Melnyk sells junior franchise in Mississauga
There are no longer any split hockey allegiances for Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.
There are no longer any split hockey allegiances for Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.
Melnyk can now focus all of his hockey attention on his National Hockey League team, after officially selling the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League to Mississauga businessman Elliott Kerr. Melnyk had owned the OHL franchise since 2001.
“The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors have been such an integral part of my love and passion for the game of hockey,” Melnyk said in a statement released by the Senators. “It has been a privilege to be an OHL owner and to support the development of so many exceptionally talented junior hockey players who have donned the Majors’ blue and white.”
During his time as Majors owner, the team qualified for the playoffs in 10 of 11 seasons and captured the OHL championship and regular season title in 2010-11. The Majors also won three divisional titles and a had a regular season record of 389-280-46-33. Melnyk’s tenure as Majors’ owner also featured a brief stretch when he owned two OHL franchises. During the 2006-07 season, Melnyk also owned the Mississauga Ice Dogs.
When Melnyk sold the Ice Dogs and that franchise moved to St. Catharines, the Majors moved to Mississauga from their previous arena on the campus of Toronto’s St. Michael’s College. Now that the franchise has been sold, the Mississauga team franchise will receive a new nickname and logo. The St. Michael’s name will be maintained by St. Michael’s College, which is beginning its own Division I hockey program next fall.
Probably for the best…if rumours are anywhere close to true then his divorce may have been more costly than anticipated. Even if that’s a fabrication, the lower cap and warnings that 65 needs to have a conservative estimate on salary and that the cap won’t likely be reached leads one to believe we are in a period of austerity that may be augmented by the upcoming labour dispute.
@Allenpanzeri2, Wouldn’t mind a new owner to be honest. This one is too attached to current management and players, often to the point of emotion. Would personally rather have someone that ran the team on a performance/wins basis. It’s great to call yourself a family but when some members drag their feet when the going gets tough it can only create friction.
Go Sens.
Greg.