'More than a dozen parties' interested in buying Ottawa Senators: Bettman

More than a dozen parties have expressed an interest in buying the Ottawa Senators, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.

“There are more than a dozen parties that have I believe signed an NDA and expressed an interest in the process,” Bettman told reporters at the NHL board of governors meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

The non-dislcosure agreements give interested parties access to a data room with the Senators’ financials and other relevant information for the sale.

Bettman said the data room should be open “soon” and a more structured process will start after Jan. 1. He emphasized there are no official bidders yet—that will happen in the new year—but reiterated there are more than a dozen participants.

New York-based Galatioto Sports Partners has been overseeing the sale of the team since it was officially put up for sale early last month. The team and the NHL have said that a condition of any sale will be that the team remains in Ottawa.

BETTMAN MET WITH REYNOLDS

Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds has been the most vocal prospective owner. The A-list star has said he wants to join a consortium of owners, and he attended a game last month after publicly declaring his interest.

Bettman said he and Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, met with Reynolds, saying he “very much impressed” them.

“If we can figure out a way to have him included, I think that would be great for the Senators and I think that would be great for the league,” Bettman said.

“He’s very smart, he has a number of businesses besides the acting business and he understands sports and he understands promotion.”

Reynolds, along with Rob McElhenney, is a co-owner of Wrexham AFC, a lower-league Welsh soccer team. The docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ chronicles his takeover of the team.

“I think he told us his followers on all his platforms combined are well over 100 million, so he’s somebody who is very popular and very engaged, and he’s doing a great job with Wrexham,” Bettman said.