In a statement, the Sends said Little was relieved of his duties because of quote, a result of conduct inconsistent with the core values off the Ottawa Senators and the National Hockey League.

Okay, as we all remember the league in response to some highly publicized incidents regarding workplace conduct this year, and we've been on the desk for a lot of it put together a four point plan to combat a lot of those situations.

But today, Bettman basically told us this gym little thing in Ottawa isn't what we may think it is.

It's not what you think or would be suggest that it relates more Thio. 00:00:58.330 --> 00:01:1.710 Well, I generally don't comment on club personnel decisions. 00:01:2.050 --> 00:01:5.470 It's not one of the things that we were discussing at the board meeting in December. 00:01:5.470 --> 00:01:12.650 It has to do more with internal operations that if you want more, you need to talk to this senators about that.

All right, so from the sends we get, didn't meet our core values and nothing more.

Gary Bettman is saying.

It's not what you've seen earlier this year in terms of the really hard core, ridiculous incidents, so it's not any of that.

So as of an hour ago, I believe that's all we had.

Then word began to filter that Jim Little himself was going to release a statement again fired this morning less than 60 days on the job as CEO of the Ottawa Senators.

Here is the statement from Jim Little quote.

I was looking forward to helping the team and the city and the sends.

I wish the employees, the players and coaches well, they all deserve our support.

The statement made today by the team contains some language that deserves some clarification. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:5.860 On Valentine's Day, the owner and I had a personal disagreement over the approach that I had been pursuing. 00:02:6.060 --> 00:02:18.650 I'm a strong willed person, and the disagreement included me using some very strong language with him on the phone, including swearing which he did not appreciate and for which I later apologized.

It was these events to my knowledge, which led to my dismissal.

Any other inference from the statement is wrong.

What is going on here?

Sit.

Okay.

Okay.

Eugene, Eugene Melnyk is the owner of the team.

Yeah, so in theory, just as a blanket statement before I get into this, you can hire and fire whoever the hell he wants.

Now the next CEO in c 00 Higher by this owner by my math will be the fifth in three years in that position. 00:02:59.190 --> 00:03:9.780 I repeat, the next guy to take up this job will be the fifth in three years under King Eugene's rain in the city of Ottawa.

Okay, Jim Little has been a high ranking executive at the following companies.

Shaw heard of a bell?

I don't know who.

They're her royal bank.

Yep.

Yep.

You heard upon Barnier.

So this guy's been pretty successful.

And there are times when you're really successful person that sometimes you don't have time for B s, and maybe you use certain language.

Are we all in agreement on that around agreement is sometimes business at a high level isn't daycare.

And sometimes things get said that are a little pushing to get things done.

Are we all on the same page on that?

Within reason there are things you obviously cannot say.

You've sworn in me five times today.

It's just the business.

And my career in my career would have ended 17 years ago if someone let me go.

Because I cursed in a conversation. 00:04:0.510 --> 00:04:12.850 So the notion and on Valentine's Day, when the break up happened, ironically enough, the notion that a curse word Ah, curse word Eugene Melnyk once called Ian Mendez Bush.

Okay, that's one of the next human beings I've ever seen in my life.

But no.

A curse word.

That's where that's where Eugene Melnyk.

You tell me Eugene Melnyk never sworn a human being at work.

I don't know him, I think.

Yeah.

Okay.

Play the Jeopardy.

Ever sworn a human being at work?

Yes or no?

We're all human beings.

Wave followed hockey.

I know.

I'm looking at you.

Sends nation are looking to you.

What do you think, Aleksic?

Sarah's?

Do you think Eugene Malik's ever sworn a human being at work?

You ever Yes, Yes, yes, I have 1 million%.

I completely agree with you.

And let me tell you something.

If I'm Eugene Melnyk and I think Jim Little can help me not be a laughing stock. 00:04:58.230 --> 00:05:5.480 We can schedule 15 minutes after brunch every day where you come in an F bomb me for for an extended period of time. 00:05:6.100 --> 00:05:9.350 If I think you're the best guy for this job, talk to me any way you want. 00:05:9.360 --> 00:05:10.410 Get me some results.

Talk to me anyway.

I'm thick skin.

I'm an owner.

NHL team.

I've been here before.

Not my first rodeo.

Go ahead.

But just in a moment where the sends were actually getting some good pub and where this is Look, I don't want this to take away from that.

I don't think it is.

I think I respect your door and more.

I think people understand what it's been silent in Ottawa this year.

What were we saying last year?

That needs to be no noise.

The off season.

No noise?

Nope.

Press releases, nothing.

Just go into your business.

And for the most part, they have done that.

What I will say here is I don't know who to believe.

I don't know what to believe.

All I know is, um a lot of people are once again laughing at the organization for many different reasons. 00:05:54.070 --> 00:06:6.250 But to sit here and suggest that a CEO of a National Hockey League franchise has been fired for telling there, you know, the owner to go bleep themselves. 00:06:6.370 --> 00:06:14.400 I'm sorry I have a little difficulty believing that one or two harshly put swear words is why we're here today.

Of course, Jim Little.

That's why we're here, because of rightly that.

Tell him why I was fired, he said.

I believe this statement to my knowledge, I think, was the words he used.

My knowledge we might know they haven't really spoken to me about.

So we have done a lot of reading on this today.

And, um, Ian Mendez, who you mentioned, wrote a story about it, and the National Post wrote a story about it as well, pretty much suggesting the two had not seen eye to eye for some time.

I don't know why I'm 54 days for that gets the first month the Fiat the first month. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:07:1.010 I don't know what the problem is here, Um, but the tough thing is, I don't think we're ever going to really know why Jim Little is out as CEO, and that's not necessarily a good thing, because all it's gonna do is Lee to, ah, lack of speculation. 00:07:1.020 --> 00:07:1.940 I will say this. 00:07:2.070 --> 00:07:6.480 I believe this man was retired before he took this job in Ottawa. 00:07:6.630 --> 00:07:14.490 So he was in his mid fifties, I think living in the South and it sits on some coin sounded like Eugene said, Look, I really want you.

I I appreciate and understand all the work you put in, and we need fans in the seats.

We need our season ticket base to to go from here to here.

And that seemed to be Jim Little's number one priority.

You talk about Valentine's Day, okay?

Bruce Gary Ock of the Ottawa son on Valentine's Day posted a pretty in depth sit down with Jim Little, who was pretty much a month and 1/2 into his tenure.

And he was saying all the right things.

It seemed like this was gonna be a guy who was gonna be in that chair for many, many years.

Do you want to hear what you want?

To hear?

What Eugene Melnyk said about this higher to post media?

This was back in January. 00:07:57.790 --> 00:08:2.950 This is from Eugene Melnyk, in a telephone interview, quote Jim Little basically gets it. 00:08:3.540 --> 00:08:5.240 He's had experience here in Ottawa. 00:08:5.260 --> 00:08:10.730 He's lived in Ottawa and he's also an exposure and experience at the highest corporate levels.

He's a true hockey fan, and he's looking forward to being at our games.

I felt he was the best candidate for the job.

So here we are.

If you can't vet a guy to get you to 60 days as a CEO, you're one of the worst owners I've ever seen in my life.

And James Dolan exists.

James Dolan exists.

I just tweeted yesterday.

James Dolan makes Eugene Mountain like a good owner.

I take it back, This is madness.

I was going to read you some of the stuff from the alleged burner account from Eugene Melnyk, but I don't have time for that.

It's very good riddance to little Jim.

I do have something here I want to read, if that's okay. 00:08:59.020 --> 00:09:0.460 This is from the National Post today. 00:09:0.750 --> 00:09:2.020 We just got a few paragraphs. 00:09:2.020 --> 00:09:3.110 I wanted to throw this out there. 00:09:3.410 --> 00:09:16.590 A close friend of Littles, who has spoken to him since his dismissal but who has asked his name not to be published because of a number of situations, said the firing was preceded by a heated discussion little had with Melnick.

Story says the two men had a recent discussion in which little was Maur open and honest in his commentary than he should have been for someone who wants to keep his job, the friend said.

A source with knowledge of the situation from the senator's perspective did not deny the two had a recent face off, but said the dispute was not the reason for the dismissal or the league's involvement.

It was a pattern of behavior, not just one incident, among other things, the source says.

So this is what I have been talking about.

The sense have their side of the story, and then Jim Little says, I told him to go F himself a couple of times, and I have been fired. 00:09:57.300 --> 00:10:0.890 I don't know who to believe, but the situation it's it is a disaster. 00:10:0.890 --> 00:10:2.450 There's no there's no doubt about it. 00:10:2.450 --> 00:10:8.260 It's a complete embarrassment for the franchise that's had some good moments here in the last 45 months, and you have been able to say that for a while. 00:10:8.260 --> 00:10:8.960 I'll say this. 00:10:9.150 --> 00:10:13.450 The language used in the sends statement today suggested some more nefarious stuff.

And if I'm Jim Little and I got some lawyers and I'm assuming he does, I would be making some calls here because the first assumptions across my mind, I don't want to repeat here because it would besmirch Jim even further.

And thankfully, Gary Bettman kind of suited it over today.

The GM meetings doing Mel Nick's job for him as usual, that was ridiculous.

The language that sends used in that in that statement.

If we're talking about swearing at the owner because with everything flying around the hockey world nowadays, you gotta be very careful with that.

And I thought that was completely irresponsible of whoever wrote this damn thing today, Jim.

Little guy didn't have to take this job in the first place.

All core values All of a sudden, Jim Little's core values are being put in a question.

Really?

Are you kidding me? 00:10:53.440 --> 00:11:2.350 He just got there well, and really, I can't imagine what the conversation wannabe of Eugene Melnyk calling Gary Bettman and say, Look, here's the situation. 00:11:2.940 --> 00:11:5.010 Our CEO has been around for 54 days. 00:11:5.020 --> 00:11:6.380 We have a lot of differences. 00:11:6.380 --> 00:11:9.200 He talks to me in a way that I don't like. 00:11:9.320 --> 00:11:10.150 I'm gonna fire him.

I don't know what Gary can.

D'oh, Right, Very really.

Can't be sure you could make some recommendations, but can you imagine if that actually happened?

Gary, my CEO who I entrusted with getting my season ticket base ramp back up.

I'm going to fire him because we look at things a little bit differently, which, frankly, it was probably a good thing for the organization that maybe someone looks at things differently than the owner does.

But it's just a It's a mess.

I thought we were gonna go all season without anything.

Almost got out of Ottawa.

Almost got there a month away Your door, Pierre.

Dorian.

Newfound respect.

I don't know how you hang around and do your job sanely good on you, and you're doing it well.

Keep that up.