Ryan Reynolds’ hope of owning the Senators kaput, the Weeknd and Snoop Dogg remain

Vancouver’s own Ryan Reynolds will not be an NHL owner, for now.

According to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, the A-list actor’s group’s bid is “not moving forward.”

Multiple celebrities are showing plenty of interest in the sale of the Senators, which was put on the market in November after the death of longtime owner Eugene Melnyk. It’s certainly looking like it’s going to be a bidding war, as besides Reynolds, artists Snoop Dogg and Canadian-born The Weeknd have both expressed interest in purchasing the team.

Snoop Dogg is part of a bid headlined by Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Neko Sparks that’s interested in purchasing the Senators. A long-time hockey fan and ambassador who’s been involved with the NHL in various ways previously, Snoop spoke about the importance of growing the game in the United States, particularly in the African-American community, and made it clear that’s one of the reasons he’s so passionate about purchasing the team.

“I’ve been watching hockey for about 25 years now and I watch more and more kids that look like me play the game, but I’m not seeing it being offered to the kids over here in America,” Snoop Dogg said in a recent ESPN interview. “I’ve been down with the NHL for a long time. I’ve been going to games, announcing games, being part of the society, so this opportunity came in order for me to be part of the ownership of the Ottawa Senators.”

Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney bought soccer club Wrexham AFC in 2020 as a way to support the team and the community. Their extensive plans to help the team succeed and bring more attention to the town of Wrexham were immediately apparent, and the club is now getting a mini-series with Disney (FX) called Welcome to Wrexham. 

The publicity that the Senators would gain from a person like Reynolds becoming an owner of the club should be almost invaluable for the league. The same obviously goes for if Snoop Dogg or The Weeknd’s groups win the bid to purchase the Senators. Reynolds and McElhenney appear to have laid out the blueprint for what’s possible when you invest in a pro sports franchise, and we can expect more celebrities to continue to follow suit in the coming years.