Senators Owner Sets Tone With Rangers Accusation

The Ottawa Senators were swept up in some of the biggest trade drama of the NHL season when a rumor broke out stating that captain Brady Tkachuk was the new target for the New York Rangers. It wasn't a wild speculation as the Rangers have been active in the trade market over the past few weeks.

To the owner of the Senators Michael Andlauer, however, it was a violation. He likened it to soft tampering, something the league has been very vocal about putting an end to, making it a violation of league policy. But the bigger violation came when this rumor gained traction in the first place. Trading your captain is certainly not what Andlauer considered part of his plan to oversee the Senators back to postseason prominence when he purchased the team one year ago.

It's the exact opposite, actually. And after putting out multiple fires due to rumors and speculation over the past 12 months, Andlauer had enough. He immediately called out reporter Larry Brooks of the New York Post and potentially the Rangers organization and sources within the league for allowing this to catch fire. When he spoke to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic about it, Andlauer didn't hold back when speaking on Brooks and how he came to report this information.

"Or he’s being fed false information and if indeed he’s being fed false information, or people are giving this information from another NHL organization, I don’t know — we just had a big memo about tampering from the NHL. I might consider that soft tampering,” he said.

The Rangers declined to comment on the quasi accusation, but the words are out there. It won't end any of the behind closed door negotiating that happens in the NHL and that's besides the point.

What this did was force the entire NHL to take notice of the Ottawa Senators while their owner made it clear that his team is no longer a punching bag to the league. For years, the Sens have been one of the worst teams in the league. It's not a quick or simple fix, but having a dedicated and passionate owner is an excellent start.

There aren't many owners who have been so fiery and vocal about their hockey team's front office operations, but for the Senators and their fans, it must be a salve to the years of Eugene Melnyk's ownership tenure. A tenure that was marked by their team's unwillingness to spend and a resistance to taking big swings moves when presented the opportunity.

In the year and a half since Andlauer bought the Senators, the team has showed an explicit desire to turn things around. They traded for and signed goaltender Linus Ullmark to give the team a bonafide number one net minder. They extended young defender Jake Sanderson to an eight-year extension worth $64 million. The core of Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Thomas Chabot are locked in already, and keeping them around has been made a priority.

And then the team has made an effort to add players to help them win now. Veteran forwards David Perron, Michael Amadio, Adam Gaudette, and defender Travis Hamonic signed or re-upped their deals to stay in Ottawa this past summer. There's been a building sense around the league and organization that this team is on the right path forward.

And that's why Andlauer's comments in response to the Tkachuk rumors was fitting. Beyond that, it could be a rallying moment for an organization desperate to take the next step but held back. The team on the ice is fighting every night and to see the owner showing that same passion surely sets the tone for a winning organization.