OTTAWA Nick Foligno Jersey , Ontario (AP) Disgruntled Ottawa Senators fans want owner Eugene Melnyk to know exactly how they feel. Their message is hard to miss.Four billboards with the message (hash)MelnykOut went up at four spots across the city Monday thanks to a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $10,000 in less than a month.The fund was started by fan Spencer Callaghan, whose frustration with Melnyk reached a breaking point amid talk that captain Erik Karlsson might be traded.On the GoFundMe page launched Feb. 23, Callaghan wrote: ”Eugene Melnyk has decided that he would rather tear the team down and sell it for spare parts than admit he can no longer run it effectively. Sens fans and the city of Ottawa need to step up to save a pillar of this community.”He said billboards are a way for fans to be heard, and he contends ownership has driven off players and front-office staff. And, he adds, this is not just about this season, but ”a series of decisions over a long period of time.”The Senators advanced to the Eastern Conference final last season but will miss the playoffs. Karlsson’s future in Ottawa remains unknown, adding to fans’ unease.The billboards are scheduled to be up for two weeks, with a fifth going up April 2. General manager Pierre Dorion, when asked about the billboards, said he’s ”not talking about that.”For all his anguish, Callaghan does not discount the possibility of the Senators eventually turning things. But he has grave doubts.”It requires some collaboration Authentic Oliver Bjorkstrand Jersey ,” he said. ”It requires some humility and it requires some listening and I haven’t seen any desire on the part of the organization to do that.”The Twitter hashtag (hash)MelnykOut was launched in December by a fan after the Senators owner threatened to move the team if he didn’t see better fan support. Melnyk’s comments were made the night before the first outdoor game in Ottawa and set off a firestorm on social media.Players can appreciate the fan frustration, but Senators defenseman and Ottawa native Mark Borowiecki says Melnyk deserves credit for coming to the city’s rescue when the team was on the verge of bankruptcy.”Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion,” said Borowiecki, who wasn’t aware of the billboards or the funding campaign until told about it. ”I will say this, running a sports franchise isn’t quite as easy as some people think it is. There’s a lot to it that I think a lot of us don’t understand and can’t appreciate.”Eugene’s stepped up big for this city. Growing up here, being a fan, I can remember there was a real danger of losing this team.” ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — After patiently approaching his season in charge of the Minnesota Wild, general manager Paul Fenton has taken his first steps toward remaking the roster.If the Wild don’t pick up the pace in the Western Conference race, more moves could be coming soon.The Wild traded left wing Nino Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday for center Victor Rask, a swap of underperforming but still-young players on long-term contracts between teams under new regimes.The 26-year-old Niederreiter, a native of Switzerland, has nine goals and 14 assists in 46 games this season for the Wild. He’s in the second season of a five-year Ryan Murray Jersey , $26.25 million contract that came after a career-best 2016-17 season.For a team that currently ranks 22nd in the NHL in goals per game (2.83 entering play on Thursday against Anaheim), Niederreiter simply wasn’t producing enough. He scored his second goal in three games on Tuesday against Los Angeles, after being dropped down to the fourth line.The Wild entered play on Thursday in eighth place in the Western Conference, their streak of six straight appearances in the playoffs in precarious position. They acquired right wing Pontus Aberg in a deal on Wednesday that sent AHL center Justin Kloos to the Ducks.“We’re looking for consistency,” Fenton said on a conference call with reporters. “For me, when you make change like this, it shows players that nothing is forever and it gives them an alert that if they want to be here they’re going to have to play and play the way that we want them to play and be successful.”The Wild acquired Niederreiter, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, from the New York Islanders in 2013 for right wing Cal Clutterbuck and a third-round draft pick. The Wild clearly came out ahead on that deal, with Niederreiter playing in all but three games over his first four seasons with the team and posting 25 goals and 32 assists in 2016-17.Perhaps the Hurricanes, who are in their first year under general manager Don Waddell, will similarly benefit from Niederreiter’s switch in situations. He has 112 goals and 119 assists in 498 NHL games.“I don’t want him to fail so that we look good,” Fenton said. “I want him to thrive there Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey , and I want Victor to thrive here as well.”The Hurricanes, who have made the playoffs only once in 12 years since winning the Stanley Cup, have headed in a new direction this season under Waddell and rookie coach Rod Brind’Amour. They’re currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, entering their game on Friday against the Ottawa Senators.The 25-year-old Rask, a native of Sweden, has only one goal and five assists in 26 games this season for the Hurricanes after missing the first 20 games following surgery on two of his fingers as a result of what the Hurricanes said was a slicing accident in the kitchen. Rask is in the third season of a six-year, $24 million contract.“I think he needed a change of scenery,” Fenton said, “and I’m hoping he gets back his scoring and his distribution so he can be very productive for us.”Rask has 63 goals and 100 assists in 339 NHL games. Though their ages are only six months apart, Rask will give the Wild a $1.25 million annual discount from Niederreiter in salary cap charges. He also plays a more coveted position that is in flux for the future with the Wild, with Mikko Koivu (35) and Eric Staal (34) currently holding center spots in the lineup.“My experience tells me you can’t have enough centers,” Fenton said.