By now, news has swept across the NHL (and all of Canada, really) that Ryan Reynolds expressed interest in becoming a shareholder in the Ottawa Senators. He was reportedly prepping a $1 billion bid with Remington Group just two weeks ago.
But yesterday, news broke that his bid for ownership of the club would not move forward. As Reynolds, who already co-owns Wrexham FC, bows out, a ton of celebrity names enter the Ottawa Senators ring, including yet another Canadian and a rap legend.
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The Weeknd is reportedly attached to the Ottawa Senators
Last week, The Weeknd, who hails from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, threw his hat into the ring in an effort to buy the Sens, according to The Ottawa Sun. He’s reportedly in the running alongside Toronto Jeffrey and Michael Kimel. Of course, The Weeknd’s hometown is significantly closer to Ottawa than Reynolds’ native Vancouver, BC (though he lived in the Ottawa suburbs as a child), and the singer is an avid hockey fan.
And he even has ties to the city. “He’s going to be a great partner for Ottawa and the NHL,” a source close to The Weeknd said, according to The Sun. “The team he works with grew up in Ottawa, so they know the market really well, but he’s the largest musician (on the) planet right now. He has the most views, the most streams and he’s a hockey guy.”
“He doesn’t like to be in the media very often so this really says something that he wants to be part of a bid,” the source continued. “He wants to get this deal done, he wants to build something that will be great in Ottawa and he’ll be a good fit. He’s got a lot of connections of worldwide.”
The Weeknd’s bid is also reportedly in the $1 billion range.
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Snoop Dogg has also entered the Senators race
Snoop Dogg was the second celebrity, behind Reynolds, to enter a bid for the team after owner Eugene Melnyk died at the age of 62. He’s been very vocal about his interest in buying the club and has demonstrated his love of hockey many times by wearing Los Angeles Kings jerseys for concerts and public appearances. He often goes to Kings games and has even joined the broadcast team on occasion.
And, in typical Snoop fashion, he took to Instagram to share his intentions for the Ottawa Senators:
“I’ve been watching hockey for about 25 years now, and I’m watching more and more kids that look like me play the game, but I’m not seeing it being offered to the kids over here in America,” he told ESPN’s First Take. “This opportunity came …for me to be a part of the ownership of the Ottawa Senators, so I jumped on it.”
His plans also include an effort to start the Snoop Youth Hockey League outside of Canada, which would follow the same model as his Snoop Youth Football League and offer low-income, high-risk youth the option to play hockey.
So far, his football league has sent 20,000 kids to Division I schools. “The kids need to know there is an option to play hockey if you look like me,” he said. “If we was to bring another sport, such as hockey, which is on TV and they can see it, now these kids can learn how to play the sport. They can understand that this is another way out.”
The bid would also include a new arena for the Senators, who currently play very far outside of the Ottawa city limits.
The deadline for bids to buy the Ottawa Senators is reportedly May 15.
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