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Bettman insists 'no issue' with Senators' future in Ottawa amid turmoil

Michael Martin / National Hockey League / Getty

Gary Bettman insists he isn't worried about the fate of the Ottawa Senators amid a pair of ongoing scandals involving the franchise.

"There's always going to be some issue somewhere that has to be dealt with," the NHL commissioner told reporters, including The Canadian Press' Joshua Clipperton, following a Board of Governors meeting ahead of the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

"The headstone has been written over the years for many franchises under a variety of circumstances and none of the burials ever took place. It's a moment in time," Bettman added.

The commissioner has been forced to intervene with other franchises over the years, but he doesn't see the need to do that yet in Ottawa.

"We don't think the club is anywhere close to cardiac arrest ... there's no issue up there," Bettman said. "I think it's more sensationalized than anything else."

There have been rumblings that the club might some day be put up for sale, a notion that Bettman attempted to squash before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final last month when he insisted Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is committed to the franchise.

Then came the two legal matters that the club is currently embroiled in.

Last week, Melinda Karlsson, the wife of Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, applied for a peace bond against Monika Caryk, the fiancee of then-Senators forward Mike Hoffman, alleging a harassment campaign that came to a head after the Karlssons' son, Axel, was stillborn in March.

Hoffman was traded to the San Jose Sharks and then subsequently to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Before that, Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee was arrested and charged with harassment following an alleged incident involving a hotel shuttle driver in Buffalo ahead of the NHL scouting combine. Lee was initially allowed to remain in his executive role but was then suspended by the club until the resolution of his case.

He's due back in court on July 6, meaning he'll miss the NHL draft this weekend in Dallas.

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