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The Gossip in Ottawa Must be Good
by Alanah McGinley on 06/26/08 at 12:27 PM ET
Comments (15)
The Ray Emery Affair has always given me the disconcerting feeling, “There’s something going on here that no one is telling us.”
His “character” is a favorite target (though I’ve yet to read a word about his crimes being any more interesting than being late for two (three?) practices, bad driving skills and a snotty attitude.) And while I realize there’s likely a lot more to it, no one is really saying what it is.
But that’s what everything surrounding the Ottawa Senators always seems to be—like a soap opera that I’m hearing the plot for second-hand and not actually able to watch. I always get the sense that the hockey media in that town is following their own code of silence, like some bizarre Stepford Wives syndrome.
A few words from James Gordon at Hockey Capital in the Ottawa Citizen got me thinking about the topic again today, in his remarks on the departure of Brian McGrattan:
Ottawa Senators’ GM Bryan Murray suggested yesterday that he traded team tough guy Brian McGrattan because there was a perception in the community that he was a distraction in the dressing room, but also because he “wants a team of real character people.”
So which is it? I don’t know if I’d agree fans thought McGrattan was a problem, especially considering enforcers are generally loved by home supporters. He was good buddies with Ray Emery, who was proven to be a distraction. The two brawled in practice midway through last season, which was definitely a distraction. He goofed around in practice a lot and didn’t work particularly hard (it’s actually pretty funny how many pictures we have in our archives of him grappling with teammates and wearing wacky hats).
There’s an argument to be made that McGrattan wasn’t the best influence on his teammates, but to download some responsibility for moving him on the fans isn’t right.
Look, I don’t know much of anything about Brian McGrattan, but I start grinding my teeth every time I hear the word “character” being thrown around. Especially from Bryan Murray who continues to echo the idea like a broken record.
What is this character business really all about?
Gordon hints at it (i.e. “an argument to be made that McGrattan wasn’t the best influence...") but doesn’t actually explain anything. Is it just the suggestion that he’s a “goof” in practices? Whatever defines his so-called poor character is a legitimate issue for analysis because this isn’t simply a matter of avoiding gossip—it’s a matter of knowing specific issues that a player might bring to his future team.
But I’ll certainly give Gordon credit for one thing I almost never see the Ottawa media do: he takes Murray to task for dumping his responsibility on the fans. If Murray is seriously making personnel decisions based on “community perceptions,” I’d have to wonder why he even has a job.
But I suppose I’m going to have to continue wondering about that, because the majority of the Ottawa media says nothing… questions nothing… challenges nothing. Their code of silence remains nearly intact for the moment.
Meanwhile, it’s fascinating to watch The Bryan Murray Show continue to deflect responsibility to everyone else in sight, as he manages to avoid properly accounting for how his Stanley Cup caliber team imploded in a matter of a few short months this past season.
“Character” just isn’t a good enough answer.
______________________
*photo found at the Ottawa Citizen
Filed in: nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: brian+mcgrattan, bryan+murray,
Comments
I do indeed trust you on this—obviously something is going on. But that’s my whole point. I mean, geez… there are probably questions of international security that are less protected than whatever has gone on in Ottawa this season. 
And I’ve certainly never thought of those covering the NHL as being particularly shy about gossip or throwing around “unnamed sources”, so—even being of the opinion that the Ottawa’s NHL media can be pretty soft in general—I find the situation particularly bizarre as an outsider.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 06/26/08 at 12:17 PM ET
No journalist in this city has the balls to tell the truth about what is going on with the Sens. No team has ever faced the scrutiny that now now occurs on the internet - and that’s where the truth lies.
It’s not enough to say that a guy doesn’t show up for practice - WHY DIDN’T HE SHOW UP?! Someone has to answer this question, and Erin is right, all they need is the right picture and the right lawyer.
When you’re a journalist without a commitment to the truth, you’re nothing - your articles are just another press release.
Posted by Anon from Far too close on 06/26/08 at 12:55 PM ET
I agree that the giant coverup has been bizarre, to say the least. But I also think that Bryan Murray has come pretty close to calling guys out since the Sens were swept. After trading McGrattan he stated the following:
“From my point of view, I want our team to kind of knock the label of a dysfunctional room, if that’s the right word,” Murray said. “With Ray and Brian and people like that, all I ever heard were the stories of all these guys doing different things ... I want a team of real character people, as best I can, and I want very definitely good people in our room.”
Posted by Jonathan Mayers from Ottawa on 06/26/08 at 01:00 PM ET
Anonymous - I agree, and Erin’s post definitely gives us a lot better idea than anything else that’s been written, that there’s a serious story behind all this.
Jonathan - He is, but without a proper explanation about what those ‘character’ issues are, it seems pretty weak to me, blaming those players. After all, these are guys (ie. McGrattan and Emery) that were also on the team the year they went to the Stanley Cup Finals. So why was their character not a problem last year, but suddenly this year it’s guys like them who are being implicated in the downfall of the team?
I’m not saying they’re not somehow responsible (I have no idea) but Murray shouldn’t be allowed to get away with just saying they are without explaining why, imo.
It seems to me that a lot of logical questions aren’t being asked or answered in Ottawa.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 06/26/08 at 01:13 PM ET
It’s the drugs. That’s what he’s hinting at I believe, but I think it’s hard in his position to fully “out” these guys for their cocaine habits. Maybe he doesn’t have solid evidence or it’s all heresay, who knows. But if you live in Ottawa and have your ear even remotely close to the ground, it’s been no big secret for years that there’s been drug issues on the team. Those two players names have surfaced over and over again, along with others who have left recently.
Posted by Jonathan Mayers from Ottawa on 06/26/08 at 01:28 PM ET
Starting a few years back, when the Sens were on top of the Conference, rumors started about a few guys “partying it up” at local bars. Almost anyone who follows hockey (which is a lot of people here) “knows” someone who’s seen certain players consume some white powdery substances out in the open at local Ottawa bars. I’ve heard the same rumors from a dozen different people over the years. From those who work at the bars to those who attend those bars.
All this may simply be rumors, but when you hear the same guys being mentioned 3-4 years in a row and from a bunch of different sources, you start thinking its true. Especially when these same players seem to be not playing up to their past levels.
So its no surprise that the local media doesn’t want to publish these rumors. First of all, the Sens are marketed as a family activity in the city, a place where you can take the whole family for some wholesome fun. You don’t want some young kids seeing their idols accused of doing drugs.
Posted by Anon from Ottawa on 06/26/08 at 02:09 PM ET
I just think that whether he comes forth and names names or not, Bryan Murray should be commended for cleaning house (if that’s in fact what it is he’s doing).
It’s making the team tainted for many people in the city. This is the right move to make people believe in the team again.
Posted by Jonathan Mayers from Ottawa on 06/26/08 at 02:30 PM ET
Not to cast aspersions (although that’s exactly what I’m about to do), but it seems like I’ve read that Jason Spezza was/is very tight with Emery and McGrattan. Yet I’ve also heard very strong denials that Spezza will be moved. It appears that Murray may be trying to remove “bad influences” in the hope that it will help Jason get his act together.
Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 06/26/08 at 02:52 PM ET
Whatever these “character” issues are, they must be pretty frequently indulged in. Spezza and Redden are starting to look like vampires.
Posted by Steve on 06/26/08 at 03:12 PM ET
I think if you read between the lines, it’s pretty obvious that Emery, McGratton, and Redden are all out on their ears for partying and nose candy, even if no one will admit it, and that Murray is trying to protect his young star asset, Spezza, from getting even more involved than the rumours suggest he already is, because it’s not like 100-point players grow on trees. It wasn’t a “problem” last year because they were winning last year. When the team went in the tubes halfway through the year, out came the invisible knives, hinting that there was more going on there than met the eye, and enough innuendo eventually leaked out of the capital to start piecing this stuff together. (You also hear things here in Calgary about Miikka Kiprusoff and Dion Phaneuf, particularly the former. Interestingly, both received huge raises this year. Wonder if Sutter’s talked to the same people I have?)
It reminds me of the rumours of coke abuse that surrounded the dynasty Oilers during their prime. Grant Fuhr eventually went down for the blow, but it was alleged at the time, and going several years back, there were a lot more guys involved. I dunno if anyone’s ever suggested whether he was a fall guy, or simply the last to stop.
Posted by Doogie2K from Calgary, AB on 06/26/08 at 04:04 PM ET
It wasn’t a “problem” last year because they were winning last year.
This drives me bonkers.
I hate it when people excuse functional addicts - to anything, street drugs, OTC medications, alcohol - because they can “handle it” so it must be okay.
It’s not okay, and if you don’t address it before it gets bad enough to cut into performance, and enable it as long as things aren’t “too bad” you risk letting someone go so close to the edge that they fall off the cliff and can’t manage to get back.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/26/08 at 04:18 PM ET
The Senators used to be my favourite non-Red Wings team, but when Bryan Murray officially took over from John Muckler (who was a bit of a “look the other way as long as we’re winning” guy in his own right) after the Senators’ Cup Final collapse, I knew bad things were going to happen.
We remember Murray here in Detroit. Murray was supposed to be tougher on the players than Jacques “Goose Loonies” Demers was, but Murray, who was both the coach and GM, was more than willing to deal with Bob Probert’s “issues,” the fact that Sheldon Kennedy wasn’t exactly hiding from the traumas he endured as a teenager through root beer, there’s no doubt that Sergei Fedorov’s problems with alcohol and the DUIs hidden from the public didn’t start after he became Mrs. Kournikova, and if you think that Murray’s willingness to bank on goalies who have some personality quirks and self-confidence issues is a new thing, look at Tim Cheveldae.
It took Scotty Bowman four seasons and more than a few trades to get rid of the petulant (Primeau was a worse prima donna than Sergei was), the chronic underperformers, and the guys who’d gotten so comfortable that they weren’t willing to give their all when it counted in Murray’s country club.
It certainly tells you something when somebody like Daniel Alfredsson can’t take care of the problems in his room, even when guys like Heatley and Phillips are trying to help, and it tells you something else when the stern taskmaster that is John Paddock got a player revolt for his trouble.
Wrong GM, wrong personnel, lots of mismanagement. Craig Hartsburg and a few buy-outs and trades won’t give a team that’s not willing to take itself seriously “character” overnight.
Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 06/26/08 at 05:34 PM ET
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on this. Many great points.
I recognize that it’s not Bryan Murray’s job to just come out and state the rumors; his job is to build the team and protect the franchise. But I do think it’s the media’s job to at least ask about those rumors —and to do so on the record. This matter has gone far beyond just one-or-two whispered rumors at this point. Almost every fan in the league has a sense that something is going on.
Yet on this issue everyone stays quiet with a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. And that’s despite the fact that the subject is entirely relevant given many people’s belief that this issue may have caused the team’s downfall this year. It’s not the media’s job to prop up the Senators’ image. And I don’t think Bryan Murry can keep repeating “character” without explanation, and then not expect that the buck stops with him as a result.
Peter at Sens Army speaks to the media side of this quite well in his blog post today:
Is it a refusal to use anonymous sources? Give me a break--it’s obvious that in his rumour-reporting, Bruce Garrioch has no problem with quoting the anonymous. Is it wanting to stick to the on-ice news? Last year was evidence that off-ice problems make on-ice news. Is it an unwillingness to bite the hand that feeds you? Well, if you’re afraid to report the truth out of fear for the repercussions, journalism might not be you true calling.
Amen.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 06/26/08 at 10:45 PM ET
George and Baroque make some good points, but if the hush hush is true, where exactly was the NHL’s random drug testing. Me thinks otherwise and I left this comment on Baroque’s Post.
HockeyTownTodd said…
A great post, Baroque…
Welcome Back.
You are right on about Emery being Poison.
Followed your link to Sen’s Army and noticed something interesting:
“So I would be inclined to agree with Alanah McGinley of Kukla’s Korner in her analysis of “The Bryan Murray Show” as little more than a deflection tactic, using buzzwords like “accountability” and “character” to avoid discussing real problems.”
It is very true that people can be ‘right, but for all the wrong reasons’.
No question that Emery had to go, the question is ‘Why did it take so long’??. Waiting to do it now is more indicative of treating the symptoms, not the disease. The root of the problem has to be at the top of the Organization.
Ray Emery never liked the Sen’s goalie coach and had his own personal trainer.
When Ottawa threw Paddock under the bus, they also fired their goalie coach and hired Emery’s personal trainer as his replacement.
Can anyone imagine a top notch organization like the Wings or Caps making such a move?
There has to be some big changes at the top or Ottawa is destined to become the new Maple Leafs.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs dont live up to my expectations on 06/28/08 at 10:22 AM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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Trust me, or my colleagues who work for the Sens, when I say that there are far bigger concerns with Emery than anything that’s hit the media. It’s easy to talk about issues witnessed by countless media, but if I or any other person were to discuss certain ‘extra-curricular hobbies’ of multiple Sens players, the evidence is less public and the chance of libel/slander accusations is far greater.
Needless to say, as Emery’s on-ice performance wasn’t an issue last year, there was no need to be concerned with his professional and personal behaviour. This season there was, and I would not be surprised should the current or future non-return of other players, on this and every other team in all leagues, be connected to their less known and much less professionally appreciated personal hobbies. But hey, I’m just gossiping, right?
Posted by anonymouss from waterloo, on on 06/26/08 at 11:51 AM ET