Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk says in a new video and open letter that he and the franchise are in Ottawa for the long haul. Echoing at times the tone of an open letter to season ticket holders in March, Melnyk promised a fresh start with a rebuilt team this season after a "horrible" 2017-18 season that saw the team drop to the second-last spot in the league. "Right now we're in the dumpster," Melnyk admitted in a video staged as an interview with fan favourite Mark Borowiecki and released late Monday night. Since the first letter, the team has traded scoring winger Mike Hoffman in the midst of a cyberbullying scandal and lawsuit, entertained the idea of trading superstar defenceman and captain Erik Karlsson, and saw assistant general manager Randy Lee resign after harassment allegations in the U.S. "We're ready to rebuild the organization so that it represents the best of us," reads the letter, promoted on the front page of Ottawa's daily newspapers. This letter, signed by Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, appeared in the Sept. 11 editions of Ottawa's two daily newspapers. (Andrew Foote/CBC) In the video, Melnyk said the training camp starting Thursday should end with an opening night roster Oct. 4 that should exceed expectations, with nearly half of them being new faces. "Ten of of the 22 players are going to be new, meaning they're either rookies or played under 10 games last year," he said. "The following year it's going to up to 15 of the 22, maybe 16. That's a total turnover, which is exactly what a rebuild should be." As it stands, the team will have to accomplish this without a first round draft pick of its own this season, which was traded away in last season's Matt Duchene deal. After the #MelnykOut fan-funded billboard campaign pressed Melnyk to sell the team for floating the idea of moving it, the owner promised to stay. "I'm going to stick around here for a long, long time. I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Number two, the franchise is not going anywhere. So that's totally solid. We can all focus and get rid of the noise." 'The whole thing was insane' Ottawa 1:06 Ottawa Senators fans react to the team's latest public relations offensive, a video featuring team owner Eugene Melnyk in conversation with defenceman Mark Borowiecki. Melnyk describes his plan to rebuild the team after a devastating 2017-2018 season. 1:06 #OttawaRising Both the letter and video included what appears to be a new season slogan: "Ottawa Rising." The letter said the team's leadership heard from fans at season-ending town halls and over the summer, and is now focusing on "four pillars": hockey excellence, a fan-first experience, business growth and community engagement. It included a nod to ongoing negotiations to rebuild LeBreton Flats on the edge of downtown Ottawa with a new arena. "We must … create the right circumstances to build a world-class arena at the heart of our world-class community," the letter said.<doc-sep>Team owner Eugene Melnyk sees a very bright future for the Ottawa Senators, despite a very tumultuous 2017-18 campaign. In a video posted to the team’s official Twitter and Facebook pages Monday night, Melnyk outlined his vision for the Senators for this season and beyond, while strangely being interviewed by veteran Senators defenceman Mark Borowiecki. Here are some of the highlights from the discussion: ”I’m not going anywhere” Among some of the Senators’ lowlights last season was Melnyk, himself, in mid-December threatening he would move the team “if it becomes a disaster.” Apparently, last season’s dismal showing and subsequent cyber-bullying scandal wasn’t enough of a disaster because Melnyk now says he doesn’t plan on relocating anytime soon. “Some people were talking in town, ‘Oh, he may move the team.’ Let me tell you something. First things first, I’m gonna stick around here for a long, long time. I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “And No. 2, the franchise is not going anywhere.” The kids are gonna play The over-arching theme of Melnyk’s message seemed to be one of hope and optimism, and he believes a youth movement will help the fans accept the direction he wants to push the franchise towards. “Right now we’re kinda in the dumpster,” said Melnyk. “Everybody says, ‘Ah, they’re not gonna do anything,’ But I don’t believe that. I think that with character in the dressing room and people working very, very hard, we can accomplish more than a lot of people believe.” “I think this coming year, 10 out of the 22 players are going to be youth,” he continued. “Meaning they’ll either be rookies, or they’ve played under 10 games last year. And then the following year it’s gonna go up to about 15 of the 22 – maybe 16. So that’s a total turnover, which is what exactly it should be in a rebuild. “So you get excited,” Melnyk said, pointing to Borowiecki, “because they’re excited, which gets me excited, gets all our fans excited, and our sponsors.” No mention of Karlsson Strangely omitted in this clip was any mention of Erik Karlsson, the Senators’ superstar defenceman who has had rumours swirling around him since the trade deadline last season. Though he didn’t directly mention the two-time Norris Trophy winner, Melnyk did make comments alluding to a future without Karlsson. “It’s gonna be important for the team as a group to make sure that everybody gels together. You cry together, you laugh together and you celebrate together. And that’s all part of being a team and not playing as an individual.” “It’s not about individuals anymore, because you’re not gonna win. One player. Two players, three players in the dressing room are not gonna do it.” You can see the full video in the tweet near the top of this post. The Senators will open their season on Oct. 4 at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.<doc-sep>Share this Story: Scott Stinson: Erik Karlsson trade an indictment of Eugene Melnyk and entire Senators franchise Scott Stinson: Erik Karlsson trade an indictment of Eugene Melnyk and entire Senators franchise When he isn’t running off fan favourites, Melnyk has managed to roil what was one a loyal base. Now he's traded a franchise icon for whatever he could salvage Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press Article content Eugene Melnyk invited a group of Ottawa reporters to the Canadian Tire Centre as a public-relations offensive on Wednesday, and as recounted hilariously by colleague Kelly Egan, the Senators owner took a call after about 15 minutes and left the room. He did not return. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Scott Stinson: Erik Karlsson trade an indictment of Eugene Melnyk and entire Senators franchise Back to video I like to imagine that it was Gary Bettman on the other end of the phone call, pleading with Melnyk to stop talking. The owner was well into selling his vision of a new era in Senators hockey by that point, and there’s a good chance it set off AWHOOGA AWHOOGA bomb-shelter klaxons in the NHL offices. With the baffling video interview that the Sens released late Tuesday night, Melnyk had already signalled that his team was about to undergo a down-to-the-studs asset sale of heroic proportions. That video was accompanied by advertisements touting a similar message: the Senators, conference finalists just two seasons ago, are about to get very young and very cheap. And also parking at the arena will be discounted. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Photo by AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File Left unsaid by Melnyk and cohorts in all of the #OttawaRising cheerleading was the obvious conclusion that all-world defenceman Erik Karlsson was not long for the Senators. Fans who had been holding out hope for years that the team might figure out a way for the two-time Norris Trophy winner to stay in Ottawa after his contract expired at the end of this season were essentially told there was no chance of that, not when the owner was matter-of-factly explaining that he expects almost half the roster to be rookies this year. And so, it has come to pass. Karlsson to San Jose, for a package of prospects and picks. That Karlsson seemed genuinely saddened to be shipped off like this will not make the trade any easier for Ottawa fans. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Much will be said and written about the return in the deal while noting, correctly, that general manager Pierre Dorion had little leverage, since it has been an open secret for months that Karlsson was available to anyone with a decent offer. I’ll leave it to others to analyze the finer points of the trade. What stands out, and what has been the obvious impending result as the Senators slow-marched to this conclusion, is that the team has traded a franchise icon, at 28 years old, for whatever it could salvage. That almost never happens in the National Hockey League, and the fact that it did is an indictment of the franchise, and of Melnyk himself. Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia The NHL’s salary-cap system means that teams always have a chance to wrap up their stars with long-term deals before they reach unrestricted free agency. Of the top 16 contracts by total value among NHL defencemen, only one of them involved a player decamping for another team as a free agent, and that was Ryan Suter, returning home to play in Minnesota. The Senators have had ages to ensure that Karlsson didn’t get to the point where they would lose him for nothing, and they failed to get it done. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Only the big Swede knows exactly why things got to the point where the Senators felt they had to trade him, but it’s not hard to come up with a list of what would have been contributing factors. Melynk has managed to alienate Daniel Alfredsson twice, as a player and as a front office advisor, with the not-so-big Swede departing the franchise both times. The owner has also complained about losing money in Ottawa whenever the subject of contract negotiations with a star player is raised. The Senators have never been a team that spends close to the salary cap under his ownership, and Melnyk makes no effort to pretend that will change. When Karlsson himself called the Senators a “budget team” a couple of years ago, he knew what he was talking about. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content When he isn’t running off fan favourites, Melnyk has managed to roil what was one a loyal base in other ways, whether it was cashiering the former team president, jacking up parking rates at the arena in Kanata during the playoffs, or making relocation threats and then acting surprised that anyone takes those threats seriously. When the team was taking part in the league’s centennial-celebration outdoor game last December, Melnyk managed to take the rare happy moment in a lost season and dump all over it. He mused about moving the team, and in an underrated part of that television interview, even griped about whether the plans for a new downtown arena were worth seeing through. That came as he was in the middle of trying to finalize a proposal with the National Capital Commission for that downtown arena. It has not gone unnoticed among politicians in the Ottawa area that even as Melnyk bargains with them in (allegedly) good faith over the arena plans, he drops hints that the team still has other, unnamed options. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content That arena deal is still a long way from finalized, only now Melnyk will be selling it — and trying to get whatever public subsidy he can squeeze out of various levels of government — while operating a team that has gone straight into rebuild mode. And traded away its first-round pick for 2019 last season. If the many words Melnyk has said this week are to be taken seriously, then the Karlsson trade is the first of many such deals: veterans out, picks and prospects back in. Advertising this strategy ahead of time, as Melnyk has done, will only make the work harder for his general manager. At least Dorion is now used to working with zero trade leverage. The only person sure to stay, at least according to Melnyk, is himself. Pity the Senators fans, for that. Share this article in your social network Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Shopping essentials Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NP Posted Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. 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Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has remained very quiet on the direction of the team this summer, a curious approach given all the dysfunction that the club and its fans have endured over the past year or so. However, Melnyk finally broke his silence on Monday, and he did so in an incredibly bizarre fashion. Late Monday night, the Senators official Twitter account posted a video of Melnyk sitting down with defenseman Mark Borowiecki to answer questions about the team's future. In the awkward five-minute video, Melnyk is quite honest about the current state of the team. "Right now, we're kind of in the dumpster," he said. Maybe a little too honest? Early on in the interview, Melnyk shuts down the idea of the franchise being relocated. "Some people in town have been talking, 'Oh he may move the team.' First thing's first, I'm going to stick around here for a long, long time," Melnyk said. "I'm not going anywhere. And the franchise is not going anywhere." It's important to note that one of those "people in town" who had suggested that Melnyk might move the team was Melnyk himself, less than a year ago. But the crux of the video comes when Melnyk openly discusses plans to enter a rebuilding period, implying that there will be a significant roster overhaul in Ottawa. "I think there are a few things we're hoping to accomplish," Melnyk says. "I think what our fans are looking forward to and what I'm looking forward to is a season that is fresh and brand new, something that we can look forward to with young players coming in." "That's what our rebuild is going to be. This coming year, we're going to have 10 out of the 22 players [that] are going to be new – meaning they are either rookies or maybe they played under 10 games last year," explained Melnyk. "And then the following year, it's going to go up to 15 of the 22 – maybe 16. So that's a total turnover -- which is what exactly should be in a rebuild." Suggesting that two-thirds of next season's roster will be rookies and/or fresh faces is rather bold. It seems to imply that players are going to be shipped out of Ottawa pretty rapidly in the coming year. Maybe the most significant aspect of Melnyk's new plan is that it essentially guarantees that the team will trade star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who is entering the final year of his current contract. Karlsson's departure from Ottawa has seemed likely dating back to last season's trade deadline, when he was the subject of heavy trade chatter, but now it seems like a foregone conclusion. With the team making little progress on a Karlsson extension and now officially heading into a rebuilding period, it seems fair to expect the defenseman to be traded sooner rather than later. The longer they wait, they more leverage they lose. It's surprising that he's even with the team this close to preseason. In any case, it comes as no surprise that this video didn't really go over well among Senators Fans. Not only was it essentially a late news dump, it also starred Melnyk, who is basically despised among the Sens' fanbase at this point. It didn't go unnoticed that Melnyk chose to allow Borowiecki to play interviewer rather than taking questions from ... you know ... an actual reporter. (A relatively insignificant but still humorous tidbit of the video: Melnyk is wearing a Reebok version of the Senators' jersey. The NHL switched to adidas prior to last season.) Considering how tumultuous the past year has been for the Senators, it seems fitting that even their "don't worry, we got this" announcement is a total mess. The team is currently in an incredible state of disarray, having emerged as the clear front-runner for the prestigious "Biggest Clown Show In Hockey" award over the past year. In case you need a refresher, here's a taste of what's gone down in Ottawa over the last year or so. Daniel Alfredsson -- one of the most beloved players in team history -- abruptly quit his role as an executive (on the opening day of free agency, no less) due to his deteriorating relationship with Melnyk. He later campaigned publicly for the team to get a new owner. The team has had trouble filling their building during games, even during the playoffs.