When it comes to the group Ryan Reynolds is planning to partner with for a potential bid to purchase the Ottawa Senators, there is some familiarity with the NHL. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they are the favourites to take over the team -- but they shouldn't be underestimated, either.
Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch reported Monday evening that Reynolds is joining up with The Remington Group, based in Vaughan, Ont., to form a group poised to bid on the Senators and build a new downtown arena.
Rudolph Bratty, chairman and CEO, and his brother Jerry Bratty, chief operating officer, run The Remington Group, which has been developing land in Ontario for the past 65 years.
As Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports, the group looked to buy the Arizona Coyotes back in 2013 but eventually pulled their interest. Part of the deal would have involved building an NHL arena in Markham, Ont., with the Remington Group contributing half of the money. But the plan fell through after city council voted against using public funds towards the project.
"The league thought they were serious and then they backed away," Friedman said on the Jeff Marek Show. "I remember at the time, people telling me, 'we don't know exactly what we're dealing with here,' in the sense that they sounded really serious, and then didn't do it."
When it comes to their interest in the Senators, Friedman wonders what attracted Reynolds to this group, which isn't seen as the top suitor.
"They've been around the NHL before in a peripheral way, they've shown some interest. I wouldn't say they're one of the favourites," Friedman added. "I think, you always have to take them seriously because of who they are and what they've accomplished in their lives. But I don't know that I would say they're one of the favourites.
"The other thing I think a lot of people are wondering here is what deal they offered Ryan Reynolds that they would link up right away? I think in a lot of these cases, people are very careful about if you want to buy in, you really got to buy in. Again, I wouldn't discount the Bratty family in any way, shape or form, you'd be a fool to do that. But it does seem to be a little interesting to some of the potential buyers. What kind of deal was the offered just to commit yes right now?"
Garrioch reports Hamilton billionaire Michael Andlauer, who owns the OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, and Toronto billionaires Jeffrey and Michael Kimel, formerly part-owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are among the front-runners in the bidding battle for the club.
Reynolds — who co-owns Welsh soccer club Wrexham, which plays in England's fifth tier — publicly expressed interest in buying the Senators in the fall, though he acknowledged that he would need partners in order to do so. He has since been seen at a Senators game, where he was greeted warmly by the crowd.
Club owner Eugene Melnyk died in 2022, aged 62, leaving his daughters, Anna, 23, and Olivia, 20, in charge. The sisters have begun the process of putting the club up for sale and have retained Galatioto Sports Partners as financial advisors in the process.
Forbes valued the club to be worth US$525 million last year, though the sale price is expected to be greater than that figure.
The team currently plays out of the Canadian Tire Centre, located in the western suburb of Kanata, which is 20 kilometres from downtown.
Just before Melnyk died, a plan to build a facility on a 7.5-acre tract of mostly vacant land closer to downtown called LeBreton Flats was revived.
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