the Senators' American Hockey League affiliate, with Melnyk and his daughter, Olivia. On the way back, Dorion got a flat tire. It was about minus-40 degrees Celsius with the wind chill.
"I'm trying to change a flat tire on the car, and he's saying, 'Pierre, you can't do this. You're too important. You're the guy that's building this team,'" Dorion said. "So, he cared."
Dorion smiled at the memory and went on to say how much Melnyk meant to so many people, like former Senators GM Bryan Murray, who died of cancer Aug. 12, 2017.
"He'll be missed dearly," Dorion said. "We started something together, and we're going to finish it, and he'll be so proud of us, and he'll be looking down on us. I think the one good thing today is that I think he's beside Bryan Murray, and they're analyzing every trade and transaction and signing and draft that we've probably made in the last five years."
Commissioner Bettman said he had been in touch with the executor of Melnyk's estate and the Senators will operate as usual.
"Beyond that, all of the issues in terms of what the future looks like? We've said, 'Let's focus on Eugene and his condition,' particularly over the last few weeks," Commissioner Bettman said. "So those are questions that will get dealt with over time."
Dorion said Melnyk's legacy still is being developed.
"I think he should be remembered as someone that cared a lot about the Ottawa Senators and wanted to see them have success," Dorion said. "His legacy is that one day we're going to be a Stanley Cup winner, and he was a big part of that, if not the biggest part of that."