OHL Shakeup

[OHLArenaGuide]

For those of you who don't follow the rest of the CHL closely but are interested, the Mississauga IceDogs have been sold to Eugene Melnyk (who also owns Toronto St Mike's and the Ottawa Senators). After this season the Majors will be moved to Mississauga and the IceDogs will be sold again and moved to a new home. There are press releases on the team sites if you're interested.

[Triton]

What are the cities are interested in the Ice Dogs?

[Toswammi]

I have heard that Niagra is looking seriously into getting a team.

[dj-kris]

For those of you who don't follow the rest of the CHL closely but are interested, the Mississauga IceDogs have been sold to Eugene Melnyk (who also owns Toronto St Mike's and the Ottawa Senators). After this season the Majors will be moved to Mississauga and the IceDogs will be sold again and moved to a new home. There are press releases on the team sites if you're interested.how is that even legal?

[Beaner]

how is that even legal?


Melnyk has purchased the Ice Dogs, and the Team has been put into a "Blind Trust". No trades will be allowed between the two teams.

Basically he owns it but he cant run it.

here is the whole article.



Wednesday, July 12, 2006


Mississauga IceDogs Purchased by Eugene Melnyk


Toronto, Ontario - The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Eugene Melnyk, owner of the St. Michael's Majors Hockey Club, today announced his purchase of the Mississauga IceDogs Hockey Club from majority owner, Mario Forgione.

Melnyk's ownership of the IceDogs is structured as an interim measure that will eventually see the transfer of the club to a new, strategically aligned market deemed satisfactory to the Ontario Hockey League. During this interim period, the IceDogs and the Majors will continue to play out of their current, respective arenas. Upon completion of this transition, Melnyk will relocate the Majors to Mississauga's Hershey Centre, ensuring his longstanding commitment to secure a larger, more updated arena for the team, while still serving junior hockey fans in the Greater Toronto Area.

"The prospect of continuing junior hockey in a vibrant and hockey-rich city like Mississauga is very exciting," said Melnyk. "I remain committed to continuing the great legacy of the St. Michael's Majors and look forward to working closely with the community, Mayor Hazel McCallion and all levels of hockey to build upon the passion and excitement of junior hockey fans that currently exists in Mississauga."

"Over the years, Eugene has developed a strong affinity and appreciation for the City of Mississauga and its citizens. He is one of Canada's most accomplished business leaders and our community has benefited directly from his successful entrepreneurship in a very tangible and meaningful way. We know how deep his commitment is to our community. That community commitment, along with his love and passion for hockey, is a great formula for success. Our city couldn't be more excited about welcoming Eugene and the Majors to our hockey community," said Mayor McCallion.

The OHL unanimously and conditionally approved the sale at its June board of governors meeting held in Toronto. The sale agreement will see all hockey operations-related aspects of Melnyk's ownership of the IceDogs held in a blind trust that, among other things, prevents any player movement between both teams during his ownership of both clubs.

"This transfer of ownership resulted from the diligence and creative goodwill demonstrated by Mario and Eugene," said David Branch, commissioner of the OHL. "Both are to be commended for bringing forward a unique and strategic ownership proposal that supports the overall mandate and long-term success of the OHL."

Commissioner Branch also announced the OHL will appoint an independent governor for the IceDogs in the coming weeks. "This appointment will ensure the IceDogs retain a strong management and operations capacity while preserving the full integrity of the blind trust arrangement committed to by Mr. Melnyk," Branch said.

[dj-kris]

Couldnt this be seen as a trade he is moving a team out and bringing his team in strange.

[OHLArenaGuide]

What are the cities are interested in the Ice Dogs?

It'll probably be a bidding war between Niagara Falls and the Buffalo area, with the highest bidder getting the team. Niagara Falls has arena issues though (their current one is small and needs major work, so a new building would have to be on the way) and there really isn't a 4-12,000 seat arena in Buffalo so the team might have to play at the HSBC Arena at least at first.

Cornwall and North Bay have outside shots I think.

[dondo]

I heard this and thought the whole thing sounded pretty dodgy.. how can the board of governors approve this kind of sale? I don't think the citizens of Missasauga would be too hapy about this one.

Wasn't Cherry a majority owner of the Ice Dogs, or had it changed hands after that time?

[OHLArenaGuide]

I heard this and thought the whole thing sounded pretty dodgy.. how can the board of governors approve this kind of sale? I don't think the citizens of Missasauga would be too hapy about this one.

Wasn't Cherry a majority owner of the Ice Dogs, or had it changed hands after that time?

Basically, the OHL made a mistake putting four teams in the GTA. Originally there was supposed to be St Mike's downtown, the Battalion in Brampton and Oshawa in the east, which would have been all right. But then Don Cherry came along and all of a sudden we had two teams ten minutes away from each other on the same street. After Maple Leaf Gardens closed the Majors were homeless and because MLSE wants to control all the hockey in Toronto, they wouldn't let Melnyk buy MLG, and because it's Toronto, there really wasn't any land available for him to build an arena, so St Mike's was forced to play in a 1600-seat arena with 180x80 ice for the past six years.

Everyone has known for years that the situation would have to change eventually. Basically, both Brampton and Toronto are owned by men richer than God (and Scott Abbott, the Battalion owner, is a FAN of his team more than anything else - he goes to every single game they play home and road and has only missed about five since 1998). The guy who owned the Dogs, Forgione, was basically just a businessman who was offered more than double what he paid for the team and jumped at it.

In a nutshell, Melnyk bought an arena for his team out of this deal and he'll recoup some of the money back when he re-sells. Meanwhile the OHL finally corrects the fact that no one ever wanted four GTA teams in the first place.

[RunTheGoalie]

$9 million just to find a place to play... ouch!

I wonder if this is a good solution though. Have the people of Missisauga grown attached to the Ice Dogs, and would they automatically support this move? Or hell, would they simply avoid the lame-duck Ice Dogs this year knowing the team is moving?

Regardless, it is good that the OHL is getting out of a Junior B calibre arena.