Senators' AHL team moving to Belleville

The Binghamton Senators are heading north.

The Ottawa Senators announced Monday that the club will move its American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., to Belleville, Ontario. The team will be known as the Belleville Senators and begin play in 2017-18.

Senators owner Eugene Melynk acquired ownership of the AHL franchise as part of the deal.

"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."

The team will play out of the Yardmen Arena, the former home of the OHL's Belleville Bulls, which relocated to Hamilton in 2015. As part of the agreement, the arena will undergo an $18.5-million modernization.

With the relocation, the Senators' top minor-league affiliate will be closer to its parent club, and the team will avoid any delays that came with the club being located south of the border.