OTTAWA -- Michael Andlauer is elated the Ottawa Senators are heading to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but he knows it's even more impactful for those who have been waiting years for this moment.
On Tuesday, the Senators ended the third longest playoff drought in the NHL when they clinched their first playoff berth since the 2016-17 season. Andlauer is in his second season as Ottawa's owner since his purchase of the team Sept. 21, 2023.
"I was just so happy, but not for myself because I haven't endured eight years of pain as our fans have,” Andlauer said Friday before Ottawa's 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Centre. “I've said it to you: The fans are our lifeblood. And I am a fan. And for me, that moment was like, 'Wow, we did it.'”
After an initial congratulatory call late Tuesday night with president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios, Andlauer had two other people on his mind.
“I hung up on Steve and I go, 'Brady Tkachuk must be so excited.’ So, I reached out to him and just told him how happy I was for him in light of everything he's gone through and to be in this position now. … I reached out to Thomas Chabot the next day, as well. These guys have played over 500 games with our organization, drafted and have never [made the playoffs]. I know they're hungry from the playoffs. Now they can taste it."
Tkachuk and Chabot have played their entire NHL careers in Ottawa, both first-round picks by the Senators — Tkachuck No. 4 in 2018 and Chabot No. 18 in 2015. Along with Tim Stutzle, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Drake Batherson, Jake Sanderson and Shane Pinto, they are centerpieces of the homegrown core that had struggled to take the next step.
After a trying 2023-24 season that ended with the Senators finishing 14th in the Eastern Conference, Staios made it an offseason priority to supplement that foundation. Ottawa hired coach Travis Green, acquired a clear-cut starting goalie in Linus Ullmark, traded for veteran defenseman Nick Jensen and signed Michael Amadio, David Perron and Nick Cousins, three depth forwards with Stanley Cup rings.
"In junior hockey, I bought the Belleville Bulls (in 2015)," Andlauer said, "and I'll never forget I was told by an agent 'Michael, congratulations, but this is a team that we're not too desirous of having our players going to and if they have a choice, they'll go Tier 2 in the NCAA’ or whatever.
"So, I was kind of taken aback. And I brought Steve on at that time, actually, and we kind of spent the year observing, looking at what needed to be done. And interestingly enough, we've gone through the exact same process here. You could just see the potential of this team, but it needed the right culture, it needed to have, as Steve has alluded to, an identity. But basically, it's a maturing process and Steve pulled all the right strings."
Excitement is skyrocketing in Canada's capital. Crowds at Canadian Tire Centre are the largest and loudest they’ve been since the Senators made the 2017 Eastern Conference Final. Andlauer notes the season ticket holder base has grown by 600, and this week, the merchandising department ran out of car flags.
Andlauer can feel the momentum building.
"It was easy to fall in love with this team,” he said. “Starting off with the city, I think you've heard me say it before, this city fits me more than the larger cities, maybe because I've always been the underdog. It's kind of neat that we're going into these playoffs as the underdog."
If the playoffs started today, Ottawa would face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round. For Andlauer, the possibility is undoubtedly tantalizing.
"From a fan's perspective, you want to have the battle of Ontario, obviously. I've heard [team president] Cyril [Leeder] say it's bad karma to wish [for it]. For me, it's the same thing, but if I'm wearing my fan's hat, bring on the Leafs, please."
The two teams share a fiery past. The early 2000s featured four postseason series, all of which Toronto won, but this current Senators team bears none of the scar tissue the old guard had built up. And Andlauer is ready to reignite the rivalry, just like Ottawa forward Ridly Greig did with his infamous slap shot into an empty net in a 5-3 win against the Maple Leafs on Feb. 10, 2024.
"You know that was my favorite moment of last year, right? Actually, I addressed the players at the end of the year and I told them," Andlauer said. "I said, for me, it was more of a statement, because we had so many Leafs fans in our building, it was more of a statement to our Leafs fans than an actual statement to the other team. ... It's a great rivalry and that's the beauty of the game, right? Playing the game, building these rivalries and making our city proud."
