Ryan Reynolds could change everything for the Ottawa Senators – and the NHL

Mike McKenna
Mike McKenna(MikeMcKenna56)
Ryan Reynolds could change everything for the Ottawa Senators – and the NHL

If Ryan Reynolds wants to own the Ottawa Senators, the NHL needs to roll out the red carpet. Because the league won’t find a better spokesperson.

On Monday night, during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Reynolds made it clear that he would like to purchase the Senators.

I don’t have a clue if Reynolds would actually be a good owner. And frankly, I don’t care. His name resonates. Almost everyone in North America knows who he is.

Reynolds is one of Hollywood’s top box office draws. He has more than 20 million Twitter followers. And oh, by the way, Reynolds just happens to be Canadian.

Sometimes the stars align. And I can’t think of anyone better to swoop in and give the Senators some juice. The past few years in Ottawa have been dismal. Poor ownership and leadership led to poor results on the ice.

But lately, there’s been a newfound energy in Canada’s capital. Young talent has taken over as GM Pierre Dorion’s rebuild has finally come to fruition.

Attendance is up in Ottawa. But it’s still not where it should be for a Canadian market. Sellouts should be the norm rather than the exception.

I can’t help but think that if Reynolds ends up with a stake in the Senators, interest in the team would rise. Because it’s not just the on-ice product that matters. It’s the cool factor. And the fact that apparently, he’s my doppelganger.

Ryan Reynolds might be the coolest person on earth right now. He was People Magazine’s sexiest man live in 2010. And he wants to own an NHL team. Let that sink in for a minute.

Reynolds already owns a stake in Wrexham AFC, a fifth-tier soccer team in England. So it’s not like he’s completely new to the world of sports franchise ownership. And as Reynolds said on The Tonight Show, he knows that he can’t go it alone. The New York-based actor will need someone with deep pockets to team with.

Speculation of the Senators’ value is all over the place. I’ve seen figures from $525 million (Forbes, December 2021) up to $665 million (Sportico in the valuations it released last week). But with the Memorandum of Understanding already signed for a new arena at LeBreton Flats – something new ownership will surely prioritize – I could easily see the Senators being worth north of $700 million.

That’s a lot of dough. And even though Reynolds is a Hollywood megastar, he doesn’t have that kind of money. So to me, this is clearly a passion play for Reynolds. I think that’s important. If Reynolds is openly talking about his desire to buy the Senators, that bodes well for the future. Because I think it shows that Reynolds would be comfortable in a public role with the team.

Imagine a Senators marketing campaign geared around Reynolds interacting with the players. With his connections – Will Ferrell, anyone? – the possibilities are endless. Reynolds could almost singlehandedly change the entire discourse about the franchise.

How? By making the team cool.

For reasons I cannot fathom, there’s a lot of people in this world that think celebrities are the epitome of cool. They read about them. Gossip about them. And in America, we even elect them.

Mark my words, if Reynolds buys the Senators, people well outside the hockey world would take notice. Jerseys would be bought. Name recognition would increase. You’d see Brady Tkachuk appearing on The Tonight Show pulling a jersey over Jimmy Fallon’s head.

Maybe I’m overly optimistic. But I’ve seen this happen before. Remember when Wayne Gretzky showed up in Los Angeles to play for the Kings? Suddenly hockey was cool. Celebrities lined the glass at home games. And the players made connections they could have only dreamed of just months before. All thanks to Wayne.

I know the Reynolds situation is a little different. He wouldn’t actually be on the ice playing. But I still think the general public has a desire to be in the same building as a celebrity like him. If only to catch a glimpse of someone famous.

Remember when Mike Fisher played for the Senators and he began dating Carrie Underwood? Eyes and TV cameras were glued to the team suite when she was in the building. I thought it was too much. But people absolutely loved it when an A-lister like Underwood was present.

I see Reynolds’ potential ownership as a chance for the NHL to expand its footprint in the mainstream. Sometimes we forget that hockey is still something of a niche sport. And that gets reflected in how hockey is covered, especially in the United States.

What I’d really like to see is Reynolds in it for the long haul. He needs to be onboard and active from the start. Reynolds will need to maintain that enthusiasm, especially in Ottawa. The city needs an owner that’s able to communicate with the fan base and hear its concerns. Senators fans were ignored for far too long, and that healing process is still ongoing.

I think Reynolds would be a welcome addition to the NHL. He’d bring value well beyond the dollars he chooses to invest. Let’s hope that he finds a proper consortium to make it happen.

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