The Senators finished this season with a NHL-worst 64 points amidst the process of a full rebuildGETTY IMAGES
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday reiterated the Senators are "not for sale," according to Wayne Scanlan of SPORTSNET.ca. Bettman appeared on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to talk about reducing hockey-related concussions, was asked if the Senators are in financial difficulty, to which he replied, "Not that I'm aware of." Bettman then "grew more animated when someone asked him if the Senators would move." Bettman responded, "NO!" The NHL is "believed to have been involved" in helping Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk "hire a new president of hockey operations to provide guidance" to GM Pierre Dorion. But Bettman "did not bite on an insinuation that the NHL would have a hand" in doing so (SPORTSNET.ca, 5/1). In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch wrote this year was not an "easy season on or off the ice for the Senators." The club, which finished with a league-worst 64 points, is undergoing a "full rebuild." Attendance also fell, and the team has "launched an aggressive season ticket campaign to try to restore the market's faith in where the team is headed" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 5/2).
