Ottawa Senators: Team not for sale following death of Eugene Melnyk, NHL commissioner says

TAMPA, Fla. –

Gary Bettman says the Ottawa Senators are usually not at the moment on the market following the loss of life of proprietor Eugene Melnyk.

Talking through the first intermission of Recreation 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs at Amalie Enviornment, the NHL commissioner indicated Melnyk’s daughters — who’re 19 and 23 — must finally resolve how they wish to proceed.

“The franchise is being professionally run,” Bettman instructed reporters. “The membership’s not in the marketplace. There isn’t any urgency. The membership’s not unstable.

“There are not any issues.”

Melnyk died March 28 at age 62 after battling an sickness. He had beforehand stated he deliberate to go away the group to his daughters, Anna and Olivia.

He bought the Senators in 2003 for US$92 million at a time when the franchise confronted chapter and a tenuous future within the nation’s capital.

The group is now value $525 million, in keeping with Forbes.

The Senators performed within the Stanley Cup last in 2007 when Ottawa misplaced in 5 video games to the Anaheim Geese, however Melnyk’s relationship with the fan base soured in recent times.

The proprietor stated earlier than a 2017 outside sport in Ottawa he would possibly transfer the group if attendance did not enhance and sparked a “#MelnykOut” marketing campaign on metropolis billboards and social media.

The Senators have not certified for the playoffs since making it to double additional time of Recreation 7 of the 2017 Jap Convention last, however have a promising younger core of expertise let by Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot.

Company infighting and lawsuits between Melnyk and a developer over constructing a brand new downtown area — the group has performed in suburban Kanata since 1996 — simply west of Parliament Hill finally torpedoed that deal in 2019.

The door, nonetheless, stays open with the land nonetheless obtainable.

“That door opens, it closes, it opens and closes,” Bettman stated. “I am hopeful that perhaps sooner or later it’s going to occur.

“Proper now we’re simply specializing in the household’s needs and being supportive of the household at a really troublesome time.”

WORLD CUP QUESTION MARK

Bettman stated planning for the 2024 World Cup continues, together with talks with the NHL Gamers’ Affiliation and the Worldwide Ice Hockey Federation.

“We’re nonetheless engaged on construction,” he stated. “Plenty of discussions by way of the best way to put this collectively after which we’ll get to the nuts and bolts of the logistics, together with who’s going to take part, however we’re not there but.”

Bettman added no dedication has been made on Russia’s participation on the match that is anticipated to happen someday in 2024 following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine.

RECORD REVENUES

Bettman stated the league will set a document for revenues regardless of plenty of video games being performed in Canada earlier this season with out followers or at lowered capability.

The commissioner stated the NHL will probably be inside $150 million or $200 million of its projection of between $5.3 and $5.4 billion.

“We got here again from COVID very sturdy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Could 6, 2022.