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Senators: Things didn’t end well between Ryan Reynolds and the NHL

A few months ago, Ryan Reynolds announced that he had joined a group to acquire the Ottawa Senators, which are currently up for sale. The actor decided to join the Remington Group(his “sugar daddy”) with the aim of becoming a shareholder in the Ottawa franchise.

However, on Saturday, we learned that the group had withdrawn from the process, as it was not entitled to negotiate exclusively to acquire the team. Even though it had made an offer of over $1 billion.

So it’s a shame for the NHL, which is depriving itself of a guy like Reynolds as an ambassador for the league. We know he’s very popular (for the right reasons) and we’re talking about a guy who, on the whole, is generally loved.

And when you see what he’s been able to do with an ordinary soccer team in England, you can’t help but imagine how much he could have helped popularize the Senators.

What we’re learning today, however, is that in addition to not having had the chance to get his hands on the team, things didn’t end well between Reynolds and the NHL. In fact, the actor is said to be frustrated with the circuit (probably because his group didn’t get to talk exclusively, but I’m speculating here) while the NHL is said to be frustrated with the way Reynolds handled the whole thing.

At least, that’s what Elliotte Friedman said earlier today.

In fact, according to Friedman, the league would have liked Reynolds to stay out of the sale process. Once the new owners had acquired the Senators, it would then have found a way for the actor to join that group ( even though the league wanted him to develop a series on the team’s purchase process).

In the end, however, Reynolds wanted to get involved in the process (hence his decision to join the Remington Group), hence his decision to join the Remington Group in its bid to acquire the team.

It’s a real shame for both parties, because I really think Reynolds would have been a great asset to the Senators. He was showered with love when he visited the Canadian Tire Centre earlier this year, and the fact that he’s a local guy (he’s from Vancouver, but he’s Canadian nonetheless) would have helped too.

We now know who the four finalists are to acquire the Senators. We note that Michael Andlauer, minority owner of the CH, is among them(and André Desmarais is possibly involved with him).

He wouldn’t be forced to do so, but expect him to sell his CH shares if he becomes the Senators’ owner.

Musical artist The Weeknd is a member of the Kimel brothers’ group, while Snoop Dogg is a partner of Neko Sparks. Reynolds may be gone, but the other two stars are still there.

Steve Apostolopoulos, who was in the running to acquire the Washington Commanders (NFL), is the fourth and final finalist.

In short, we’ll be watching, but it’s a shame it ended this way between Reynolds and the NHL. Let’s just say that I doubt the offer to place him with the new owners will hold, but we’ll see once the process is completed.


In gusto

– What a pass by Owen Beck!

– Michel Therrien was still recovering from surgery when he learned of the P.K. Subban trade. Quite a story.

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