Sheldon Plener

SHELDON PLENER WAS THE LONGTIME FRIEND AND ATTORNEY FOR EUGENE MELNYK WHO WAS THERE WHEN MELNYK BOUGHT THE OTTAWA SENATORS IN 2003, AND AS ONE OF THE EXECUTORS OF HIS ESTATE, PLENER OVERSAW THE SALE PROCESS IN 2023. DURING THE 20-YEAR SPAN, PLENER WAS AN ALTERNATE GOVERNOR OF THE TEAM, A CONFIDANT OF THE OWNER AND THE STEADY SHIP WHEN SEAS GOT ROUGH FOR MELNYK. A LONGTIME FRIEND OF THE PUBLISHER OF THE HOCKEY NEWS, PLENER SAT DOWN TO DISCUSS THE SALE PROCESS AND MORE ABOUT MELNYK

WITH W. GRAEME ROUSTAN

W. GRAEME ROUSTAN: What was it about Eugene Melnyk where he was willing – at his own cost, out of his pocket – to keep the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa. What was it? SHELDON PLENER: I think we really get back to his love of the game. There are not that many Canadian markets. This market in Ottawa, he loved and appreciated, and it was the capital of the country. It gave it a little special treatment for him. And I mean, he incurred substantial losses for a lot of years there. But he endured it, and he wanted to keep the club. The number of approaches I had with regards to purchasing the club – especially when maybe the fan base turned on Eugene and the crowds diminished – there…

You're reading a preview of

The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Money & Power 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.