Canada Sports News

The Ottawa Senators had announced that the organization would have to perform temporary layoffs and salary reductions. It is the consequence of the current COVID-19 pandemic and a necessity in order to protect the stability of the entire system.

The owner Eugene Melnyk released a statement yesterday saying that this decision becomes active on Sunday, April 5, the date which was originally set as the end of the season for the Senators.

“Effective April 5, which would have marked the end of the Ottawa Senators NHL season, our full-time workforce will be reduced, and the hours of some of the staff will be furloughed,” wrote in the statement.

The Senators have created an unemployment plan for all those who will be temporarily laid off, trying to help them in the current situation. It will include insurance benefits until July 3, which could go up to 80% of the base salary.

Also, the important thing is that the layoffs of those who were full-time employees will start once their accumulated vacation days are over. For the ones who won’t be laid off, the plan is to either reduce their salaries or to be placed on furlough.

In the meantime, the health benefits of the employees will continue as normal until the situation comes back to normal.

Melnyk stated that all the part-time and hourly arena employees would receive their paychecks as if they worked throughout the entire month of April.

“Our employees have continued to work with dedication during these difficult times,” he said “We want to thank them for their continued loyalty by providing support, as we all face extraordinary challenges…I look forward to the day when it is safe to reopen our doors and welcome back employees, fans, and community partners.”

The Senators experienced lots of problems since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, with five of their members testing positive for the virus after the team visited California. At first, the organization revealed on March 17 that one player tested positive for COVID-19 and that he had mild symptoms. That caused the entire team and staff to undergo testing, which saw four more people tested positive for Coronavirus.

Fortunately, they are now recovered according to the latest intel from the Senators. The cause of the infection is probably their trip to Los Angeles, that is the game against the Kings. Just one night before, that contest, the LA Lakers faced the Nets. It was afterward confirmed that four players of the franchise from Brooklyn tested positive for Coronavirus (among them Kevin Durant) and that they used the same facility as the Senators the next day.

The infection had favorable conditions for spreading latter because Senators traveled eight hours via plane once coming back to Canada. One journalist who accompanied the team had also tested positive in the meantime.

Ottawa didn’t have a good campaign. With the record of 25-34-12, they were sitting next to the last in the Atlantic Division, being better only than the Detroit Red Wings. The team entered a rebuilding process and was waiting for this summer’s free agency. Senators were planning to be aggressive on the market and also had high hopes for the next NHL draft.