The National Hockey League has thrown cold water on a viewing party for fans of the Montreal Canadiens at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau.
Twenty-four hours after the organizers of the watch party in Gatineau of the Eastern Conference final between the Habs and the Carolina Hurricanes put tickets on sale, they were forced to cancel them on Thursday because the NHL didn’t green-light the event.
The plan was to show Game 2 of the series between the Habs and Canes, which is set for Thursday night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, at the 4,080-seat rink located in Gatineau.
According to a report by Radio-Canada, organizers from the Grands Feux du Casino Lac-Leamy had partnered with the Festival Outaouais en fête and Vision Multisports Outaouais (VSMO) to show the game.
The arena is the home of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Gatineau Olympiques and it’s an area where the Senators are trying to gain a foothold to help grow their fan base.
What did the Ottawa Senators say?
A spokesperson for the Senators referred the Ottawa Citizen to the league for comment. The NHL owns the rights to all broadcasts and didn’t give the organizers the go-ahead to hold the gathering.
“We appreciate the passion and excitement surrounding the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” a league spokesperson from the NHL’s head office in New York said in a statement sent on Thursday afternoon.
“However, this planned event, organized by an independent promoter, never received the necessary authorization required by the NHL, Senators or Canadiens for large showings of our games.”
The NHL rules state that teams own the regional territorial rights within 80 kilometres of their city limits, which means the league is simply acting in the best interests of the Senators in this case.
For example, if the Buffalo Sabres had advanced to the East final instead of the Habs, a group in St. Catharines wouldn’t be allowed to hold a watch party in that city because it’s part of the Toronto Maple Leafs region.
If you consider that scenario, allowing fans of the Habs to gather only 40 minutes from the doorstep of the Canadian Tire Centre doesn’t make any sense for the league or the Senators.
Especially when owner Michael Andlauer, who purchased the Senators in Sept. 2023 for $950 million US, has gone to great lengths to try to build up the fan base on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River.
The club has agreed to purchase 11 acres of land from the National Capital Commission to build a new arena at LeBreton Flats.
The two sides are working hard to complete the final sale of the land and we’re at least six years away from the Senators playing at LeBreton.
Sens moving closer to Gatineau
But a move downtown by the Senators will bring them to the doorstep of Gatineau. The Senators held a Black-and-White intra-squad game at the Slush Puppie in Sept. 2024.
The Citizen reported on April 10 that Andlauer is in discussions with the owners of the Olympiques about purchasing a possible share in the club, which would help the Senators’ marketing in Gatineau.
Before the start of last season, Andlauer held his season-opening press conference at a groundbreaking for the expansion of the Laiterie de l’Outaouais, which was playing a role in the club’s Future Sens program.
The Laiterie is undergoing a $17-million expansion and modernization, which includes investments from the city of Gatineau, along with the provincial and federal governments.
The report by Radio-Canada said tickets were being sold for $13 each, with the profits going to various charitable organizations. The watch parties have popped up all over the province of Quebec since the Canadiens embarked on this long playoff run last month.