Never a dull moment for fans of the Ottawa Senators.
Last night, seemingly out of nowhere, Don Campbell ‘reported’ that there would soon be news of a new part owner of the Ottawa Senators.
Now before we get to the two tweets in question, some background on Campbell. He is columnist with the Ottawa Citizen or at least was. He’s been covering sports for a long time in this town. And as far as I know anyway, isn’t known to throw out random stories like this one. Anyway, the tweets in question…
Has anyone reported yet Ottawa Senators no longer are solely owned?
— Don Campbell (@ottawa_dc) August 28, 2014
Stay tuned on new Sens partner! — Don Campbell (@ottawa_dc) August 28, 2014
At the same time as Campbell’s tweets were setting the twitter world ablaze, I was directed to a recent article in Frank’s magazine.
Now before we get to the article, some background on Frank Magazine. While it is primarily a satirical publication, they have been known to scoop the odd real story here in Ottawa. Not saying that’s the case here but it’s noteworthy.
Anyway, according to that article in Frank Magazine, local business owner, noted philanthropist and Sens Super Fan Dan Greenberg had agreed to provide financial backing to Melnyk and the Senators. Now it’s not clear if that’s what Don Campbell was referring to but the timing of the two seemingly independent stories was interesting.
I posted the link on the site and on Twitter but shortly after, noticed the article had been removed. It seems to be back up this morning but note that the full article is behind a pay wall. Thankfully, Allen Panzeri from the Ottawa Citizen sent in a snap shot of the print version.
In sort of an odd twist, Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk was quick to shoot down Campbell’s tweet with one of his own. It does seem a little odd that Melnyk would be so quick to publicly deny the story if there was absolutely nothing to it but maybe he just happened to be on Twitter at the time and felt the need to put out the fire. Here’s what Eugene had to say…
Confirming the rumour. Ottawa Senators have 3 new equity partners: Sparkles, Frosty and Pebbles — my dogs. Great reporting @ottawa_dc
— Eugene Melnyk (@MelnykEugene) August 28, 2014
So now you’re caught up. It could be absolutely nothing. But there also could be something to it. On an otherwise newsless day in August, it’s certainly worth of discussion.
Here’s what I know and unfortunately it’s not a whole lot…
-Dan Greenberg loves the Ottawa Senators and has been actively involved with team functions in the past. You know those crazy fans that sit in the 100 level, waving flags all game? That’s Dan’s box
-Eugene Melnyk has been actively seeking a financial partner of some kind for quite some time. Maybe as far back as the 2012 season.This is sort of a known thing around the league.
-The Greenberg Family was quite close to buying the Senators back when Eugene Melnyk originally purchased the team.
-Everyone I have talked to over the last 12 hours has either flat out denied the story or said they hadn’t heard a thing. So if there’s something there, Don Campbell and Frank’s Magazine are way out in front.
For the record, Dan Greenberg himself also dismissed the rumours this morning.
@Fffeisty I’m loving these rumours but that’s all they are. — Dan Greenberg (@danthesensman) August 28, 2014
