Ottawa Roots store removes Leafs merchandise after Senators fans complain
The National Hockey League may be on a self-imposed hiatus, but the Battle of Ontario is still raging on the retail front.
Earlier this week, an Ottawa Senators fan named Spencer Callaghan noticed a big Toronto Maple Leafs merchandise display — complete with mannequins and a wide variety of clothing — at the company’s Bayshore Mall location, with no equivalent for the local team.
Perturbed that the iconic Canadian retailer would so brazenly flaunt said merchandise in an enemy market when he couldn’t find a single Sens shirt, he took a picture and attached it to a complaint, later picked up by Senators fan group Red Scarf Union, to the official Roots public relations Twitter account.
Even he was surprised by what happened next.
On Tuesday, the company said via Twitter it would be removing all Leafs goods from its capital locations, pointing out the merchandise was still available on its website and in other stores.
True to its word, there was nary a Leafs logo to be found at the Bayshore store Thursday afternoon, though Roots director of communication Robert Sarner said in an email Tuesday night that the company would in fact continue to sell Leafs goods here.
“In terms of the issue of the Leaf merchandise in our Ottawa stores, there was some confusion earlier (Tuesday) which resulted in a Tweet that went out saying we had pulled the Leaf merchandise from our Ottawa stores,” he wrote. “We did instruct the Bayshore location to modify the original display in their store after a few Sens fans perceived (incorrectly) that we favour the Leafs and made certain negative assumptions about us.”
Callaghan said an outright ban was over and above anything he expected or wanted anyways.
“The last thing I want is to come across as some whiny Sens fan trying to get something banned,” he said. “I just expressed my opinion to Roots. I don’t think I even put the Sens hashtag in there. All of a sudden it just blows up.
“I just said, ‘hey Roots what’s the deal?’ It wasn’t like a ‘hey lets crusade against Roots’ thing. I was just shopping for my wife.”
Callaghan said he feels the one thing the Senators franchise has failed to do in Ottawa is stick up for itself when Leafs and Habs fans run roughshod over it, and he also rejects the notion that voicing displeasure with what he called “disrespect” amounts to an inferiority complex.
“Red Sox fans would burn the building down if there was a Yankees display like that,” he said.
When another customer who disagreed with a ban contacted the @RootsCanada Twitter account to confirm the move, the company responded: “While we did make the decision to pull product from Ottawa locations, the merch is staying in all other stores and online.”
The customer, who described himself as a hockey fan who knows there are a variety of team supporters in any city, was stunned.
“Love Roots merch, but admit I’m astonished by the decision,” he wrote back. “So many Leafs fans in Ottawa, now left out in the cold.”
Indeed, the Leafs ban would have been a bold move from a business perspective, given a trip to Scotiabank Place for any recent Battle of Ontario game would suggest split loyalties in this town.
Sarner said Roots did hear from the other front Tuesday as well.
“In answer to your last question, yes we have heard from several Leaf fans in Ottawa who say they’re glad Roots does sell Leaf merchandise in the capital,” he wrote. “Curiously, we traditionally sell more Leaf merchandise in Ottawa than Senator products.”
Of course, Senators fans would argue that has more to do with poor selection than team allegiances.
Sometimes in the Battle of Ontario, nobody wins.
Twitter.com/SensReporter
jgordon@ottawacitizen.com
Roots was wrong to cave in to one complaint, and the Senators followers (I won’t call them fans) were wrong to complain.
Face it folks – the Leafs were around LONG before the Senators came along, and have a strong fan base here. To expect all Leaf fans to overnight become Senators followers just because the Sens are here is pitifully arrogant. You want fan support? Then don’t demand it – earn it. So far you haven’t, and antics such as this don’t help.
You want fan loyalty? Fine – but don’t get on the Leafs fans’ case for showing loyalty to THEIR team. It works both ways.
What a bunch of sanctimonious BS. So because Senators FANS (and I will call them fans because to care enough during a lockout means they are fans) don’t appreciate a store in their city to be flaunting opposing team gear, they should just pipe down and do nothing.
Ask yourself how people in Ohio State would feel if Macy’s had a Michigan Wolverines display. Or if Roots tried this same move in Montreal. I’d imagine Habs fans wouldn’t complain, they’d just burn the store down.
I, like many others, don’t care whatsoever about the feelings of Leaf fans in this city. If they want to support the Leafs, fine, do so in the safety of their basements or when their team of losers comes into Scotiabank Place. This is OTTAWA. Home of the Senators. This team has been around 20 years and is finally developing a passionate fan base. I, for one, applaud it.
Not sure about this. From a business perspective, they should push the SENS rather than Leafs. But they are competing with Sports Check who carry a really large selection of SENS jerseys, etc. already. Should Roots go head-to-head or grab a niche with LEAFS gear?
Like it or not, there are plenty of LEAFS fans in Ottawa. We should have pity on them.
Roots was right and praise goes to them! This is OTTAWA and its dispicable that a store would even for a second think its apropriate to display Leafs merch, and Truthfully its Leafs fans that bring it on themselves! Leafs fans are the type of people that will go to a SENS vs BLUEJACKETS game wearing a Leafs Jersey and BOO Alfie! Thats not team loyalty… Thats just being an A-Hole!
And on topic, I was in the hockey department of the Canadian Tire on Olgilve rd 2 weeks ago and saw a manaquin dressed in Leafs Gear so I took it upon myself to put a SENS jersey on it and I covered it in flags too
GO SENS GO!!!!! RSA
And you’re seriously talking? Sens fans are obsessed with chanting Leafs suck or bashing them even when the Leafs aren’t playing them, so i think you need to rethink what you’re saying because you sound like a total idiot.
My message to retailers in Ottawa who push Leaf crap:
“I like to support local businesses.
I see that your company does business in Ottawa, but does not support Ottawa’s hockey team. Thank you for being upfront with your disdain for this city and the residents of Ottawa who’s money you take.
I no longer have any desire or intention to patronise your business. I am informing my friends and family of your company’s insult to the Ottawa community.”
Since ROOTS saw the error of their ways and took immediate, sensible action, I will resume patronising their Ottawa stores.
Good job! This is Ottawa. If MLSE has to make sure their new bar in the market is Ottawa-centric then Roots should make sure their store is too.
These aren’t “antics” either. Having a display in Ottawa devoted to the city’s biggest rival is an antic and therefore triggered a response from the loyal Senators fan base. The correct response.
Sens fans jump on the bandwagon to hate the Leafs because they think it makes them cool. Wrong. Leafs fans are true fans, anyone that still supports their team whether they win or lose is an actual fan. I think it’s ridiculous the way people bash the Leafs yet the minute their ‘own team’ loses they seem to do the same. That’s not a fan. I can recall many games the Leafs beat the Sens….
Most Leafs fans were fans long before the Sens decided to show up, so who cares if Ottawa has a team now, doesn’t mean Leafs (or any other teams fans) should jump to support them. I have nothing against the Sens and I will in fact cheer them on, if they are not playing the Leafs because I am not a poor sport like most Sens fans.
Now, for Roots, a Canadian company to pull such a bold move as to take all Leafs stuff out of the store, I think they should be ashamed. Support your Canadian teams or lose the people that shop there. I won’t advocate for a store that does that. I think it’s cowardly.
I don’t think the Sens are losers but I can’t say the same for alot of their fans.
Cowardly? I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. I think they were targeting the niche market. It’s too bad, but the customer is always right, even if they are wrong. I’ll still shop at Roots this Christmas.
As the person who took the original picture and posted the original tweet (https://twitter.com/Senturion/status/278212803087724544) I think I need to clarify.
I NEVER asked Roots to remove Leafs merch from stores. I simply chided them for their lack of respect for Ottawa by having a HUGE Leafs display in the store with no Sens equivalent.
If you look at the picture, there is a massive display with a dozen or more Leafs items, a mannequin and everything. I looked through the store and didn’t find a single Sens item (I was there Christmas shopping, this wasn’t a sting).
I simply don’t think it is respectful, or wise, for an iconic Canadian company, that obviously knows the importance of hockey to this country, to so brazenly promote a rival team’s gear without so much as a stitch of Sens gear.
Lots of sports stores carry Leafs gear, I have no issues with that, my issue is the absence of Sens gear and the prominence of the Leafs gear. It was an entire corner of the store.
As for those claiming that this is just an inferiority complex, I call it defending my city. Ottawa is constantly overlooked, marginalized and ignored by Canadian brands and if we don’t start flexing our muscles a little bit it is never going to change.
A few people commented on Twitter that a similar display in Toronto wouldn’t bat an eye, the point is that a similar display in Toronto would never happen because brands respect the Toronto market.
Yes the Leafs and Habs have more history, but after 20 years, and the decades of Sens history before that, it is time we started to be respected.
You would never see this happen in Boston, Montreal or any other sports city with a major rival yet somehow in Ottawa we are supposed to just accept it because Toronto is bigger and has more history. Sorry but screw that. I’m sure you’d never find Bears gear displayed like that in Green Bay where a similar size and prominence gap exists.
Anyway, although others may have grabbed my original tweet and turned it into something else, I never asked for Leafs merch to be removed. Roots overreacted. Instead of trying to determine what the problem was, they simply decided to cut and run.
Good on ya Spencer! Thumbs up to you.
Don’t pay too much attention to the crying by the Leafs fan who have turned up here to spew the same nonsense they usually soil the TSN commentary pages with, you made a completely valid point to a store that made a poor choice in its display in OTTAWA. Yeah there are Leafs fans here, so what, there are Sens fans in Toronto too, but I don’t think they would be demanding Sens displays around the city of Toronto store fronts. As a business in this city (and any other) you support the local community, including its sports teams.
Spencer, you are wrong on many levels as are nearly all others screaming “OTTUH-WAAAAH!” at the top of their lungs.
Know what makes this city great? DIVERSITY. We have Habs, Bruins, Leafs, Sens fans and we have politciains, musicians, beat writers like James, slackass government guys like myself…it’s all good.
As for the comment that nowhere in MASS could you ever ever ever buy Yankess merch. try these stores:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kcs-sportscards-and-memorabilia-quincy#query:sports%20memorabilia
KC’s Sports Cards and Memorabilia (granted a sports store) in Quincy sells…Yankees gear!
And guess what? You are quite able to find Habs jerseys in Quebec City, Nords jerseys in Montreal and I know this is shocking Spencer, but those two cities’ citizens don’t act like 8-year olds with entitlement issues if something DIFFERENT happens there. As an old-time member of the Habs-Nords rivalary before the Senators came to town, it was great going down La Grande Allee in a Habs jersey or having the relatives come down Atwater in their Sakic and Foote jerseys.
Roots is a BUSINESS. Guess what, Leafs and Habs merch sells. The Leafs have branding to a “T” with the Maple Leaf, nice colours in blue and white while the Habs have that great, traditional CH. Our logo is fine, but it isn’t exactly…classic. The 2D Sens Centurion is great though.
This is really much ado about nothing.
Spencer, be glad our city has a wide variety of fans and options instead of it being stuck in Perma-Boring mode like it usually is due to the mind-numbing, soul-sucking, creativity-destroying government and sub-arctic weather.
VIVA LA DIFFERENCE!
GO SENS!
Again, you didn’t READ my post.
I never said that Leafs gear shouldn’t be sold in Ottawa.
The Roots store in question had a huge display with a dozen or so different Leafs items and NO SENS GEAR AT ALL.
I never asked for anything to be banned, I simply questioned why an iconic Canadian brand would exclusively sell and promote Leafs gear in Ottawa with no Sens gear in sight.
Of course you can find all different teams gear in Ottawa, and yes you can find Yankees gear in Boston.
However, if a store had only Yankees gear, and was displaying it as some kind of promotion, yes arson might be a potential outcome.
you do realize its a Toronto based company
You know Roots is a Toronto based company right?
I am a huge Leaf fan, however I live in Ottawa and couldn’t agree more with Spencer.
This is Ottawa, stores should not be promoting the Leafs. You won’t see a huge Sens display in Toronto or Montreal.
I also agree that the store should sell Leaf products as it’s a good business move, there are a lot of Leaf fans here and in the rest of Canada.
Any Sens’ fan that expects or even wants the store to ban Leaf products is being unreasonable. Spencer never said that, all he said was this is Ottawa, take down the
huge Leaf display and support your local team.
As a Leaf fan, I AGREE.
Good on ALL Sens fans involved in this! Good on Spencer for taking and tweeting the pic, good on the Red Scarf Union for getting the word out and good on Sens fans for making their voices heard. After 20 years, something about this FEELS a little different. It FEELS like people CARE. They CARE enough put in a little extra EFFORT and to show some PRIDE. I bet Mr. Melnyk and those within the Ottawa Senators organization, and those that founded the club, are smiling.
I for one am also glad they took down the Leaf display, but my reasons are different. Just like the Leaf jersey ban at Scotiabank place a few years ago, relentless booing of a young Leaf player at All Star events, and the infantile Leafs suck shirts/songs, it makes Sens fans look petty and foolish in front of the rest of the country. The fact is, despite futile efforts like the Roots store nonsense, the Leafs Nation continues to extend its reach into Ottawa as much as it did 20 years ago.Three times a year we Ottawa-area Leaf fans (young and old) practically turn ScotiaBank place into the ACC East, and even if every store in Ottawa stopped selling Leafs stuff, that wouldn’t change a thing.
Lets be honest. When the Leafs play in Ottawa it is not Leaf fans from Ottawa that fill the building. It is Leaf fans bussed in from the GTA with $400 bus packages that fill the building. They pay $400 to get a $40 seat because their own arena is sold out to corporate stiffs and real hockey fans can’t get a ticket.
Leaf fans will pay absolutely stupid prices to see a game. So many Ottawa Season ticket holders sell their Leaf game tickets to Leaf fans. They give up a few games against a generally crappy team and get their entire season tickets paid for — not a bad deal.
So please don’t think that half of Ottawa supports the Leafs. They don’t. Using that logic there are no Sens fans in Ottawa, only Habs and Leaf fans.
As for Leaf fans accusing Sens fans of being childish for standing up for their team. They have this arrogant idea that they are somehow *better* fans simply because they still cheer for the blue and white even though their team has disappointed them year after year. Sticking up for your team when bullied by national brands or the media isn’t being childish. It’s called being a fan.
Fan – short for fanatic: a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal.
Where did I say half of Ottawa supported the Leafs? I said at the three Leaf -Sens games that was indeed the case.
Nevertheless the argument that they’re all from the GTA is wishful thinking. It may not be scientific, but I know quite a few of those people/families wearing blue from around town, As well, take a look at the number of Leaf families with kids in the crowd next time on a weekday Sens-Leaf game night (I find it hard to believe lots of families from T.O would be pulling their kids out of school for two days to catch a mid-week hockey game in Ottawa) Also it’s remarkable the number of divided couples and families you see at games (including yours truly…two Leaf fans, one Sens fan, and one with strange dual Sens-Leaf loyalties ) which means they’re likely local. Yes there are reinforcements from the GTA, the ones that come on the buses that you mentioned (the ones whose behaviour sometimes make a bad name for we Valley Leaf fans). But I reiterate that majority are from the local area…in fact one of the points Mr Gordon, Citizen columnist, suggested in this very article was that there appear to continue to be split loyalties in Ottawa. TGOR has lamented about the numbers of Leaf fans here from time to time as have others in the media. To argue that the Leafs don’t have a large fan base- and one that’s in the thousands (albeit outnumbered by Sens fans) – is fiction not fact.
PS. I work in an Ottawa school and am always amazed that despite how bad the Leafs have been since 2004, you always see anumber of kids in Leaf colours on sports jersey days…and kudos to anyone willing wear them with all the ribbing they get (though most of it good-natured) Cheers
OK, just read they’re taking down the displays, not completely removing Leafs merchandise from the stores. That I guess I can live with, so to my Sens fan friends I officially back pedal and take my rant back…mostly.
This is comical. I am not a fan of the Leafs, or the Sens, but regardless of where I was, I would not turn and demand that the business change it’s display.
I have been in many stores in Toronto and seen Yankees and Red Sox hats, and have never thought,
‘I should complain about it, because… we;; because I have nothing better to do with my life.’
Wow, worng by the fan and wrong by Roots.
I didn’t demand that the display or Leafs gear be removed.
I simply asked why such prominence would be placed on a team for which a local rival existed and why there was no equivalent Sens display.
Pulling down the display was Roots’ overreaction. They never even contacted me to get more into or ask what I wanted.
Of course Leafs merch is going to be sold in Ottawa, that’s not the point. The point is that a national retailer would be so bold as to promote a rival team without even a sniff of respect for the local team.
Here’s Roots Leafs gear line: http://canada.roots.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-RootsCA-Site/default/Search-Show?navid=search&q=toronto+leafs&Go=
And here’s their Sens “line”: http://canada.roots.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-RootsCA-Site/default/Search-Show?navid=search&q=senators&Go=
Is it any wonder the Leafs gear sells more?
The bottom line is that after 20 years it is time fans started to stand up for ourselves and demand respect. Heck, Winnipeg gets more respect than we do and they just got their team back last year.
The Sens franchise does a piss poor job defending its (weak) brand so we can’t rely on them, we have to do it ourselves.
Good day all,
What makes a fan, a fan?
I like to think that a true fan is
- is Loyalty and Passionate to their team
- treats opposing fans with the same tact and sportsmanship we expect from our teams. (with perhaps a little bit of playful respectful rivalry to keep things exciting)
- supports their local community
- forward looking
Things that take a way from a true fan.
- Bashing other teams (everyone is entitled to their loyalties, right or wrong)
- Blinded views that “everyone else sucks”
- Excuses why things are going well,
Though I for one agree that Ottawa, should be Ottawa Senators supportive, i do not begrudge the Leaf fans (or hab fans, or ranger fans or boston fans etc etc) their choice in teams to root for.
This town does have its passion, and does have true fans. And its growing from year to year. Do i expect people to abandon their ‘old’ team? Nope, but as with anything, peoples loyalties and commitments can shift.
I chose to support my team, it’s players and my community. I choose to put my energies into making my town greater by supporting things HERE. I choose to engage in activities in MY COMMUNITY.
I’m just curious though…. why are all these Toronto fans complaining on an Ottawa Senators blog, if they weren’t just looking to troll someone into a pointless poo-flinging contest?
Just a thought.
LOUD AND PROUD!
Senatron out
As a Leaf fan, this is all hilarious.
Hi all,
Shame I missed the entire troll on RSU. I am a huge SENS Fan in Gatineau, Québec. For Leaf fans, Gatineau is in Québec, a province in Canada. Yes the one that has separatists lol. It’s a joke, please don’t jump on your horses.
I must admit that Spence has made a great move and he is an example for us. I wonder if I would have thought of that if I saw this display. I live everyday with Habs fans. Here, on this side of the river, I don’t really live with Leafs fans, but it’s pretty hardcore with the HABS already, they are louder. Not always the best fans, especially when they drink and God knows they love Molson lol, but I admire that. They are an inspiration. I want my SNES fans base to do the same and it starts with a move like Spence did.
Call it whatever you want, inferiority complex, winers, crybabies etc… I like it. If I wasn’t supported by other fans in my team’s hometown, I would reconsider cheerings for a team without any soldiers. Spence, with this move and all other fans support, you just have made one fan on this side of the river very happy. You’ve defended our pride and you made a couple of fan here more willing to fight and put the energy.
I must go to Ottawa to feel at home when it comes to hockey. If you feel that we shout louder than a single Leafs or Habs fan, then yes I agree. We have to compensate for 5 or 10 fans. Why are you complaining? Let us do our stuff for our team and do yours.
We won’t stop, we haven’t for 20 years and its working, expect us to do it even louder for the next 20.
That is all
Merci Spence
I don’t feel the tiny bit sorry for Leafs fans or Roots in this.
Firstly, what the hell was Roots thinking? We’re a Toronto suburb because we’re in the same corporate region as Toronto? Their Leafs stuff sells better here? That wouldn’t be because they never paid enough attention to their Sens merchandise to bother with selection or displaying it properly, would it?
Would they have been so hamhanded as to let this happen in Calgary? “Well, Calgary is in Alberta, and our Alberta region outlets sell more Oiler merchandise, therefore all Alberta region stores shall set up an Oiler display”. No way that happens.
This doesn’t even get into the thinking of the Roots employees at this particular store. If the Kanata hill wasn’t in the way, you could see Scotiabank Place from the roof of Bayshore. The store manager couldn’t push back a tiny bit and suggest that the Leafs display was a bad idea?
I find it funny that Leafs fans (and sometimes even Sens fans) believe that the city is split 50/50 because 3 times a year the Leafs come to town and their fans have a good showing. What about the other 39 games a year Sens fans pack SBP?
I don’t doubt there are Leafs fans in Ottawa, but i would say its closer to 1/10 Ottawa residents.
And to Roots Canada; of course you sell more Leafs gear in Ottawa…. YOU DON’T SELL ANY SENS MERCHANDISE! One Sens t-shirt stuffed in a corner doesn’t equal a full section of the store dedicated to the Leafs. Regardless of what they say, it’s simply disrespectful.
I laugh when I see Leafs fans oh ere saying we’re not fans in Ottawa – if this happened in Toronto it would be called passion, in Ottawa, we’re “whining”.
I do blame the Sens org. for allowing this kind of non-sense to continue though, they should have stomped this out years ago…
A few years back, it was complaints like these that got Sens Stores to remove Leafs products they were selling under a sign that read “Not a Sens fan? Not a problem!”
Well Ottawa Senators Org., that IS the problem!
@Mick
There are only 10,500 to 11,000 season ticket holders in a city of close to a million. In truth there are 11,000 diehard Senators fans and their families (and good on them!) about 2,000 – 4,000 that will show if the team is winning or they can get cheap tickets and the other 3-4,000 are floaters, that just go with the flow.
Make no mistake, there are TONS of Leafs and Habs fans here. Some of them even have season tickets so they can get to see their teams, and give away the rest of the tickets to firends/family!
I’m going to assume that many of the people boycotting and harassing this Roots location have never worked retail, especially over the holidays.
I understand that the intent was to garner more local support for Ottawa’s local (and not currently playing) hockey team, but I would like to kindly remind those in the #sensarmy that a blast against one Roots location using social media sources isn’t going to win your battle. Roots is a private international retailer – therefore decisions of product placement and marketing are not made at store level. The same goes for almost any retailer in any mall. What the post to twitter sparked was not an all out change in product placement, but a siege of people with too much time on their hands calling the store and harrassing employees who already have enough disgruntled holiday shoppers to try and appease. So know the system of which you’re going to start a fight against, and then fight effectively, not loudly. Because all this has likely done is send university students trying to make a buck home with more stress on top of the holidays, exams, and now hockey t-shirts.
I’m sorry but I respectfully disagree.
Retail is like any other industry and if a customer has a complaint they have every right to let you, a representative of the company, know about it.
If you were in a restaurant and your food came out with a hair on it wouldn’t you complain? What would you do if the manager of the restaurant said you had to call their head office in Toronto? I understand the decision to feature Leafs merchandise came from the top, but how are customers who don’t work for Roots supposed to know that?
Also, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is, it’s part of working with the public.
Retail is not exempt from complaints.
And if I bought clothes with a hole in them I would complain – which is the same level as finding a hair in your food at a restaurant.
All I am saying is that I worked for a retail company 3 years ago where we experienced a similar situation with merchandise that not everyone liked, and I can sympathize. The initial complaint is valid, but the unanticipated backlash when it is made public results not in valid customer complaints, but ridiculous phone calls, insults, and the odd threat. Those are not complaints.
The only Sens stuff we can find down here in the Quinte Region is in the dollar stores where it belongs. Leafs stuff makes money, Sens stuff doesn’t….simple as that. How do you think it ends up in the dollar store in the first place….its the last step before going into the dumpster. If there was a big display of Sens stuff in Toronto….nothing would be said because we aren’t hypersensitive thin skinned whiners. Grow up!!!
While (trying) to take a break from a grumpy toddler, I came across the original tweet and (being distracted by said grumpy toddler) misread it. I did not realize there was no Sens equivalent, I thought it was just complaining about Leafs display, so therefore I apologize. I completely agree that is disrespectful to the many Sens fans here as well as to the Sens organization to not represent both teams.
First and foremost, I am a hockey fan, it’s how I met my hubby. I just enjoy watching the game, although I enjoy watching our sons team more than any NHL team.
For the person wondering why Leafs fans are on a Sens site….probably same reason as you, clicking on a link.
Why are the Leaf fans crying about this?? Toronto and their fans really do think they are the centre of the universe!! Morons!!
I am not sure why this is a huge issue. Spencer complained because he had nothing better to do and Roots took action on the complaint.
It is hard for a retailer to please everyone who comes into their store. Don’t like something you see; don’t go back into that store.
Also the Leafs are worth the most money at 1 billion dollars (see link);
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/11/28/nhl-team-values-2012-maple-leafs-first-hockey-team-worth-1-billion/
I can’t seem to find the value for the Sens though… Anyone have that link available?