Sean and Dave were lucky enough to record a new episode before Mike Hoffman’s trade to San Jose and the trade a few minutes later to Florida. Does this mean Erik Karlsson stays in Ottawa? Are the Senators screwed no matter what? What do they do with the pick they owe the Avs? And in non-Senators news, we’ve got Barry Trotz jumping ship, another questionable Canadiens trade, the future of John Tavares and who would play Kyle Dubas in a Leafs promotional video? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Where In The World Is Mike Hoffman? | Biscuits: A Hockey Podcast on acast

_Biscuits, a [podcast on VICE Sports](https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/topic/biscuits), takes an analytical, irreverent, and humorous look at the world of hockey and the NHL. Listen as hosts Sean McIndoe (of Down Goes Brown fame) and Dave Lozo (of Dave Lozo fame) react to the week's biggest stories and most absurd news._

A National Hockey League team in Ottawa. It was a fun experiment. We had a lot of good times. Well, a few good times. Actually, I'm sure a good time occurred even though I can't pinpoint a specific moment. That time Damian Rhodes bleached his hair, maybe? But maybe it's time to say goodbye. It's the best thing for everyone. Sometimes when you love something, you have to let it die so everyone can move forward with their lives. The situation commonly manifests itself in the form of a terminally ill grandparent, an extremely old pet or anything since season three of Arrested Development. Fighting to keep the Ottawa Senators alive is selfish. They can't go on living like this, if you can call this living. If you really care about their happiness, you will sign the papers, kiss them on the forehead and stand outside the room as Gary Bettman grants them the sweet release of eternity. From the start of 2018 to this week, the Senators have operated like an organization that welcomes the merciful end. <div data-iframely-id="4QyRMya" data-embedded-url="https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/article/4375b3/ottawa-senators-and-eugene-melnyk-keep-erik-karlsson-blow-it-at-nhl-trade-deadline" class="article__embed article__embed--iframely"><div style="left:0;width:100%;height:0;position:relative;padding-bottom:55.8108%;" data-iframely-smart-iframe="true"><iframe data-iframely-url="//oembed.vice.com/4QyRMya?app=1" style="border:0;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;" allowfullscreen data-iframely-smart-iframe="true" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div> Let's [deep breath] take a look: -Owner Eugene Melnyk threatened to move the team days before the franchise's first outdoor game and has yet to meet with the city about a potential downtown arena.-Daniel Alfredsson, the most popular player in team history, has publicly stated Melnyk should sell the team. -Baby clothing adorning the Senators logo was recalled because it was deemed a choking hazard, a joke so on the nose you'd roll your eyes if you saw it in a movie. -Assistant general manager <a href="http://ottawasun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/ottawa-senators/ottawa-senators-assistant-general-manager-randy-lee-to-appear-in-buffalo-court" target="_blank">Randy Lee was charged with harassment for allegedly inappropriately touching</a> a 19-year-old hotel shuttle driver while in Buffalo for the NHL combine and has yet to be disciplined by the team. -Melinda Karlsson, wife of Erik, filed a restraining order against Monika Caryk, longtime girlfriend of Mike Hoffman, over her <a href="https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/article/7xmm44/erik-karlsson-and-wife-teammates-gf-harassed-us-online-about-stillborn-child" target="_blank">alleged threats and harassment that focused on the death of the Karlssons' stillborn child</a> in March.-On Thursday morning, TSN's James Duthie said during a radio interview that more bombshells could be coming. Maybe it's more details about the Karlsson-Hoffman situation or fresh incredible controversies, like Melnyk stealing Andrew Hammond's free hamburgers and reselling them to poor people in the city or Guy Boucher being charged as an international jewel thief. And this is all during and after a 67-point season with attendance plummeting to its lowest levels since 1996-97, a sign fans already had enough. If you look inside your heart, Senators fans, you know what needs to be done; you just need the courage to do it. It's time to scorch the earth.There's no playbook or blueprint for how to handle the Karlsson/Hoffman situation but trading both players is the only move. General manager Pierre Dorion was derelict in his duties when he didn't take the best offer for Karlsson at this year's trade deadline but the best thing for both the player and organization now is a fresh start, which was likely to happen this summer anyway. Karlsson has earned his freedom from the worst organization in sports.<div class="article__embed article__embed--vice" data-related-article="true"><iframe src="https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/wjp8zb/ottawa-deserves-better-than-eugene-melnyk?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=nek53q&site=sports" frameborder="0" style="border:0px none;margin:0px;" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Hoffman has to go because, well, Hoffman has to go. Several player wives and one ex-player's wife (Kyle Turris) tweeted support of the Karlssons along with a lack of surprise about the alleged actions of Caryk. There's no way Hoffman can co-exist with his current teammates, which leaves the Senators to get whatever they can in a trade, which likely won't be much considering the circumstances. That leaves likely offer sheet target Mark Stone and pending unrestricted free agent Matt Duchene counting down the days until they are no longer Senators. Yeah, offer sheets are about as rare as sell-out crowds in Ottawa, but you have to believe Stone is telling his agent to whisper into teams' ears that he'd be happy to sign one to escape Ottawa. Duchene is playing only a few hours from his hometown and that's apparently the most important thing ever for any hockey player, but that hardly seems a reason to spend the rest of a career in a hockey hell swamp. The Philadelphia 76ers had a crisis of their own during the NBA offseason that seems silly in comparison, but the team <a href="https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/article/59qkkz/bryan-colangelo-out-as-76ers-president-and-gm-for-twitter-scandal" target="_blank">parted ways with general manager Bryan Colangelo over tweets sent by his wife</a> that included medical information about a player and an adamant defense of shirts with gigantic collars. Ownership felt they had to show their own players and potential free agents that they weren't dysfunctional and the actions of Colangelo's wife (or maybe even Colangelo, who knows) would not be tolerated. And the 76ers have an energized fan base excited about a team on the upswing, so it's not as though customer confidence had any chance of becoming an issue.But guess what! Travis Yost posted a story Thursday afternoon that makes the case <a href="https://yosttravis.tumblr.com/post/174886789841/a-strange-twitter-account" target="_blank">that the Senators may have their very own renegade Twitter account</a> being run by someone inside the organization. It doesn't seem to reveal any proprietary information like in the Sixers' case but it's hardly the look the Senators franchise needs at this moment.<div class="article__media"><picture class="article__image"><source media="(max-width: 25em)" srcset="https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=400:*, https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=600:* 2x"><source media="(max-width: 40.625em)" srcset="https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=650:*, https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=975:* 2x"><source media="(max-width: 53.125em)" srcset="https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=850:*, https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=1275:* 2x"><source media="(max-width: 65.625em)" srcset="https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=1050:*, https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=1575:* 2x"><source media="(min-width: 65.625em)" srcset="https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=1050:*, https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg?resize=1575:* 2x"><img src="https://video-images.vice.com/_uncategorized/1528999628081-ErikKarlssonUSAJune2018.jpeg" alt=""></picture><div class="article__image-caption">Get Karlsson out of Ottawa! Photo by Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</div></div>So how do they send a similar message to fans and players around the league that the organization isn't a rudderless ship poised to ricochet off icebergs for years before eventually sinking? Really, there is no fix. Firing the GM or coach? That doesn't do the trick. Not trading Karlsson? That would be criminal. There's only one way Senators fans can have their faith restored. Melnyk has to sell, and he has to sell to someone that will keep the team in Ottawa. Some of this isn't the organization’s fault but so much of it starts at the top with Melnyk, and if he's there in perpetuity, why should fans expect anything to change? Why should there be any belief that anything involving Lee or a fractured locker room or just a poorly managed team will be remedied? Because of a fluke run to the conference finals two years ago? And if by some miracle the Senators do everything right in the coming weeks and months with their image issues, they still must trade their best defenseman and arguably their best forward. If Melnyk was hemorrhaging money and strapped with immense debt before this season, how does that get better a year from now? Why would he want to continue sinking money into an unprofitable team? He's never getting another organ from a fan after all this. A fan will justifiably lack motivation to spend money this year if Karlsson and Hoffman leave but if there's a promise of an ownership change with a commitment to Ottawa, a scorched earth model can instead serve as seeds to a new beginning. When a team is terrible, it has to sell hope, and the only way that takes shape in Ottawa now is through the belief Melnyk won't own the team anymore. Once Karlsson and Hoffman are gone and if Stone is poached by an offer sheet and Duchene has no intention of re-signing, the only hope to be sold will be a future without Melnyk. But if Melnyk won't go, death is the best option. You don't owe Melnyk anything. You are not obligated to dedicate your time, money, and sanity to something that so clearly doesn't care about you or icing the best possible team. Find your way to the acceptance stage. Let the Senators go. Houston. Quebec. Kansas City. There are worse things that can happen to a fan than a team relocating. Like, for instance, a Melnyk-run team not relocating and staying in your life for decades.That's much worse.

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The Ottawa Senators Need to Relocate if Eugene Melnyk Doesn't Sell the Team

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_You can download or listen to Biscuits on [Acast](https://www.acast.com/biscuitsahockeypodcast), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/biscuits-a-hockey-podcast/id1173027655?mt=2), [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iem7immhpxbcfwm2rrthk56av5y), [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vice-2/biscuits-a-hockey-podcast), or wherever you get your podcasts._

_For more on the Trotz-Capitals divorce, check out Lozo's lastest column:_

Money is awesome. We’d all like more of it. They say it isn’t the key to happiness but it sure makes it easier to hire a locksmith. That is to say, Barry Trotz and the Washington Capitals parted ways Monday afternoon, less than two weeks after the coach won the organization’s first Stanley Cup, very likely because of a disagreement about Trotz’s worth, but maybe not entirely over money. Maybe Trotz made the decision before the season when the Capitals decided against offering him an extension despite coming off two straight Presidents’ Trophy seasons and 101-point season the year before that. Maybe his lame duck status in the face of that success told him all he needed to know about how ownership felt and a low-ball offer in the days following a championship confirmed for Trotz what he already knew a year ago. Perhaps the only thing that felt as good as raising the Cup to Trotz was raising his middle finger to owner Ted Leonsis. According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, winning the Stanley Cup triggered a two-year contract extension for Trotz, who would have received a raise from the $1.5 million a year he was making to $1.8 million. Sure, $3.6 million is more than enough money for you to take a dump on your boss’s desk and immediately retire, but that’s well below market value for the most successful coach of the past four years coming off a Stanley Cup season. Mike Babcock hasn’t won a playoff series following a non-lockout season since 2011 and is entering the fourth year of a reported eight-year, $50 million contract, so you understand why Trotz is offering his services on the open market. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reported the Capitals feel that Trotz <a href="https://twitter.com/ikhurshudyan/status/1008795041635164160" target="_blank">should have honored the two-year extension</a>, since he negotiated it into his contract when he signed with the team four years ago. Numbers have yet to leak but you get the sense the Capitals had no intention to pay Trotz anything close to what he believed he deserved in a new deal. It’s hard to look at this in any other way than the Caps fucking this up, but you can understand how they fucked this up. After two consecutive second-round losses to the Penguins, they were ready to look elsewhere for a coach that could get Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom over the hump. Capitals management and Trotz probably checked out mentally from each other long ago only to realize after beating the Penguins in the second round this season, “Holy shit, are we going to actually do this?” By then, it was too late to mend fences, much like the way it was too late for Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in the 2006 film The Break-Up, a very underrated movie even if Vaughn finds a way to shoehorn “make bad decisions” into it like he does in all his movies. By the time Vaughn (the Capitals) realized what he had in Aniston (Trotz), the two had drifted too far apart to ever make it work again. It’s easy to say the Capitals should have offered big money to Trotz after they realized what they had, but no romantic dinner or emotional speech was ever going to win him back and maybe no amount of money ever would have been enough. I’m not sure who Todd Rierden is in this 12-year-old movie metaphor but the Capitals probably were planning on leaving Trotz for him since the end of last season and Trotz most certainly knew it. So if you’re upset at the Capitals for letting the franchise’s only Stanley Cup-winning coach leave less than a week after the parade, you shouldn’t be upset about what’s happened since the end of the season; you should be upset about what the organization decided before the season. And if that’s the case, you should be honest with yourself and ask if you really had any faith in Trotz winning a Cup in Washington before it actually happened. Take it a step further, and if the Capitals had given Trotz an extension before the season, you can argue the Stanley Cup never happens. Who can say what a pissed-off, nothing-left-to-lose version of Trotz would have done vs. a version of Trotz that felt the love in the form of an extension before the season? Everything fell perfectly into place for the Capitals this season and maybe a placated Trotz does just enough to throw the magical season off-course. And if Trotz had signed an extension and won the Cup, you can be sure it would be for less money than he’s sure to receive with whichever team signs him. So since he’s getting more money and a Cup as a direct result of the Capitals disrespecting everything he had done before the season, Trotz should be thanking the Capitals! (If Leonsis really said that to Trotz and there’s video, I’ll pay money for it.) Given everything the Capitals have been through since Ovechkin and Backstrom arrived in Washington, it’s hard to get too upset about how Trotz’s time ended. There are fans who would have given thought to removing certain appendages if it meant seeing the Capitals win the Cup, so there’s no Capitals fan in the world that wouldn’t have traded Trotz for a Cup, <a href="https://www.japersrink.com/2018/2/27/17056886/the-capitals-should-fire-barry-trotz" target="_blank">especially when many were willing to go with Rierden before the playoffs started</a>. It’s a disappointing ending, but everyone gets what they wanted: Trotz will get a big, new contract, the Capitals will install Rierden, and long-suffering fans got that elusive Cup that seemed far out of reach as recently as four months ago.

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Biscuits 66: Mike Hoffman Is Gone and the Ottawa Senators Remain a Mess

The Ottawa Senators Need to Relocate if Eugene Melnyk Doesn't Sell the Team

Making Sense of the End of the Barry Trotz Washington Capitals

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Biscuits 66: Mike Hoffman Is Gone and the Ottawa Senators Remain a Mess

The Ottawa Senators Need to Relocate if Eugene Melnyk Doesn't Sell the Team

Making Sense of the End of the Barry Trotz Washington Capitals

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