BELLEVILLE, ON — In early October, Michael Andlauer traveled to Belleville to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the recently renamed CIBC Place, home of the Belleville Senators.
Andlauer had controlled the Ottawa Senators as majority owner for just over three years. Before taking over the Senators, he owned the Hamilton Bulldogs, first in the AHL and later in the OHL after the latter franchise moved from Belleville. That OHL team moved temporarily to Brantford before being sold by Andlauer in 2025 and staying there permanently.
The hockey musical chairs along Highway 401 continued this year when the New York Islanders moved their AHL affiliate to Hamilton and renamed them the Hammers. Coincidentally, the Hammers were in town that day to face their new provincial rivals in the Belleville Senators home opener.
As Andlauer stood in the CIBC Place lobby for a post-ceremony interview, he noticed two familiar faces in Hammers jerseys. He recognized them from his time with the Bulldogs and greeted them.
“Different colors, huh?” Andlauer joked.
“Got to stay with my hometown team.” one fan replied.
– Everything is fine. Nice to see you again, Andlauer said.
All kidding aside, Andlauer is pretty happy in Eastern Ontario these days, whether it’s in Belleville or Ottawa.
“I use the word super excited because we’ve built a foundation of consistency, care, hard work, and I think we’re starting to see the fruits of our labor,” Andlauer said of his outlook for the season.
“I look at this lineup this year, not just in Ottawa, but even in Belleville, and it’s a lot stronger than I’ve had in the three years I’ve been here. So I salute our hockey team, led by Steve Staios, who (laid) the foundation for success in a very competitive league, but not just this year.
The Senators reinforced that foundation on Monday by signing head coach Travis Green to a contract extension that will keep him in Ottawa for at least four more seasons. Staios also rewarded Green’s staff Mike Yeo, Nolan Baumgartner, Ben Sexton and Justin Peters with multi-year extensions.
“This is stability, isn’t it? I think at the end of the day, you look at it even from a fan perspective, like re-signing Drake Batterson, when Claude Giroux decides to come back to Ottawa and play here, they all have choices and they decide that, you know, this is a stable environment. This is the environment in which they want to play.
“In years two and three, we made the playoffs after an eight-year (drought). So it was important to give hope to our fans. But it’s not a one-time thing. For me, it’s about creating a solid foundation that we can continue to build on and continue to grow.”
Green’s extension was the latest in a series of announcements made in the Canadian Tire Centre’s media room over the past month.
First, Thomas Chabot stood next to Staios and Green on the podium after his wife and newborn daughter surprised him with the news that he would be the team’s next captain.
Just days later, Staios introduced locker room attendant Bradley Mitchell as the team’s new emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) in a mock press conference attended by the team.
They were joyous moments that showcased the “care factor” that Andlauer has emphasized time and time again over the past three seasons.
“This is a team game. It is not an individual game. You know, everybody has to be in the right direction or pull or push. And finally, I think one of the things that’s not always measurable is character,” Andlauer said.
“And going back to the values that I try to promote, in terms of working harder and caring more, obviously we’re seeing that. And that’s to increase communication, increase care, people feeling valued and knowing what their accountability is. I think everyone moving in the same direction is what excites me about this year and is key to success.”