Ottawa Senators: Latest win streak generating buzz for new ownership
The Ottawa Senators are delighting fans with win after win and all the excitement surrounding the team could prompt an announcement as to who will soon own it.
With five wins in a row, the longest streak of the season, the team causes a stir and company.
“When it’s game day the building is pretty full and there are people here enjoying a few drinks and something to eat and hoping for a Sens win,” says Ahmed Mahfouz, owner of Creekside Bar & Grill in Manotick. “Whenever they score a goal there’s some noise at this place, absolutely everyone in Ottawa has been waiting for a playoff game here for a few years.”
In 2007, the Ottawa Senators had their closest run at the Stanley Cup, which was ultimately defeated by the Anaheim Ducks, and 2015 saw another, much shorter, playoff run against Montreal. But in both cases the city was absorbed by the “Sens Fever”. Downtown Elgin Street became the ‘Sens Mile’, the fans were electric and so was the vibe.
“This city is always on fire for the playoffs and you can feel it now that there are 20 games left to march into the playoffs,” said AJ Jakubec, sports broadcaster at TSN 1200. “It’s going to be a challenge. They’re playing against a lot of strong teams but we’ll see if they can keep things going and keep things interesting on this road trip.”
As the Senators race to secure a playoff berth, more than 15 groups are competing to buy the franchise — which could fetch more than $800 million — during their next five away games starting Monday in Chicago.
Add Canadian movie star Ryan Reynolds, who is dying to buy from the Remington Group, hockey Hall of Famer Daniel Alfredsson, who has expressed interest in working in the front office, which he describes as a “dream job,” and Excited by a development team that’s beating expectations, sports economist and Concordia University professor Moshe Lander says an ownership announcement could be imminent.
“It’s the kind of thing that can spark fan interest that’s been lagging behind for a decade,” he says. “You want to make that announcement when the Ottawa senators are hot because that’s the kind of thing that creates that accelerator. They want to try and get this done before they are officially eliminated as at that point everyone starts thinking about the Redblacks or they start thinking about something else… possibly with a wildcard in mind then you want to close the deal and saying ok it might be a bit late for that this year but wait for September training camp this is going to be a really exciting franchise to be with.”