Michael Andlauer makes bitter comment towards Gary Bettman regarding draft pick forfeiture
Senators owner Michael Andlauer made another scathing remark toward Gary Bettman today, referencing an old grudge between the two.
This grudge stems from before Andlauer even took over as owner of the team. In fact, it goes all the way back to 2021, when the Senators traded Evgeni Dadonov to the Vegas Golden Knights. Apparently, the team failed to disclose Dadonov's no-trade list to the Knights during this deal which ultimately resulted in a rejected trade between the Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks at the 2022 trade deadline. Last summer, the NHL finally announced a ruling on this matter, forcing the Senators to forfeit a 1st round pick in their choice of the 2024, 25, or 26 draft.
Ottawa will forfeit its first-round draft pick in one of the 2024, 2025 or 2026 Drafts. The determination as to which pick will be forfeited will be made by Ottawa within 24 hours of the conclusion of the Draft Lottery for that year. The League will have no further comment on the matter.
Understandably, Andlauer was not happy with this decision. For staters, this is a far bigger punishment than other teams have received for far greater grievances. For example, the Chicago Blackhawks were fined a measly 2 million dollars for their cover up of the Kyle Beach situation. Secondly, he was not even involved in the franchise when the trade was made, but he is the one getting punished for it. Furthermore, Bettman reportedly did not warn Andlauer about this possibility before the sale of the team went through, which could have resulted in real legal consequences for the NHL, but Andlauer chose not to escalate. That being said, he is clearly still bitter about the situation and referenced it again today in an interview with francophone media. The following quote has been translated from French.
Hopefully, the Senators will not be involved in any more scandals like this under their new ownership. So far, things to be good on that front, but the on-ice product was still very disappointing last season. Perhaps the addition of Linus Ullmark can propel the team back into the playoffs but that is yet to be seen.
Source: HockeyFeed
Sens owner Michael Andlauer takes a shot at Gary Bettman.
| POLL | ||
21 SEPTEMBRE | 102 ANSWERS Michael Andlauer makes bitter comment towards Gary Bettman regarding draft pick forfeiture Do you think it is fair that the Ottawa Senators should have to forfeit a draft pick even though current ownership had nothing to do with the illegal trade? | ||
| Yes | 61 | 59.8 % |
| No | 41 | 40.2 % |
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