'Hockey guy' Michael Andlauer to buy Ottawa Senators, pending NHL approval

From the beginning, Michael Andlauer was the lead candidate to be the next owner of the Ottawa Senators.

And while his quiet bid was overshadowed by sexier pitches from the likes of actor Ryan Reynolds and music artists Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd, in the end, the Senators belong to Andlauer — the one bidder with current ties to the NHL through a minority ownership of the Montreal Canadiens. 

Of course, Andlauer, 57, will relinquish that minority ownership in the Habs as he steps in as the Senators' majority owner, in a story broken by Sportico.com from New York City on Tuesday morning. Andlauer and his group paid close to US$1 billion for a franchise that Eugene Melnyk bought for $92 million in 2003. The signed deal is expected to include 10 per cent equity for Melnyk’s daughters, Anna and Olivia. 

Bids that finished as runners-up were headed by the Kimel brothers and Neko Sparks of Los Angeles. Two other bids were withdrawn in recent weeks. 

 Andlauer released a statement: 

“My family and I are very excited to be a part of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club. I believe that the Senators’ fanbase is one of the most passionate in the league and I’m excited to take the franchise’s success both on and off the ice to the next level.

The short and long-term future of the team is incredibly bright, and I look forward to getting to know the team, the fanbase and the community.

First and foremost, thank you to my wife and family for their support. Thank you to both the NHL and the Melnyk family for providing me with the opportunity to make this dream a reality. Thank you also to my equity partners on the transaction, who like me are committed to bringing success to the National Capital Region. I would also like to thank my financial advisors at Bulldog Capital Partners.”

A ‘hockey guy’

Sources describe Andlauer, the longtime owner of the OHL Hamilton Bulldogs, as a true hockey guy, less interested in the real estate aspect of this transaction than bringing a Stanley Cup team to Ottawa. He also made it a point to include Ottawa area business people in the ownership group for the first time since the early years of the club. 

“He’s more interested in having local ownership partners than celebrity partners,” one source said of Andlauer. 

Prominent among the local ownership partners will be Jeff York, brother of former Senators defenceman Jason York, and Neil and Shawn Malholtra of Claridge Homes. 

York, a longtime CEO of the Farm Boy grocery chain, has been pitching for years to own a piece of the Senators. He put together the ‘Team Ottawa-Gatineau Group’ of local interest, along with Ted Wagstaff. Sources say the Malholtra family has the largest stake in the Senators among area business people. 

Claridge Homes is a natural fit due to the real estate aspect of the deal, which could include a new arena for the Senators in the coming years.

Shawn Malhotra was sitting with former player Daniel Alfredsson during Alfredsson’s Hockey Hall of Fame ceremony last November. And yes, look for Alfie to be back involved with the Senators hockey operations in some capacity.

Another person of interest — Andlauer has strong ties to Steve Staios, who works as a special advisor to the Edmonton Oilers. Staios was general manager and president of Andlauer’s Bulldogs. 

Out of a Roch Carrier novel

Andlauer’s personal story will make a good movie one day, with early chapters that read like a Roch Carrier book. Born in France, Andlauer grew up in Montreal under the care of a single mother. Instead of mistakenly receiving a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater from a catalogue order, as in The Hockey Sweater book, Andlauer got the real deal — a Montreal Canadiens sweater for Christmas. It didn’t have a number, so Andlauer used hockey tape to patch a No. 10 on the back of it as a tribute to Guy Lafleur, wearing the sweater to play pickup hockey in the park across the street. That Andlauer would grow up to one day be a part owner of his beloved Habs was beyond even boyhood dreams. 

But it happened. Serendipity has been a constant companion. 

As the story goes, Andlauer, a beer-league goaltender, was in Denver in 2009 to receive a hip procedure when he ran into then-Habs owner George Gillett, whom Andlauer knew because of Andlauer’s American Hockey League ownership. The two met for dinner and agreed on a deal that would give Andlauer a share (about 10 per cent) of the Canadiens and the Bell Centre. 

Andlauer, who owns ATS Healthcare and is president/CEO of Andlauer Management Group (AMG), studied business at York University and made his money in the healthcare transportation business. As a student at York, he started working for McCain Foods to raise money for tuition and eventually took over their transportation operation — the start of his entrepreneur ventures. 

In 2002 he bought the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs, which is how he got in the door of Habs ownership (the Bulldogs were the Canadiens’ farm team). Though he eventually sold the AHL team to the Canadiens in 2015 (who then moved the club to St. John's), Andlauer remained in the ownership game, purchasing Belleville's Ontario Hockey League team and moving them to Hamilton. He kept the Bulldogs name alive in the process. (That team is set to move to Brantford this season and there is no word on how his NHL ownership will affect his OHL interests.)

It is AMG’s Habdog Investments that control the Bulldogs ownership and the partnership with the Habs. 

Andlauer and his wife, Lucie, have three children: Mathew, Michael Jr., and Alexie. 

Given Andlauer’s strong hockey background, it is going to be an interesting summer in Ottawa as he sets forth plans for the hockey club, on and off the ice.