Of course NCC would say that, anybody can bid and an NHL arena could be a good anchor to build-up Lebreton as an attraction.
Some are trying to connect the dots wrt re-hiring of CFO Erin Crowe and a potential new hockey arena, but any new ownership talk seems like the same ol' same ol' with no resolution in sight.
Melnyk did pursue a sale of the team of (rumoured $430M +/-) that the NHL BOG rejected. Doesn't mean they don't want the team to be sold, but they would make sure it is sold for the price they set and the new owner is going to be in good standing financially.
So yes, the appetite is likely there from Melnyk to sell, but getting full value is tough when the Sens organization, top to bottom, on and off ice, is a shitshow.
In any case, I think it's all bullshit to deflect the focus away from Melnyk and Dorion for standing pat, respectively, in the current state of the franchise. The fans and media covering the team need to hear from Sens ownership and management, and knowing how they run the show it won't surprise me if a legit source linked to/within the organization leaks these rumours that would make Iraq's former Minister of Information proud.
André Desmarais (of Power Corp.) and Guy Laliberté (of Cirque du Soleil) were interested in some sort of partnership. They were even on hand to backup Melnyk in NCC hearing to see through the bid (with Melnyk retained as the "hockey man" and the Senators being part of Devcore's build plan) that was ultimately cancelled by NCC.
I always think it's a matter of time before ownership structure changes, but that time is not nigh (unfortunately).