NHL Notebook: NHL executive committee approves Michael Andlauer to buy Ottawa Senators and Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero hired by New York Rangers
10 months ago
The sale of the Ottawa Senators has overcome another obstacle in Michael Andlauer’s journey to become the team’s new owner as the NHL’s Executive Committee has approved his purchase.
Andlauer reportedly met with the NHL executive committee last week and was given the nod to move ahead with the sale from the estate of the late Eugene Melnyk. NHL sources tell the Ottawa Sun‘s Bruce Garrioch that the deal “is on track” to be completed in the coming days.
All that’s left is for a handful of lawyers to complete the paperwork necessary for Andlauer and his syndicates to take over the Senators alongside the Canadian Tire Centre and the 75 acres it sits on.
Andlauer already has a role with the Montreal Canadiens as an alternative governor, which makes him familiar with other franchise owners in the league. Throughout the process, he has been in touch with the three-person board of directors for the Senators, including Governor Sheldon Plener and general manager Pierre Dorion, Garrioch reported, adding that once he officially takes over as the Senators’ new owner, he’ll be expected to make changes and additions to the front office, including bringing back Cyril Leeder — who served as the organization’s former president — to run the business side of the operation.
Back in June, Postmedia that Andlauer had been in touch with former Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson, who is aiming for a role in player development.
On June 13, after an extensive auction process featuring four final bids for the franchise, the Melnyk estate representatives and Galatioto Sports Partners, a sports banker company from New York, reached a tentative agreement with Andlauer’s group. Ahead of the agreement, Toronto billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos was the front-runner in the sale but walked away in early June when negotiations ran too long with the Melnyk group. Jeffery and Michael Kimel of Harlo Capital were also among the applicants, alongside Los Angeles producer Neko Sparks and Ryan Reynolds, accompanied by the Markham-based Remington Group.
Here’s more on the news from the Ottawa Sun‘s Garrioch:
Andlauer is scheduled to be a guest speaker at Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s breakfast series on Sept. 14 at Ottawa City Hall. That will be cancelled if the sale of the Senators isn’t completed by then, but it’s believed everything should be in place in the next 10 days to two weeks.Andlauer’s partners in the deal include:• Anna and Olivia Melnyk, Eugene Melnyk’s daughters, have opted to retain a 10-per-cent share in the franchise.• Local businessman Jeff York, a partner in Farm Boy, and his 20-plus local investors.• The Malhotra family, owners of Ottawa home builder Claridge Homes.• Paul and Michael Paletta of Burlington-based Alinea Group holdings, who have been partnered with Andlauer since he initially pursued the franchise last November.• Oshawa Generals owner Rocco Tullio is also believed to be involved with Andlauer’s group.
Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero hired by New York Rangers
The New York Rangers have hired Olympic gold medalist and Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero as a hockey operations adviser.
The now 43-year-old represented the United States in the Olympics, winning four medals as a women’s national team defenceman. Ruggiero and her team respectably won a gold medal in 1998—the first time the Olympics hosted women’s hockey—in Nagano, a silver medal in Salt Lake City in 2002, and a bronze medal in Vancouver in 2010.
Her contributions to women’s hockey were recognized after 15 years, with the national team scoring 19 goals and 58 points throughout 61 international games. She was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.
Throughout her career, Ruggiero also skated in the NCAA for the Harvard women’s ice hockey team before devoting her time to the Western Women’s Hockey League skating for the Minnesota Whitecaps and Boston Blades.
Ruggiero is only a portion of the Rangers’ changes to their front office through the off-season with the addition of Ryan Clowe and Chris Drury, amongst others.
Here’s more on the news from the Associated Press:
The Rangers also promoted former NHL forward Ryane Clowe to co-senior adviser to the president and general manager Chris Drury and hired retired defenseman Paul Mara as player development assistant.Andy Hosler was hired as head athletic trainer. Hosler returns to the league after two years at Michigan State to succeed longtime trainer Jim Ramsay, who had worked in that role since the mid-1990s.Hosler previously spent 14 years with the Nashville Predators, including 2013-21 as their head trainer.
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