The Ottawa Senators have been a budget team for the better part of their inclusion in the league. Eugene Melnyk, a Canadian business man, bought the franchise on August 26th, 2003 and has been at the helm ever since. With being a budget team comes certain challenges and bumps in the road. The Senators have had their fair share and aren't out of the woods yet.
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The Offer
News broke Monday evening that the Devcore Candarel DLS Group - one of two groups who submitted a multi-million dollar bid for the redevelopment of Ottawa's LeBreton flats - appear to have a plan and interest in purchasing the Senators from the current owner Melnyk.
Melnyk dismissed the proposal as a PR spin by rival groups and has not had any communication with the alleged interested buyer.
"They keep hammering at it and I keep saying 'No'", Melnyk stated. "What their motivation is, is to maybe take away the discussion about our bid and talk about their wanting to buy the Sens. So I'm going to ignore it from now on. I have no interest - zero interest - in selling the team."
If Melnyk doesn't win his bid for the LeBreton flats he said he would just re-invest in the Canadian Tire Centre, the teams current home, and the surrounding area in Kanata, Ontario.
"We'll continue on. We'll have to do a pretty substantial kind of rebuild of the stadium to bring it up to par with current technologies," Melnyk continued. "Probably $50 million worth of stuff we'd have to do. Plus we've got a ton of land out there for developments, so we'll do it. We'd have to develop this site in Kanata."
Final Decision
An announcement from the NCC will be made in early 2017 on the decision after negotiations with the preferred bid take place over the next few months. Public feedback is accepted by the NCC until February 8th of this year before the evaluation committee reviews the two proposals heading into spring.
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Eugene Melnyk
Eugene has had his hands full in Ottawa. Being a Canadian franchise you'd think the fans would pour in. But being relatively new compared to original six teams in the surrounding area like the neighbouring Montreal Canadiens, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Melnyk has held the NHL Entry Draft twice now. Once in 2005 and again in 2008. He also held the 2012 NHL All-Star Game trying to gain a following in a competitive market. In 2012-13 the Senators had the sixth lowest average ticket price in the league. Despite all of this Melnyk has stated repeatedly that the team is not for sale.
"I love the team and I love everything about hockey. It's always been my dream to have it and money just doesn't replace it. But there are some things you can't buy and one of those things is a hockey team." he said.
The Sens owner said he hasn't had any contact with league commissioner Gary Bettman about the latest development. Melnyk also said that he has no interest in forming a partnership with Devcore Candarel DLS if they end up winning the LeBreton flats bid.