Members of the Ottawa Senators apologized Monday night in a statement released to USA TODAY Sports after comments they made bashing the team – and particularly assistant coach Martin Raymond – were circulated in a video that was released online.
The players' conversation appeared to have been a dash-cam recording from an Uber ride they took in Phoenix last month. The group – Matt Duchene, Thomas Chabot, Dylan DeMelo, Alex Formenton, Chris Tierney, Chris Wideman and Colin White – discussed the team's struggles on the penalty kill, which is run by Raymond, at length and criticized the coach's approach to meetings.
“Marty Raymond, the only coach in NHL history to have the worst power play and the worst PK within a calendar year,” Duchene can be heard saying.
Wideman went on to say that when Raymond runs video he "doesn't ever teach you anything, he just commentates what's happening."
Which prompted Duchene, the forward who the Senators traded for last year (Colorado has Ottawa's first-round pick this year as a result of the deal), to say he “(hasn’t) paid attention in three weeks” during Raymond’s meetings.
“Here’s the other thing, too. We don’t change anything ever. So why do we even have a meeting?" Duchene said.
In a statement released Monday night, the group apologized to Raymond and the team, saying: "We want to apologize publicly to Marty Raymond, our teammates and coaches for our comments in Phoenix, Arizona, on Oct. 29. Our private conversation was recorded without our knowledge or consent. We're passionate about our team, and focusing on growing together. We are grateful for the support of our fans and organization. This is an important learning experience, and we will do better."
It's unclear exactly how the video first came to light, but the Ottawa Citizen got it and uploaded it to YouTube Monday night.
While not mentioning the team or players specifically, Uber Canada GM Rob Khazzam wrote on Twitter: "A video was released by the media today of several Uber passengers being filmed without their consent while having a private discussion during a trip in Phoenix. This is a clear violation of our terms of service and we worked vigorously to investigate this issue."
Khazzam went on to say that "In this specific case, we made efforts to have the video taken down."
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