Bad-mouthed, berated, banned: Fan frustration with Eugene Melnyk boils over

He traded away theirfavourite playersand failed to bring an arena toLeBreton Flats. Now Senators fans, the mayorand even an Ottawa restauranthave had it with Eugene Melnyk, and they're letting him know it.

Melnykwas once seen as a saviour when he swooped in andbought the bankrupt hockey teamin 2003, but in recent years his popularity likethe team's ticket saleshas ebbed to an all-time low.

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Even before the LeBreton deal diedWednesday, Ottawa's Mongolian Village East announced on Facebookit was banningMelnyk from therestaurant.

Co-owner Andrew Saikaleyplaced the blame for top scorer Mark Stone's trade to Las Vegas squarely on Melnyk.

"For a player like that to not want to stay on the team when he was going to be a major component to our rebuild kind of says a lot about the management and the players, as well as the disconnect between the team and the fan base," Saikaley said.

"I wouldn't say Ottawans are impatient.We give chances to people and we support whenever we can, but it seems like a slow downhill progression of what's going on with the team."

To many fans, things hit rock bottom Wednesday with news that mediation had failed to save the LeBretondeal.

Melynk's pledge to keep looking for a new downtown location didn't help.

A few fans tried to put a positive spin on things.

Maybe Melnyk's not to blame, one fan ventured.

Another suggested Melnyk and SensGM Pierre Dorionborrow a popular Jimmy Kimmel gag.

There's certainly no shortage of material.