Elliotte Freidman on the group that may potentially buy Ottawa Senators: "There could be a group with a lot of multicultural voices"

Since the Ottawa Senators were put up for sale in November, many parties have expressed an interest in purchasing ownership of the team. The first stage of the bidding process has been completed.

Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds is one of the big names that joined a bid to buy the team. However, there are some unknown names that have not been revealed as potential buyers.

Elliotte Friedman discussed the sale of the Ottawa Senators on a recent episode of the '32 Thoughts' podcast with co-host Jeff Marek. Friedman brought up the possibility of Los Angeles-based businessman Nico Sparks preparing a bid to purchase the team. He said:

"I have a suspicion and I do not know if this is true. But, again, Bettman pointed out in the GM’s meeting that not all the speculation has been accurate."

"I just want to say that people are really trying to be careful with this stuff, so it's hard to say what is 100 percent true and what isn't. But there is a suspicion that the high bid so far is from Nico Sparks. He is a very interesting individual."

Elliotte Friedman added:

"He runs a tech firm, Pixel Lime and the only real question I have heard about the group he has put together is that the NHL gonna want this kind of ownership structure. Because in the past, the league's preferred one big owner and then you have smaller partners if you want."

Friedman also said that Ryan Reynolds and the Remington Group are currently the frontrunners in acquiring ownership of the team. Reynolds also has ties to Nico Sparks. This added fuel to rumors that the two parties could team up to purchase the Senators.

"Someone said to me, if this group becomes a big factor, it's gonna be interesting to see who is in it. Because obviously the star name right now is Ryan Reynolds and the Remington Group. People are curious because of his connections with Nico Sparks, who he could have in that too."

If there was any group that could surprise the NHL during the selling process, it would be the Nico Sparks-led group. According to reports, the group consists of 13-15 investors. 75% of those involved are people of color.

"I think he is very interested to put in a group that has a lot of multicultural voices and there are some people who suspect that if anybody came out big, it’s this group."

The Ottawa Senators' price tag is expected to be around $800 million. But it could reach $1 billion once the sale process is completed.

Other bidders interested in purchasing the ownership of the Ottawa Senators

Dallas Stars v Ottawa Senators

Actor Ryan Reynolds, the Remington Group (led by Christopher Bratty), Ottawa Generals owner Rocco Tullio and billionaire Michael Andlauer are reported to be the frontrunners. There are also other bidders whose identities are unknown.

According to Gary Bettman, after the first phase of bidding is completed, the second phase could be held in a matter of weeks. Read the full story here.