The ink may still be drying on the sale of the Ottawa Senators but it sounds like Michael Andlauer is already beginning to put his stamp on the franchise.
According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, Andlauer has already met with the NHL’s Executive Committee (which includes Gary, Bill and a handful of other Owners) and was given the go-ahead on his purchase. Approval of the full Board of Governors is the next step in the process and the current thinking is that could happen any day now, and certainly by early September.
So while the process to sell the Ottawa Senators dragged on a little bit and getting this thing across the finish line has required a wee bit of patience, it does sound like we are dotting i’s and crossing t’s at this stage of the proceedings.
What is becoming increasingly clear though is even though he may not have completed the formal steps in the process, Andlauer is already sitting in the driver’s seat. And once that light turns green, he’ll be ready to hit the gas.
Sorry, sorry – watched way too much NASCAR and F1 this weekend.
Rumours are already swirling that both Cyril Leeder and Daniel Alfredsson will be brought back in the fold in some capacity. Leeder on the business side of things, possibly in a similar role to the once recently vacated by Anthony LeBlanc, and Alfredsson in an elevated Player Development role of sorts.
Think, King of Player Development.
At the same time, we’ve learned that the Senators will look in their own backyard in an effort to beef up the Analytical side of the operations. And by beef up, I mean uh, create.
While the organization has gradually adopted analytics in their Front Office and both Dorion and DJ Smith have talked about how they use numbers in their decision making, the idea of a full-time analytics person is new for the Senators.
Tierney, who runs Sport Logiq, has worked closely with Andlauer in the past and has links to the Ottawa area. Bit of a no-brainer.
Without starting an intense debate about the value of analytics, this is at least a small step in the right direction and maybe an early-indication of a shift in organizational mindset. Having an analytics guy on the payroll isn’t going to make the Ottawa Senators win more hockey games but if they find meaningful ways to incorporate data in their decision-making, it can only represent a net benefit for the organization moving forward.
Onward and upward!
-With the Senators still flirting with the cap ceiling, one of the ideas kicked around by fans in terms of cap relief was Anton Forsberg starting the season on LTIR. Not happenin’, according to today’s article from Ian Mendes. Forsberg is back to 100% health and actually could have played if the team made the playoffs. Good news all around. Goaltending was a huge issue for the Sens last year and a lot of it had to do with the health of Anton Forsberg. If both he and Joonas Korpisalo can stay healthy, the Ottawa Senators have one hell of a tandem in net.
