After enduring almost two decades of unpredictable volatility under its previous owner, the first 16 months of Michael Andlauer’s stewardship of the Ottawa Senators were distinguished by diligence and mindfulness.
It was a necessary and welcomed change, but it only helped magnify how abnormal Monday’s press conference in Quebec City was to announce the Senators will be playing two exhibition games there next fall.
If dressing Spartacat in a Frankenstein half-Senators, half-Nordiques jersey to promote the announcement represented the first misstep of the Andlauer era, the second was acknowledging that if the Senators can travel to Stockholm to play regular season games, they can play in Quebec City.
While Andlauer left Quebec City feeling good about the announcement, it was not until he listened to TSN 1200‘s ‘The Drive’ program that afternoon that he truly understood the magnitude of the day’s events.
The organization had already been in damage-control mode for most of the week. Senators president Cyril Leeder appeared on TSN 1200 to assuage the fan base, while Ian Mendes, their vice president of communications, selflessly took to social media to encourage fans to reach out to him directly to express their discontent.
What Andlauer did next was unique.
The Senators owner was taken aback, losing sleep Monday night over that afternoon’s sports radio discourse, and knew he needed to end any residual speculation.
To do that, Andlauer met with a small media contingency in the Canadian Tire Centre’s Lexus Lounge ahead of last night’s thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Washington Capitals. To have a Senators owner sit down privately with the media and explain his side of the story was unprecedented. It certainly never would have happened under Eugene Melnyk’s watch.
“I did not sleep that night because I care so much about this team,” Andlauer explained. “I realized that (the media) are so very important to the success of this franchise.
“You’re close and personal with our team and the conduit to our lifeblood, our fans. What you say and what you write is so important to our fans. They listen. (Knowing that), it is important that the narrative is right and that we don’t start speculating.”
An unintended consequence of Monday’s announcement was that it coincided with reports that negotiations between the Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC) have progressed slowly. There is a pressing desire to get shovels in the ground, build the organization’s future home, and grow this small market franchise’s fan base.
Each day that passes without a resolution means escalating construction costs and a growing impatience with the bureaucratic red tape that inevitably arises from the negotiations with several levels of government.
Without that agreement in place, the timing of Monday’s announcement could have cynically been viewed as a mechanism to create leverage in the organization’s negotiations with the NCC.
According to Andlauer, the timing was, unfortunately, coincidental. After spending most of his time as owner focused on improving and developing the organization’s hockey operations side, Andlauer has recently focused more on expanding its business operations.
Andlauer looked at the organization’s French television rights ratings in Quebec and noticed an intriguing spike of interest in the Senators’ matchups against the Colorado Avalanche. Given the Avalanche’s ties to the area and recognizing the possibility that not all Quebecois hockey fans grow up cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, Andlauer saw potential in growing the franchise’s marketability and presence in the province of Quebec.
The idea of playing exhibition games in Quebec City was born in the summertime.
“We’re a border town,” Andlauer said. “We’re the only other team that is truly bilingual, even though the previous ownership really didn’t pay much attention (to that market).
“I see this as a low-hanging fruit to generate more revenue for the Ottawa Senators. Look at small market teams in the NFL like the Green Bay Packers. (Their fans are) all over the place. I thought to myself, all these (small market) cities that can’t have an NHL team, we have coverage over on the media side of things. All the Halifaxes and St John’s Newfoundlands of the world are opportunities where we can bring in more Sens fans.”
Andlauer claims to have not realized that the Quebec provincial government negotiated with the NHL, Quebecor and the Senators to host upwards of five games at the Videotron Centre during the 2022-23 season. These games never materialized, but the possibility of regular season games being played outside of Ottawa in cities openly campaigning for an NHL expansion franchise was a point of contention for Sens fans. Under Melnyk, the threat of relocation was made during his infamous tirade at the outdoor NHL 100 Classic event.
Senators fans understandably have sensitivities. Part of it stems from being wedged between two hockey-crazed markets in Montreal and Toronto. The other factor is that Senators endured having their franchise be operated by one of the most mercurial owners in North American professional sports.
At one end of the spectrum was an owner who once encouraged fans to “get their own bomb and go blow themselves up.” At the other end is a genuinely embarrassed owner who acknowledges his mistake for not better understanding this organization’s history.
“I heard snippets from the past, but I didn’t appreciate the past,” Andlauer said. “Shame on me for that.”
Like the mistake with the Sens/Nordiques hybrid jersey that deservedly earned scorn, what I find intriguing is that Andlauer has surrounded himself with people familiar with that history.
Team president Cyril Leeder took full ownership of the jersey gaffe during that aforementioned TSN 1200 interview. While I understand the intent behind the jersey was to market the event and potentially create some fan service for long-suffering Nordiques fans, I am struggling to understand how Andlauer’s supporting cast did not have the foresight to realize how fans in Ottawa would react and speak out to prevent an easily avoidable mistake.
(The only exemption should be Spartacat, but only because he can’t talk.)
Unlike the Los Angeles Kings, who received upwards of $7 million for holding part of their training camp in Quebec City and played two exhibition games at the Videotron Centre last fall, the Senators will not receive any significant financial windfall for their involvement next fall.
The Senators will generate revenues like they would if the games were played at the Canadian Tire Centre, but revenues from the games will be split with Gestev. This Quebecor-owned subsidiary company specializes in the creation and production of events.
“(We’ll receive) no government funds,” the Senators owner stated. “It’s a business deal that we have with Gestev. They get a profit, and we’re gonna get a profit.”
Profits were a priority of Gestev. Although it would have made sense for the Senators to insist that Montreal not be involved in any exhibition games to convert more Québécois fans and put more eyes on the Senators, Gestev insisted on having the Canadiens participate in driving ticket sales.
The announcement’s timing was also fuelled by Gestev’s desire to kick off ticket sales and capitalize on interest while the NHL season was being played. Gestev initially wanted the announcement done before Christmas, but it took longer to broker a deal with the New Jersey Devils.
Andlauer wants to treat the Senators like a business.
“(I want to be) fiscally responsible,” the owner said. “From that standpoint, I don’t care to make money in this, in on this team. It’s not about making money.
“How do I optimize as much revenue as possible? I want to have enough revenue so we can have, you know, close to a cap team and win a championship. That’s my only purpose of being the caretaker of the Ottawa Senators.”
A significant avenue the Senators are looking to exploit is the neglected and untapped Gatineau market. Andlauer acknowledged that the organization is negotiating with the city to build a Sensplex. The organization also has grassroots initiatives planned, like the preseason scrimmages and player availabilities.
“We lost a whole generation in Gatineau of young kids by default because they have been neglected,” said the owner. “Gatineau is still a priority.”
The hope for Andlauer is that francophone hockey fans look at the team’s involvement in these Quebec City games not as a one-off but as one step in an aggressive and long-term commitment to build a relationship with prospective fans across the border.
With the fans in Ottawa, there has to be some empathy and recognition of what they have gone through. At the same time, it is hard to disregard the nervous energy that can often permeate this market when it comes to things like the arena deal falling through or relocation.
Andlauer respected the fans’ response to Monday’s announcement, which felt genuine. He appeared contrite, but more importantly, he understood that day was a learning opportunity to improve.
For someone who took his first missteps since arriving, it represented a marked change from the past.
Andlauer wants fans to know he is all-in on Ottawa as a hockey market. Its small nature and intimacy appeal to him. He bought a house along the canal and announced his intention to retire here eventually. He wishes to placate the concerns about this team’s future, but that can only come with time when his actions align with his words.
This article is from The Hockey News Ottawa website. Other recommended articles include:
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