In their best seasons, the Ottawa Senators and their fans were dealing with playoff fatigue at this time of year.
The mid-late May Eastern Conference final against Pittsburgh in 2017, with its crushing double-overtime ending in Game 7. The second-round loss to the Penguins in late May of 2013. The late May Stanley Cup final that carried into early June of 2007.
After the Victoria Day weekend of 2023, fans in Ottawa long for those playoff years because the current ownership sale fatigue isn’t nearly as much fun. Nearly 14 months after the death of franchise owner Eugene Melnyk, we are still waiting to find out who “Owns! Owns!” the Sens, to borrow from Slapshot.
To review, four groups filed bids on May 15 and there could be a winner named this week. Not that the new owners would step right in and conduct business on behalf of the Senators. It figures to be a long while yet before all the details and legalities of the transaction can be worked out. Galatioto Sports Partners (GSP) are handling the sale on behalf of the Melnyk estate and the winning bid group requires final approval of the NHL board of governors.
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The confirmed bidders from the Toronto area are Michael Andlauer, the Kimel brothers (Jeffrey and Michael) and Steve Apostolopoulos. The first two groups have established NHL connections, via the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The fourth bid belongs to Neko Sparks of Los Angeles, who seems bent on adding a new celebrity with each passing day to add sizzle to his bid.
On Friday, retired Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey announced he was joining the Sparks bid. On Saturday, it was Canadian comedian Russell Peters. On the holiday Monday, the Financial Post announced that the cast of the Dragon’s Den TV series would become part of the expanding Sparks ownership extravaganza, whose top celeb remains rapper Snoop Dogg.
“I’m just so excited for this,” said Dragon’s Den star Arlene Dickenson in a statement. “Neko’s vision and commitment are easy to get behind. We’re ‘in’ with our capital and of course our commitment to the Ottawa Senators.”
And from the Dragon’s Den’s Wes Hall:
“Supporting a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour)-led bid is everything for me. This would be a significant and historic move and I’m proud to be bringing fire to the ice.”
Sparks, of course, wants to become the first black owner of an NHL team, and his proactive pitch to First Nations groups in Canada was well received. Unfortunately, the longer the bid process drags on and the more ‘celebrities’ he adds to the mix, the more hits he is taking on social media and talk radio.
A morning sports show in Ottawa spent several minutes on Tuesday coming up with names of B-list celebrities to add to the mix, everyone from Bob and Doug McKenzie to William Shatner. Listeners offered their suggestions. When singing superstar Lady Gaga teased on her website that she has an upcoming announcement, Sens bloggers chimed in that she is the latest Sparks celebrity (now that would be fun).
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To his chagrin, Donovan Bailey was asked on CBC’s Sunday Magazine radio show to name a current Senators player and couldn’t come up with one. Just a thought, but maybe the Sparks group could have asked Glenroy Gilbert to be their designated ex-sprinter? Gilbert, who grew up in Ottawa, stood in glory with Bailey after their Olympic relay gold for Canada in Atlanta 1996, and Gilbert knows his Sennies.
In the end, none of this matters much. Naming Brady Tkachuk as your favourite player or having Daniel Alfredsson in your contacts list is a plus, but won’t make or break the pending sale.
Fans and media are mocking bids out of boredom as much as anything. Neither public criticism of a bid’s approach nor the headlines generated by a public figure is going to sway a bid one way or the other, although it would impress fans in the Nation’s Capital if the bid had some legitimate Ottawa ties.
The bottom line: How deep are the pockets of the bidders, and how rich are the bids?
Over the weekend, it’s believed there was a lot of back and forth between interested parties. Think of a real estate sale involving multiple bids. Respective bidders are given a chance to improve their offer, to produce the highest possible price for the seller.
This week we just might find out how close to $1 billion, or beyond, the bids got.
And we should be a step closer to learning who “Owns! Owns!” the Ottawa Senators.
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