The Andlauer Era is Upon Us

Well, the day we've all been waiting for is almost here. The only thing that stands between Michael Andlauer and officially officially owning the Ottawa Senators is NHL approval. Given that Andlauer already has close ties to the NHL's Board of Governors - as a soon-to-be-former part owner of the Montreal Canadiens - that aspect feels like a formality at this point. At the end of the day, there really is no reason Galatioto Sports Partners would put the bidders (and fans) through this dreadfully slow process only to send a winning bid that didn't dot every single i and cross every single t through for Board approval.

This site has steered clear of most of the ownership rumour mill, with the exception of quick hit pieces and features in our Links, News & Notes series. Now that the door appears to be all but closed on the process, let's dive in on Michael Andlauer: who is he and what is his experience in owning sports teams? Should we be excited, nervous or somewhere in between?

Finances

Let's get the biggest thing out of the way: Michael Andlauer is a certified billionaire out of Toronto who is the face and name of this investment in the Ottawa Senators but there's much more to this than just one person. First, Andlauer's fortune started in the transportation industry in 1991. For some people reading this post, there's a chance he's been in this business as long or longer than you've been alive. Since then, he's founded multiple companies, sold off parts or all of others, which is the clear foundation of his wealth today. Currently he is the CEO of Andlauer Healthcare Group, a health care transportation and supply chain management company.

Outside of Andlauer, Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch has reported that multiple prominent business people are also involved in the bid. This list includes Farmboy's Jeff York and the Malholtra family, whom the locals should recognize as the family behind Claridge Homes. A bid including around 20 other investors, some with local ties, seems like it has the potential to give the Sens the best capitalized ownership the team has ever seen. Most importantly, it has real money, diversified over a number of investors both big and small. Rather than relying on the finances of, essentially, one person, Andlauer's bid to own this team appears at a high level to be far more stable than what we're used to.

The question that's on my mind at the moment is: how, and when, will this money be spent? Generally when new ownership takes over a professional sports team, they try to identify a few areas for immediate improvement; quick wins as you might say in the business world. These changes usually have to do with the front office and coaching staff. I think I speak for many Sens fans when I say I hope we see a bolstering of what's been one of the league's thinnest hockey operations groups over the coming months and into next year. Investments in professional scouting and analytics would be the first two places I'd look. It also wouldn't hurt to dedicate some more resources to game day staffing of the arena and other aspects of running the business. Frankly, there won't be a shortage of opportunities to revitalize this operation.

Hockey

It's very clear that while Andlauer has made his money in the business world, his passion lies with hockey. Andlauer made his first move into this realm by purchasing the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League in 2003 - the former affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Just four years after Andlauer made the purchase, the Bulldogs won the Calder Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Speaking of the Montreal Canadiens, six years following his ownership of the Bulldogs, Andlauer bought a minority stake in the Habs as part of a group headed by current Montreal owner Geoff Molson.

In 2015, the Habs ended up purchasing the Bulldogs from Andlauer. In a parallel move, he bought the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League and quickly relocated them to Hamilton to play out of the AHL Bulldogs arena - naming them after the AHL team that once called Hamilton home.

Over the seven seasons played under Andlauer's leadership, the Bulldogs have finished the regular season first in the Eastern Conference on two different occasions, while winning the OHL Championship in both. In 2018, following their championship, they placed third at the Memorial Cup while they lost in the Memorial Cup Finals just last year.

While the owner doesn't (or shouldn't, wink wink) have much to do with the day-to-day operations of a hockey team, it's clear that Andlauer's teams have been run by competent people, including Steve Staios who has been understandably linked to the Andlauer bid for some time now as a potential new face in Ottawa's front office. Staios served as General Manager for the Bulldogs from 2016 to 2022, meaning he was the GM for both OHL Championships and trips to the Memorial Cup in that span of time. Again, was this success due to Andlauer directly? Maybe not. But it's certainly not a bad thing to have on his resume as the owner of a hockey team.

The Future of the Ottawa Senators

Both near and far, the future of the Ottawa Senators under new ownership was always going to be a bit of a question mark. As mentioned, when keys change hands in situations like this, there's almost always another shoe to drop and usually it's in the front office.

First, there have been a number of people linking Steve Staios to Ottawa's front office, including an odd "insider" tweet from noted Leafs Maniac Steve Dangle that was posted almost immediately after the news of Andlauer's successful bid broke yesterday morning. Dangle, like many of us, does wonder if Staios' connection to Andlauer means Pierre Dorion is on his way out or, perhaps, if Staios would be a name to bolster the front office where Dorion and Staios act as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, respectively. Which person would be best for each role? That is something I'm unsure of.

Second, there's the coaching staff. As it stands, both Dorion and a number of Ottawa's most prominent players had backed DJ Smith at the end of season press availability at the Canadian Tire Centre. Recently, Dorion was on the Locked On Senators podcast where he said he has a recommendation for the new owners as to how the team should move forward behind the bench. He didn't say that recommendation was to keep Smith, but he also didn't say it wasn't. That being said, there have been a number of reports that have indicated that, like Staios, there's a Head Coach option that Andlauer's group likes. None other than 2022-23 Memorical Cup Champion coach Patrick Roy.

The news that Roy was potentially connected to the Senators was definitely divisive amongst the fan base. For some, like me, the only real issue was the amount of Montreal connections coming to Ottawa. Too much Habs stank for my liking. But on a serious note, Roy's last NHL coaching gig didn't exactly end overly well. His reputation as a hot-head is well-earned, to say the least. On the other side, he just won a Memorial Cup and coached the Quebec Remparts to a combined 104-27-5 record over their past two seasons in the QMJHL, losing in the Conference Finals then winning the entire league. He's also one of the most decorated NHLers in history. He has three Vezina Trophies, three Conne Smythe's and, of course, four Stanley Cups. So while we don't know how he'd do behind the bench this time around, there are certainly worse resumes out there for a replacement for DJ Smith, should Andlauer go in that direction. Now, if Roy has been tapped for the role, he hasn't indicated it.

Third, I mentioned above that I'd love to see a push for analytics in the near future for the Sens and Andlauer may just be the owner to do that. While it was noted that the Kimel Brothers were very interested in Kyle Dubas and being a forward thinking hockey department, Shawn Ferris of Evolving Hockey tweeted yesterday morning that, as a former employee of Andlauer's Bulldogs, they were pretty ahead of things analytically during his time. If there's one thing that I most want to see happen this summer, it's proper investments in the front office. The Sens have a number of fantastic pieces at the top end of their roster but I firmly believe the difference between a team like Ottawa and one like the Carolina Hurricanes is the use of analytics to identify players with which to round out the bottom of the roster. Hiring someone to lead the charge there - hi Eric Tulsky - and build out a group that will keep the Sens front office well informed would be give me an incredible confidence boost in the future of this franchise.

The new ownership group headed by Michael Andlauer has a long list of items to accomplish over the coming years. In the short term, it's currently unclear when Andlauer will actually be able to start checking off this list. Darren Dreger mentioned yesterday that there's a very real chance Andlauer won't be able to influence anything the team does until the deal is closed, which may not be until training camp is well under way.

I'm curious what kind of conditions, if any, could have been placed in the deal to enable Andlauer to assume some kind of seat at the decision-making table over the summer but I'm about as far from knowledgeable in this realm as one can be. It would make sense to me that the new ownership group would be able to be involved in critical decisions ahead of its inaugural season with the club and feels silly to think that wouldn't be the case. Fingers crossed on that front.

Final Thought

The Ottawa Senators have a very real opportunity ahead to play fantastic hockey on the ice while having stability off the ice for the first time in this writer's memory. With a diversified portfolio of deep pocketed investors, there's no doubt that the money will be there to spend. The hope for the franchise is that Andlauer & Co. will put the people in place to spend it wisely.

What we've heard in the last 24 hours about Michael Andlauer has been encouraging. While his statement from the team was a pretty textbook boilerplate, we heard from Wayne Scanlan about his local investors and intentions to make Ottawa his place of residence. For a fanbase that's used to an owner who spends more time in Barbados and Toronto than Ottawa, this focus on the Ottawa community is a refreshing start.

From what we know so far, I'd say Andlauer has kicked off his tenure as the owner of the Ottawa Senators in a positive light.

I'm excited – feels good!