Images of David Kirouac-Imagn
Since Michael Andlauer became the new owner of the Ottawa senators in 2023, he was very transparent as to his desire to extend the range of the team beyond the border of Ontario in Quebec.
For some sense fans, however, putting a jersey divided by the Nordic-Otostawa hybrid senators on Mascot Spartacat is probably a step too far. The team deleted an article on X with this image.
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The controversial position followed the announcement On Monday, he will play two pre-season games before the NHL 2025-26 season at the Videotron Center in Quebec.
The matches are scheduled for September 28 and 30 against the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadians, respectively.
The announcement is the last in a series of actions and that Lauer took to improve the French -speaking scope of the team.
The subject became a priority for Andlauer when taking over, while he directed the creation of a community cabinet in 2024 to ensure “a strong commitment with French and English Canadians and, above all, the Algonquin Nation Anishinaabeg which The traditional territory welcomes the operations of senators. “
The diversity of the bilingual Ottawa market was a key consideration in the decision to hire Sylvain St-Laurent last summer as the team’s communications director, which is well suited to help extend the French-speaking base of Senators. GM Steve Staios has also constantly stressed the importance of the Quebec market for the success of the franchise.
The President of Senators Cyril Leeder continued this air today. He explained that the Nordic Senators jersey was only an attempted growth in the team’s database in its second most popular television market, according to the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
“We just try to have a little wink to the Nordic fans”, ” Leeder told TSN 1200 Monday afternoon. “These are the fans that we are most likely to convert to the fans of senators, these are people who have applauded the Nordics in the past.
“If we had well-being on that one, would we do it differently? We will probably do it.”
Fans of meaning. For clarity
1. The team does not move. Period. (except hope in the city center)
2. Putting our beloved Sparty in a Sens / Nords jersey was wrong. Today was a good reminder that our logo is sacred. As CEO, I have thisNow, I hope we can all focus on washing #Gsg
– Cyril Leeder (@cyleeder) January 28, 2025
Quite innocent, but Andlauer also said at a press conference that he would be open to his team playing regular season games in Quebec. It threw the Ottawa fans base in a mini-panic on social networks.
This is what is so frustrating. A completely uncomposed error has removed the real story: the #Sense 50 games in the season are in a divisional spot for the first time since the year we went to the conference final. It should have been the story of the week. Not that. https://t.co/ttuawqk6ec
– Talk sense (@Senstalk_) January 27, 2025
“We are going to start with the two pre-season games, and we will go from there,” said Andlauer. “For me, it’s vision. It is to make our brand in Quebec and on a French -speaking market. If we can play in Sweden, we can play in Quebec.”
The NHL has avoided any intention to bring a franchise to Quebec. But the faithful of the senators can be forgiven to be very sensitive to the idea that their franchise plays regular season games outside Ottawa. Former owner Eugene Melnyk, who died in 2022 at the age of 62, bought the bankruptcy team in 2003, say at the time He wanted to buy the senators to make sure they stayed in Canada after the Nordics moved to Colorado. In 2017, one day before welcoming Canadians in an outdoor match, he said that the team was fighting to sell tickets.
“If it doesn’t seem good here, it could be very, very well elsewhere, but I don’t suggest it at the moment”, ” Melnyk said in 2017.
I prefer when Ottawa senators play home matches in Ottawa.
This fans base has gone through too many threats to lose our team to openly recommend playing regular season games in a market that is trying to get a NHL team.
The global economy shows that an American team will not move …
– Locked on senators (@Senscentral) January 27, 2025
However, Leeder told TSN 1200 that Andlauer was fully attached to Ottawa. Andlauer also declared the same at the press conference.
Leeder also declared his observation of reactions to the announcement on Monday.
“The reaction on Twitter was a bit of both, positive and negative” ” He said. “Facebook was very positive.
If you read the French media today, I think our mission has been accomplished. “”
This comes after a separate announcement last week from the National Capital Commission (NCC) which it aims to finalize an agreement on the arena with senators by the end of 2025, which is a more sedation calendar than many hoped.
Leeder said that as much as the senators wanted to be able to “put shovels in the ground tomorrow”, the project, which he estimated at more than a billion dollars, will perform carefully in partnership with the CCN.
“Michael clearly indicated that it is not a question of moving to Quebec – it is not a tactic here to move the CCN,” said Leeder. “These matches were in preparation for a while.”
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