Melnyk pledges to spend close to salary cap

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk stands near the ice as members of the media are given a tour of changes to the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on September 7, 2017. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is pledging to go “all-in” for a five-year run of “unparalleled success.”

The Senators released a statement outlining Melnyk’s remarks during a corporate event in Toronto on Tuesday evening.

Melnyk said the “the expectation is that the Senators rebuild plan will take another season or two from now.”

The statement said that once General Manager Pierre Dorion “confirms that the Senators have all the pieces of the foundation in place”, Melnyk will spend close to the NHL salary cap to ice a winning team.

““The Senators will be all-in again for a five-year run of unparalleled success – where the team will plan to spend close to the NHL salary cap every year from 2021 to 2025”, the statement said.

It adds that Melnyk “reiterated that the Senators current rebuild is a blueprint on how to bring the Stanley Cup to its rightful place in Ottawa.”

Close to 200 people, mainly the Senators corporate sponsors and partners, attended the “thank you event” hosted by Melnyk and the Senators organization in Toronto.