Bryden: Ball is in Manley's Court

  Bryden confirmed Thursday he is starting to look at selling the NHL team to U.S. interests because the federal government hasn't yet offered tax breaks he says are necessary for his team to compete with American teams.

  But Industry Minister John Manley shrugged at the threat the team may move.

  "Rod Bryden took on this hockey team, he's got problems," the minister said Thursday outside the House of Commons.

  "I'm sorry for him but that's not my problem."

  Manley said he's doing what he can to help Canadian NHL teams but he can't bring the issue to cabinet unless the so-called other stakeholders come through.

  While the city of Kanata and the Ottawa region have promised the Senators property tax cuts of nearly $4 million -- with the Ontario government covering roughly half that amount -- there has been little input from the governments of British Columbia, Quebec and the municipalities surrounding Canada's other NHL teams.

  "I will need to have a broader mandate," Manley said.

  Bryden wants the federal government to provide $3.7 million to $5 million in tax cuts. That's the amount the NHL contributes each year to Canadian-based teams qualifying for the league's currency equalization fund.

  If the federal government were to match efforts undertaken by the league, "this team will be here for a very long time," Bryden said.

  The 58-year-old New Brunswick native is well-versed in the art of politics.

  He is well-connected to the federal Liberal party, having worked for a federal cabinet minister before founding the high-tech computer firm Systemhouse.

  Bryden contends he will lose close to $10 million on the team this season and he blames what he thinks are excess taxes.

  The former law professor said 22 cents of each dollar the Senators take in is paid out in taxes. And once the exchange rate is factored in, Bryden said the team has only 54 cents of each dollar to pay U.S. bills.

  He said his goal is to keep the eight-year-old franchise in Ottawa but he won't if it's going to lose millions of dollars each year.

  "I love hockey," he told a packed news conference at the Corel Centre.

  "But not that much."

  Manley, who represents the riding of Ottawa South, is facing local pressure to support the Senators, but his political instincts suggest it's a losing proposition.

  "This is a part of the fabric of my community, and I believe NHL hockey is also a part of the fabric of Canada, that's why I think it's important," he said of his efforts to find some help from the federal government.

  But Manley doesn't appear to believe there is enough support around the cabinet table for the federal government to act alone in subsidizing the Ottawa Senators.

  He said he needs to see the players' association, the league and other governments make an effort first.

  By formally announcing his intentions to sell the team if the tax breaks don't come, Bryden is sending a message to Manley.

  "I would much rather that the government speaks up and says 'No we're not going to do it' (then let it drag on)," Bryden said.

  And if that happens, Bryden said the team will be sold, and quite likely shifted south because there isn't a lineup of potential suitors waiting at the Corel Centre entrance.

  "I have certainly canvassed the market quite thoroughly and I haven't gotten to the point where anyone is prepared to discuss investing in this team in Ottawa."

  Bryden said the team could fetch up to $160 million US -- what the Quebec Nordiques are now worth as the Colorado Avalanche -- if sold to American interests.

  Bryden denied a report that there were already five offers for the team at the NHL office in New York.

  But one group that expressed interest Thursday was the owners of the New Orleans Brass, which play in the East Coast Hockey League. The team plays in a new $110 million, 20,000-seat arena designed to attract an NHL or NBA team.

  Bryden said he would sell quickly if someone were to step forward with the promise to keep it in Ottawa.

  "If someone were prepared to take on the obligations of the building which I have (the debt on the Corel Centre), and buy the team and pay me $80 million US for it, we could actually have the closing ceremony right here, live, on camera."

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