Tod MaffinCanadian Commentator, From Far and Wide · Emotional Support Canadian

Is it Canadian: HOCKEY EDITION!

7 Feb 2025 · 3 min

Watch on YouTube

2:36

In this episode of the "Is It Canadian" series, the host examines whether major hockey equipment brands and NHL franchises are Canadian‑owned. He starts with a teaser question about the nationality of NHL team owners, then reviews five key hockey brands: Bauer (originally Canadian but now owned by the publicly traded Performance Sports Group, making ownership non‑Canadian), CCM (owned by Canadian private‑equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, thus Canadian), and Sherwood (acquired by Canadian Tire, Canadian). The host then evaluates the ownership of every Canadian NHL team: the Montreal Canadiens (owned by the Canadian Molson family), the Toronto Maple Leafs (owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, controlled by Canadian telecom giants Rogers and Bell and individual Canadian stakeholders), the Ottawa Senators (majority owned by Canadian Michael Andlauer), the Winnipeg Jets (owned by Canadian True North Sports & Entertainment), the Calgary Flames (owned by the Canadian Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation with six Canadian co‑owners), the Edmonton Oilers (owned by OEG/Katz Group led by Canadian Darryl Katz), and the Vancouver Canucks (owned by Francesco Acciuglini, a Vancouver‑born Canadian). The episode ends with a promise of a future "beer edition" and reviews of other Canadian brands, a call for viewer suggestions, and social‑media prompts.

Chapters

Hello and welcome to Is It Canadian, the series where I tell you if your favourite brand is actually Canadian owned. This episode, hockey edition. And before we start, true or false, most Canadian NHL teams are actually owned by Americans. The answer is at the end. Okay, we're going to start with Bauer. This is one of the biggest names in hockey equipment. It was Canadian founded. It is now owned by Performance Sports Group, which is a publicly traded company, so ownership is dispersed but not Canadian. CCM is another major player in hockey gear. It is owned by the Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, which also owns the Rexall drug chain. CCM is Canadian. Sherwood, known for their hockey sticks and other equipment, this was acquired by Canadian Tire. Now to the NHL teams. The Montreal Canadiens are owned by the Molson family, who bought it in 2009 for $575 million. They are Canadian. The Maple Leafs, who suck, are owned by the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Group, which owns a ton of stuff— hockey teams, stadiums, soccer teams, basketball teams. Most of its life it was publicly traded, but In 1990, a teacher's pension plan, which owned about 80% of it, sold their stake to a joint venture between Rogers Communications and Bell Media. Last year, Rogers said that it would buy Bell's stake, which is about 37%, sometime this year. So Canadian. About 25% of the company is also owned by a guy named Lawrence Tenenbaum, who is also Canadian. The Ottawa Senators are mostly owned by one guy named Michael Andlauer. Some other business people own smaller stakes. They just bought it a couple of years ago for a little under a billion Mr. Adlauer was born in France, but is Canadian. The Jets are owned by True North Sports and Entertainment, a Canadian company mostly controlled by two guys. One is a lawyer, the other is a British-Canadian media magnate who is also a Baron in England. The Flames are owned by a private company called Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation. It has six co-owners. It also owns the Stampeders from the CFL. It is Canadian. The Oilers are owned by a company called OEG, which used to be called the Oilers Entertainment Group, which used to be called the Rexall Sports Corporation, which was an umbrella company for the Katz Group. It's led by a guy named Darryl Katz, who is Canadian. And the Canucks are owned by a company run by a guy named Francesco Acciuglini or something like that. It sounds incredibly Italian, but he was born in Vancouver and is Canadian. Coming up is a special beer edition of Is It Canadian? And also Boston Pizza, Lululemon, McCain Foods. Are any of them actually Canadian owned? Tell me in the comments what other brand you think I should do next. Follow me on Bluesky and Twitch, and here's your daily Otis.