Snoop Dogg, The Weeknd Lose Bid to Become First Black NHL Owners After Ottawa Senators Sale to Rival Investment Group

Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd have expanded their brands in dozens of unique and intersting ways, from investing in tech, hawking clothing lines, books and wine to starring in HBO dramas. But the one business the pair have not yet been able to crack is the NHL.

Snoop was part of a group assembled by L.A.-based entrepreneur Neko Sparks in a bid to purchase the Ottawa Senators, while Toronto-bed The Weeknd (who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye) reportedly joined a rival bid led by hometown billionaires Jeffrey and Michael Kimel of Harlo Capital Group. Both men were hoping to be the first Black owners of an NHL franchise.

While Tesfaye is a Toronto native and avowed hockey fan with ties to Ottawa and Snoop teamed with the NHL in 2018 for the weekly video series “Hockey 101 With Snoop Dogg,” neither man — nor actor Ryan Reynolds, who was also reportedly part of one of half dozen bidding groups — made the final cut.

According to ESPN, the A-list power was not enough to win out in the end, with the Senators board of directors announcing on Tuesday that a group led by Andlauer Healthcare Group CEO Michael Andlauer put in the successful bid at nearly $1 billion; the board has not yet disclosed the final terms of the deal. Andlauer, 57, who also owns the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs, will have to divest in his 10% stake in the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens team as part of the pact.

“My family and I are very excited to be part of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club,” Andlauer said in a statement according to ESPN. “I believe that the Senators’ fanbase is one of the most passionate in the league, and I’m excited to take the franchise’s success — both on and off the ice — to the next level.”

The site reported that Andlauer’s bid edged the one from the Kimels, as well as the one from Sparks, which was said to be “underfunded.” The losing bid came after Snoop openly coveted the team on his socials, writing on Instagram in May, “amazing what @neko_sparks is trying to do in Ottawa & I’m looking forward to being apart of that ownership team. I WANNA BRING HOCKEY TO OUR COMMUNITY.”