Ryan Reynolds interested in buying Ottawa Senators: report

Ryan Reynolds is interested in buying the Ottawa Senators, People magazine is reporting.

The Canadian actor is "very interested" in buying the franchise, People reported, citing a source close to the Deadpool star.

The news comes after sports business publication Sportico reported that the Senators have hired a New York-based bank to explore a sale of the team.

That report set off a flurry of speculation about who may be interested in purchasing the team, and where they're located.

Reynolds has connections to Ottawa. The Vancouver, B.C. native lived in Vanier at one point during his childhood. He and his wife Blake Lively donated generously to the Ottawa Food Bank during the pandemic. And he famously cameoed as 'Bruce the intern' in a post-Super Bowl tweet that went viral.

Mayor Jim Watson announced earlier this year the city would name a street after Reynolds.

Reynolds would presumably need partners to be part of a purchase of the team. The Senators are valued at $655 million U.S., according to Sportico.

Moshe Lander, a sports economist and professor at Concordia University, says while Reynolds may want to buy the Ottawa Senators, it’s highly unlikely.

"I don’t care how successful his movies are, he doesn’t have $700 million," Lander said. "Unless his partner is Tom Cruise I think he might likely be a figurehead that might hook on with one of these different ownership groups but it’s not him."

Lander adds that the Senators will maximize its value by finalizing the bid to construct a new arena at LeBreton Flats.

"If you have a deal in hand and shovels ready to go, if not in the ground, that can increase your asking price by $250 million," Lander says. "If you’re a potential owner, you’re not coming in to get bogged down in NCC meetings and environmental impractical discussions. If you know that you are coming into an arena that is going to be downtown, hooked up to an LRT with 30 years worth of life at least out of it that’s a huge, huge benefit. There’s no reason why next season we couldn’t be talking about a new ownership group."

The Nashville Predators are about to sell for $775 million U.S., and the Pittsburgh Penguins recently sold in a deal valuing the franchise at $900 million U.S.

Late Senators owner Eugene Melnyk's daughters Anna and Olivia inherited the team after his death in March. It is being run by a three-person board of directors.