Lisa MacLeod is right—the Sens do suck

I’m really glad to see that Lisa MacLeod has a firm understanding of what being the Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sport entails.

MacLeod, a die-hard Ottawa Senators fan, decided to speak her truth at the Rolling Stones concert yesterday in Burls Creek, Ontario when she saw Sens owner Eugene Melnyk.

According to Melnyk, MacLeod approached him in a crazed state, interrupting his interaction with a Sens fan, when she abruptly asked him “Do you know who I am?”

I will admit that this is perhaps not the most eloquent, or humble way to spark a conversation with the owner of your favourite sports team. But as the Minister of Sport, MacLeod is perhaps attempting to take an unconventional approach.

To that, Melnyk responded “I’m sorry. No.”

Obviously, Melnyk is a busy guy and probably isn’t up to date on Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet shuffles. That is when Lisa MacLeod said to Melnyk what every Sens fan wishes they could say. After introducing herself by yelling “I am your minister,” she quickly went on to call Melnyk “a f*cking piece of sh*t” and “a f*cking loser.”

Melnyk, upset at what had just transpired, decided to email Ontario Premier Doug Ford to let him know what one of his cabinet members was doing.

“I wrote a letter to Doug Ford. I don’t want to make a big point of this, but I said, ‘FYI. You’ve got a loose cannon out there. That’s not the way you talk in public at a public event. You better take care of this.’”

But does Melnyk even have the right to be upset? Let’s do a quick fact check of MacLeod’s statements to discern whether or not Melnyk has the right to be so triggered.

Statement one: I am your Minister

MacLeod has served in three different minister positions since the Ford government took office in 2018; as Minister of Children, Community, and Social Services, as Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues, and currently as Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Sport.

Seeing that MacLeod is not only a Minister in Ontario —the province in which Melnyk was born, and where he manages the Senators from?—but also the Minister of Sport, it’s reasonable for her to say that she is, in fact, Melnyk’s minister.

This leads us to say that MacLeod’s statement is TRUE.

Statement two: “You are a f*cking piece of sh*t”

In MacLeod’s second statement, she decides to stray from facts and instead takes a more hot-headed approach. There is nothing based in fact that would assert that MacLeod’s statements are true.

It’s for this reason that we will have to label MacLeod’s statement here as FALSE.

Statement three: “and a f*cking loser”

In MacLeod’s dramatic third statement, she returns to a more fact-based approach. In 2003, Melnyk purchased the Ottawa Senators. Though the Senators have made it to the playoffs nine out of the fifteen seasons since Melnyk’s purchase, they have continually been knocked out in the first two rounds of the playoffs, only once making it to round three.

Melnyk has also gotten a lot of flak for trading away their team captain Erik Karlson to the San Jose Sharks for a bucket of nickels. The following year, he traded away star forwards Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, and Mark Stone, again for a bucket of nickels.

This leads us to say that MacLeod’s statement is TRUE. Eugene Melnyk is a loser.

MacLeod apologizes

Just a day later, MacLeod went to Twitter to give her side of the story. MacLeod says that she “gave Melnyk some feedback at the Rolling Stones concert,” and that she apologizes for “being so blunt.”

This is where the Sens-sympathizer in me cries a little bit. Lisa, don’t let down the fine people in Ottawa! Stick it to the man! This was the one opportunity for you to actually represent Canadians in a meaningful way, and you blew it!