Gary Bettman announces possible turnaround on potential Ottawa Senators sale
PUBLICATION
MarcO
May 7, 2022 (6:57 PM)
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the Ottawa Senators are not looking for a new ownership group following the death of Eugene Melnyk.
"The franchise is being run in a professional manner. The club is not on the market. There is no emergency. The club is not unstable. There's no problem." - Gary Bettman
Melnyk died on March 28 at age 62 after facing an undisclosed illness. He helped the Senators franchise escape bankruptcy when he bought it in 2003.
Bettman said it was up to Melnyk's two daughters, ages 19 and 23, to decide what to do with the team.
Melnyk was a polarizing figure during his time as owner. One of the main issues he faced was the Senators' arena situation: the club has played in suburban Kanata since 1996, but there has been immense pressure in recent years to build a new rink in downtown Ottawa.
Bettman added that a new arena is not on the table, nor is it the main goal.
"That door opens, closes, opens and closes. I hope that maybe it will happen at some point. Right now, we're just focused on the family's wishes and supporting the family at a very difficult time." - Gary Bettman
So while many automatically expected an imminent sale of the Sens (names like Daniel Alfredsson and Justin Bieber have been floating around), all indications are that this will not be the case after all. An interesting turn of events, if Bettman's words are anything to go by.
| POLL |
Should Melnyk's daughters sell the Senators? |
| Yes | 89 | 49.4 % |
| No | 91 | 50.6 % |
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