Senators Owner Michael Andlauer is Fed Up

It’s been quite the first year and a bit for Michael Andlauer as owner of the Ottawa Senators. You can even go back further, when he was trying to win the bidding war, with the process becoming increasingly frustrating as it moved along. From there, you’d hope for a nice smooth year. Some playoff hockey would’ve been nice, for him and the fans. Instead, it’s been headache after headache, from the team playing horrible hockey last season, to the incompetence of management losing him a future first round draft pick, and then Shane Pinto being suspended for half of last season. What’s been made clear is that Michael Andlauer is fed up. With the recent saga of his captain Brady Tkachuk being put into trade rumours (again), Andlauer has spoken up. Let’s dive into the details.

READ MORE: Revisiting the JG Pageau Trade

Accusations of Tampering Against the New York Rangers

After a silly rumour came out that suggested the Rangers are targeting Brady Tkachuk, here’s what Andlauer had to say to Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic:

“When I see our captain, in the one year I’ve been here, there’s been three separate occasions where there’s been fires we had to put out. I can tell you 100 percent there’s never actually been an ounce of discussion about Brady Tkachuk being anything other than an Ottawa Senator”

The other, quite juicy part of what Andlauer had to say, was this: “We just had a big memo about tampering from the NHL. I might consider that soft tampering.”

This is all in reference to Larry Brooks’ report that stated that Brady Tkachuk was the New York Rangers trade target to revamp their roster.

Thoughts on Andlauer’s Comments

I understand Andlauer’s frustrations. He’s looking to build a winner with Tkachuk leading the way, and once again he has to shoot down nonsense. I appreciate Andlauer going to bat for his team and his players. He’s also keeping the fans from freaking out over the thought of their captain being traded in the near future. He has shown himself to be a passionate owner that cares about the well-being of the players.

His wording left something to be desired, though. I wouldn’t have used the word tampering, personally. To accuse a team tampering, even if it’s soft, is significant. Andlauer has essentially made an enemy out of the New York Rangers organization now. They’ve already responded, calling the accusation “irresponsible”.

I’m of the opinion that less is more with ownership. It seems like it’s often the owner’s you hear about the most that cause the most frustration for their organizations. Senators fans can certainly attest to that. By all means, try to do right by your players, fans, and team. Try not to make enemies along the way, though. Senators management, for example, has done a great job of keeping things private with Staios in charge. Perhaps Andlauer could’ve handled this in a more subtle way.