Last year when I was standing in line at a Rogers Store waiting to turn in some old hardware and upgrade to the Nextbox, when I was distracted by the unmistakable presence of Frank D’Angelo on Rogers’ in-store televisions.
According to IMDB, what I was watching was some gangster flick that D’Angelo wrote, starred in and provided the musical accompaniment for. A many of many trades, none of which he’s particularly good at, D’Angelo has always been the kind of guy who is not afraid to put himself in the spotlight. From the his late night talk show on CHCH or the unforgettably self-serving Cheetah Power Surge energy drink ads which took advantage of a disgraced Ben Johnson or the now defunct Steelback Beer, D’Angelo likes his business ventures like he enjoys his hair style: spread thin.
Today was the first time that I’ve seen D’Angelo show up in some form in quite some time thanks to a link that was re-tweeted into my Twitter timeline by @SensNation.
MUST WATCH: @FrankDangelo23 thinks the #Sens could relocate to Markham in time for the 2017/18 #NHL season https://t.co/yWJu1InhYP
— NextSportStar.com (@NextSportStar) August 10, 2015
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Apparently, D’Angelo hosts a featured ‘Being Frank’ internet radio sports program on NextSportsStar.com alongside Bill Watters and Phil Esposito. Today, the trio addressed the top of relocation and NHL expansion before concluding that Markham would have a team in place for the 2017-18 season. D’Angelo took it one step further by predicting that Ottawa would relocate
The full segment can be listened to below:
Here’s a transcript of what was said:
Frank D’Angelo: “I have a strong feeling, and you guys can tell me to fuck off, that the Ottawa Senators will become the Markham team.”
Bill Watters: “Well, that’s a possibility, but…”
D’Angelo: “That’s my big gut feel. I don’t think that the ownership in Ottawa can sustain any more losses. I don’t think (Eugene Melnyk) has the staying power to sustain those losses.”
(Pretty sure it was Watters who chimed in with): “You’re saying that to be polite, Frank. You know he doesn’t.”
D’Angelo: “Well, I don’t. I don’t. I really don’t because I don’t do his books and I’m not trying to be facetious with you or (be) disrespectful to you, but I’m just telling you, it would make more sense for me, as a businessman, to put that team — and he’ll get big money for it — and the appreciation should cancel out his losses and move that team to Markham.
Phil Esposito: “I think (Gary) Bettman wants to do that. He wants to take a team that is genuinely low in attendance and has lost a lot of money. And I think Carolina and Florida fit that bill.
The topic of Melnyk’s financial wherewithal hasn’t come up in quite some time, but with the organization fully engaged in a RFP process to build a new arena at LeBreton Flats, the likelihood of the Senators relocating anytime soon is nutty. There’s the chance that Melnyk cashes out once all the revenue streams have been maximized. He already has his new regional television deal with TSN in his back pocket, so maybe once a new arena deal is in place, he’ll sell when the franchise’s value will be highest.
Or maybe he won’t.
Whatever the case, it won’t stop fans from fulfilling D’Angelo’s request by telling him to fuck off because the team won’t be moving to Markham.
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