Senators buy AHL affiliate, will move the team to Belleville, Ont.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators are moving their American Hockey League team to Canada.

The Senators announced Monday that team owner Eugene Melnyk has purchased Ottawa’s AHL affiliate currently residing in Binghamton, N.Y. and will move it to Belleville, Ont. for the start of the 2017-18 season.

According to the statement, the City of Belleville will undertake more than $18.5 million in renovations to prepare the city’s Yardmen Arena for professional hockey.

Belleville was home to the Ontario Hockey League’s Bulls from 1981 to 2015, when the team moved to Hamilton and became the Bulldogs.

“Hockey is back in Belleville. The people of Belleville are a deeply passionate and proud hockey community,” Melnyk said in a statement. “This community has truly earned the return of hockey and I am committed to making the Belleville Senators an integral part of the city.”

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Ottawa’s AHL affiliate has resided in Binghamton since the 2002-03 season. The team won the Calder Cup championship in 2011.

The Canadian Press