We are excited to announce the start of a new bi-monthly series on hockey’s business and legal highlights.
Without further ado, let’s get started. It’s that time of the month when we take a look at what’s been happening in hockey’s business and legal world. Twice a month we cover the big and not so big stories in this arena. We also include a featured story of the period. Let’s take a look what has been happening this period.
Hockey’s Business and Legal News
Hockey Canada’s Federal Funding Reinstated
On April 16 it was announced that Canada was reinstating Hockey Canada’s Federal funding effective immediately. Hockey Canada has historically relied fairly heavily on Cadian Federal funding to support its operations. In June of 2022 the Canadian government froze Hockey Canada’s federal funding. This followed a women’s lawsuit alleging that members of the Canadian 2018 World Junior Championship sexually assaulted her. It was less about the sexual assault incident itself but more about Hockey Canada’s handling of that and similar situations.
Canadian sport minister Pascale St-Onge stated that Hockey Canada had met the three conditions to receive Federal funding again. These included becoming a full signatory to Abuse-Free Sport and the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, continuing to review and implement the recommendations from the independent governance review led by The Honorable Thomas Cromwell, and committing to more frequent reporting to the Canadian Government. This is not unlimited Federal funding without a short leash. Hockey Canada will have to make improvements to maintain this assistance.
St-Onge also wrote that Hockey Canada’s reinstated funding is “not a blank cheque.”
— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) April 16, 2023
She wrote the organization must confront “toxic behaviours, the trivialization of sexual violence, and the culture of silence, which has too often made the headlines…”
Philadelphia Flyer’s Search for Executive Brings Up Conflict of Interest Questions
On April 21, it was reported that the Philadelphia Flyers hired Neil Glasberg of PBI Sports as a consultant to assist in their search for a new president of hockey operations and general manager. While this is a very common occurance for teams to hire consultants, Glasberg also represents executives and coaches including Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins among others. This could potentially create a conflict of interest in conducting a fair search.
Conflict of interest?
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) April 21, 2023
As @frank_seravalli reports, the Flyers have hired Neil Glasberg as a consultant to help conduct their executive search – while he also represents team executives and coaches as their agent, who may be candidates for open positions:https://t.co/0rUld03lbr
The NHLPA specifically has rules against agents representing both players and coaches due to conflicts of interest concerns, but many other professions have select circumstances where it is ok. The Flyers are aware of Glasberg’s connections and do not have concerns. There has not been any wrongdoing or allegations of specific wrongdoing at this point, but this is a situation that may require more careful navigating for the parties involved.
Valeri Nichushkin Absence from Colorado Avalanche a Mystery
On April 23, Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin left the team suddenly. He was not available for games three through seven of their first round series. The team reported he was absent due to undisclosed personal reasons. He reportedly left his hotel to board an airplane with a security detail.
Report: Intoxicated woman found in Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin’s hotel room https://t.co/zkr5DF9Qsy
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) April 28, 2023
Subsequent reports provided that an intoxicated woman was found in his hotel room right before game three. According to the Denver Post, the police recorded the woman saying she “should never have come to the United States and that some guy took her passport and he was a bad person.” There have been no charges, no allegations of any wrongdoing, and no open investigation known to the public at this point. While this could be nothing, the mystery and specifics of this situation are intriguing. There could be multiple layers of legal involvement here if there is an actual issue. International law, immigration, domestic issues and then league issues could all come into the forefront in this situation. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what, if anything, happens from this.
Calgary Flames May Be Getting a New Arena
On April 25 it was reported that City of Calgary, Province of Alberta, Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. and Calgary Stampede reached an agreement in principle for the development of a new arena to replace the Saddledome. This development will also include improvements to ancillary pieces supporting the arena and downtown Calgary. These include parking and transit improvements, a new community ice rink and new plaza.
The City of Calgary is holding a news conference with the provincial government, the CSEC and The Calgary Stampede, where – according to multiple reports – the parties are expected to announce a deal is in place for a new event centre. https://t.co/3lKPUWSe3G
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) April 25, 2023
While the agreement between these groups has materialized, there are still additional steps for the city government to take. Regardless, this is a big step towards replacing the aging Saddledome. The Saddledome houses the Calgary Flames as well as the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL, Calgary Wranglers of the AHL, and Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League. Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. owns all of these teams. Even though most are excited about this development, there is some opposition due to the cost to taxpayers.
Ryan Reynolds’ Group Plans to Submit Bid to Purchase the Ottawa Senators
In our featured story of the period, on April 28 it was reported that Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, in conjunction with Toronto based real estate development corporation Remington Group, is preparing to submit a one billion dollar bid to purchase the Ottawa Senators. This follows previous reports of Reynolds’ interest in purchasing the Ottawa Senators.
Actor 🇨🇦 Ryan Reynolds and the Remington Group are preparing a bid of more than $1 billion (U.S.) to purchase the Ottawa Senators and the Canadian Tire Centre, according to @SunGarrioch: https://t.co/uTQBdVzDj1
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) April 28, 2023
Remington Group wants Reynolds as a face of the group purchasing the team. Reynolds needs the capital and expertise of Remington Group to own the team. Reynolds has done a great job owning Welsh soccer team Wrexham, but this is different. Even for a successful actor, a one-billion-dollar NHL bid takes some help. The NHL could also benefit from having a figure such as Reynolds as an owner to drive publicity. They should submit this bid prior to the May 15 deadline for bids.
While there is some excitement over this, keep in mind this is just a bid and will take many steps to bring this to fruition. This includes their bid being accepted (considering there will be other bids), league approval, and all the other pieces being completed to close the sale. Should be an interesting summer ahead to see what happens in Ottawa.
Post image attribution: By dtstuff9, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
