Eugene Melnyk's still talking.
Hours after saying the entire Ottawa Senators organization is under the microscope after this disappointing season, the club's owner went on TSN 1200 and said general manager Bryan Murray's job is safe - if Murray still wants it.
Murray has terminal colon cancer, and is working through the disease. He's been up front in saying he will not be cured, and that this season will be his last. His contract is up once the 2015-16 campaign ends.
Melnyk also said head coach Dave Cameron's fate will be determined by management. Cameron is 66-46-16 in two seasons behind the bench in Ottawa, good for a .578 win percentage.
"That's the owner's prerogative," Cameron said after hearing Melnyk's comments earlier Tuesday, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. "He pays the bills. He has the right to make changes."
The Senators are 34-31-8, and their 76 points put them seven short of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The club's been able to score, averaging 2.8 goals per game. The puck's gone in on the Senators far too many times, though. Ottawa's allowing three goals per game, which ranks 27th in the league. The Senators also have the league's worst penalty-killing rate (75.4 percent), and the 26th-ranked power play (16.4 percent), which doesn't bode well for Mr. Cameron.
