Ryan Reynolds' Bid for NHL Team Fails: Wrexham Co-Owner Misses Out on Ice Hockey Venture

Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds will not be adding the Ottawa Senators to his sporting portfolio after pulling out of the race for the NHL franchise.

The Hollywood actor, who has enjoyed considerable success alongside Rob McElhenney at the Racecourse Ground, had formed part of a consortium that was hoping to complete a takeover of a leading outfit in the world of ice hockey.

 The Canada native was working with real estate developer Remington Group in a bid to take control of the Senators – who were put up for sale in November 2022 following the passing of long-time owner Eugene Melnyk. 

According to ESPN, Reynolds and Co have seen their “request for an exclusive window to complete the deal” rejected, leading to them withdrawing from the bidding process.

Reynolds and his team were reportedly ready to offer $1 billion (£798m) for the Senators, who are valued at around $800 million (£639m) by Forbes, with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman welcoming interest from the Deadpool star back in December 2022 when he said:

 “[Reynolds] very much impressed us. If we can figure out a way to have him included, I think that would be great for the Senators and great for the league. He's very smart, he has a number of businesses besides the acting business, and he understands sports and he understands promotion. I think he told us his followers on all of his platforms combined was well over 100 million.”

While Reynolds is out of the running, a number of famous faces are still involved in a takeover battle that requires interested parties to have offers on the table by May 15. 

Rapper Snopp Dogg has joined Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks in his bid, while Canadian music star The Weeknd forms part of the team put together by Toronto billionaires Jeffery and Michael Kimel.