Incoming Senators owner Andlauer figures to be busy in a hurry

For a guy who doesn’t officially own the Ottawa Senators yet, Michael Andlauer has a lot on his plate. 

Oh, to be a fly on the wall behind the scenes as the new owner in principle of Ottawa's NHL club sorts out his franchise for the upcoming season. 

Andlauer, who made a fortune in the transportation and health-care fields, has signed a binding agreement to be next Senators owner, pending approval by the NHL's Board of Governors.

Considering that Andlauer is already familiar with that board as a minority owner and alternate governor of the Montreal Canadiens, we don’t expect Andlauer to receive anything but a rubber stamp and high-fives from the B of G. 

How long that process takes is not clear. But with the NHL Draft just two weeks away and the NHL free agency period right after that, it’s reasonable to think it will be status quo for now as far as Ottawa’s hockey operations staff. 

General manager Pierre Dorion has a contract for two more seasons and head coach D.J. Smith is entering the final year of his contract. 

Will Andlauer give these two at least one more season and try them on for size as he eases his way into the seat of ownership?

He just might, even though Andlauer has deep ties with Edmonton Oilers staffer Steve Staios, who was president and GM of two OHL championship teams in Hamilton with Andlauer as owner. 

We could see a scenario where Staios is brought in as an addition to the staff, without letting Dorion go. In the short term, look for Dorion to run the draft table while looking to make a trade that could help the team now. 

RFA winger Alex DeBrincat has sent out signals that he may not want to sign back in Ottawa for the long term, and Dorion is exploring trade options that he will certainly run past his 'owner in principle.'

If Dorion stays, what about Smith?

The GM has been more circumspect about the status of the head coach than at any time since he hired Smith four years ago. But that seems largely connected to a deference to the pending change in ownership. 

We can’t know for sure what Andlauer wants to do about the coaching situation here. We can imagine he has watched the Senators closely in recent months, 'scouting' his future team even while connected to its archrival from Montreal. 

While Andlauer and Smith both have OHL ties, Andlauer only moved into the OHL from the AHL in 2015, which was the year Smith left the OHL Oshawa Generals to be an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  

Andlauer owned the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs from 2003 until 2015, before he moved the OHL's Belleville Bulls to Hamilton as the Senators transferred their AHL affiliation to Belleville.

For now, it's all a bit of wait and see on the hockey operations and coaching front. 

Arena deal needs attention

As much as Andlauer has a reputation for being a passionate hockey guy who will be driven to do what is needed to deliver a winning team to Ottawa, he will have just as many off-ice issues to consider. 

The Senators have a memorandum of understanding with the National Capital Commission to build a new arena on a parcel of LeBreton Flats land west of Parliament Hill. There are other options beyond LeBreton that have been identified by mayor Mark Sutcliffe and others. 

Andlauer has already met with the NCC officials who are running the LeBreton project, as did other prospective bidders to buy the team. We don’t know yet which site Andlauer will favour but he has already forged connections with more than a dozen Ottawa area business people and has been advised through this process by Senators co-founder Cyril Leeder. 

Leeder, don’t forget, was Eugene Melnyk’s go-to guy as far as plans for the original arena concept at LeBreton, which fell apart when Melnyk clashed with his new business partners. So, Andlauer is in good hands. 

Suddenly, the path is cleared for a new era of sensible dealings and progress on the arena front. 

Whether it's at LeBreton, Bayview Yards or another site, there isn’t much doubt there will be action taken regarding arena plans in the weeks and months ahead. 

Fans relieved 

Whether the topic is hockey operations, summer signings or arena plans, Senators fans are breathing into their lungs the fresh air of change, with the new ownership FINALLY in sight. 

For the better part of two decades, this team and community suffered under an ongoing side show at the highest levels, never certain what the owner would do or say next. The owner fought battles with current players and alumni, and so it was appropriate that winger Mark Stone, one of the last core players to leave the Senators in 2019, would score a hat trick and raise the Stanley Cup as captain of the Vegas Golden Knights, on the very day that a new owner was announced in Ottawa. 

A chapter closes. A new one begins. With such hope.