OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators, unable to pay their players last week, may end up filing for bankruptcy.

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	The Ottawa Senators are expected to file for reorganization under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada and in the United States under Chapter 11. With the help of Brian O'Leary, a partner in charge of the insolvency law group at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer in Calgary, ESPN.com explains the intricacies of the future business challenges facing the team.

An official announcement could come as early as Wednesday, according to various reports.

The Ottawa Sun reported the Senators would file for protection from their creditors in Canada and the United States and receive a short-term cash infusion from the NHL.

NHL spokesman Frank Brown said Tuesday the league had no comment until the team took action.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings are the only franchises in the four major pro sports leagues to file for federal bankruptcy protection in the last 29 years. Pittsburgh did it in 1974 and 1998, with the second filing leading to Mario Lemieux's taking over the club. Los Angeles filed for bankruptcy in 1995 to allow the purchase of the team to proceed.

After the Senators failed to pay players on Jan. 1, team owner Rod Bryden met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to come up with a plan to help the financially struggling team that has the most points in the league.

Bettman said Friday he hoped financing could be arranged and finalized this week.

Lemieux gained control of the Penguins in federal bankruptcy court on Sept. 3, 1999. He was a major creditor because of deferred payments the team owed him from his playing contracts.

Bankruptcy protection allows a company to continue operating and prevent creditors from going after the team's assets. It also gives a business time to deal with creditors and come up with a long-term business plan, and could lead to a sale of the Senators and the Corel Centre where the team plays its home games.

The Senators' debt is around $102 million to creditors, with its main creditors the NHL, owed about $9 million. Total debt, including the arena, is in excess of $224 million.

A complex $150-million financing deal that would have seen investors pump $27 million in cash into the franchise failed on New Year's Eve after at least one major creditor rejected the plan.

Court-ordered protection does not allow a company to abandon union contracts, such as the Senators have with the NHL Players' Association.

The Companies Creditors' Arrangement Act in Canada -- similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States -- gives a company protection from its creditors, usually for an initial 30-day period that can be extended by a judge if progress is being made toward restructuring.

Under bankruptcy protection, though, outside interests can put in offers on all or part of a troubled company and a judge can rule if a sale is in the company's and creditors' best interests.