Gary Bettman called out by Michael Andlauer for unfair punishment after the sale of the Ottawa Senators

Andlauer was talking with French-speaking media when he revealed that he had talked with Gary Bettman this morning. It appears as though it was Bettman who initiated the conversation but Andlauer was ready for it, getting a quick jab in at the NHL commissioner.

For transparency, the following quote has been translated from French.

Of course, the new Senators owner is referencing a decision that Bettman made last year in regards to a trade that occurred years before Andlauer bought the team. In short, the Senators traded Evgeny Dadonov to the Vegas Golden Knights, but failed to inform Vegas about his limited no-trade list.

The following season the Knights attempted to trade the Russian forward to the Anaheim Ducks but that was one of the teams on his no-trade list that Vegas was unaware of. As a result, Bettman decided to take a first-round pick away from the Senators but gave the team the choice between 2024, 2025, and 2026. The team selected Carter Yakemchuk 7th overall this year, so now they only have the choice between 2025 and 2026.

Luckily, this is not the only reason Andlauer is in the news today. We also have updates on the Senators' goal to move to a new building. The new team owner went on the record today stating that he does not want Canadian taxpayers to foot the bill for the new building.

He also revealed that he hopes to have the new building for the team in place within five years. This is just a hopeful estimate though, not a strict guideline, so try not to get your hopes up too much. Regardless, it is nice to see the team finally make some progress on this front.

So while the Senators will still be out one 1st-round draft pick, at least they have a new building to look forward to in the relatively near future.

Source: HockeyFeed
Sens owner Michael Andlauer takes a shot at Gary Bettman