Few months ago, Michael Andlauerformer minority shareholder of the Montreal Canadiens, acquired the Ottawa Senators and thus became the new owner of the organization.
However, days after seeing the sale confirmed, the league officially announced that it had imposed a hefty penalty on the franchise, causing them to lose a first-round pick in the future, no less, due to a botched trade by the Team GM at the time: Pierre Dorion.
We will remember the fiasco of the transaction Evgeni Dadonov who had gone from the Sens to the Vegas Golden Knights by hiding his team list from them which accompanied the partial no-trade clause included in his contract.
During his first press briefing as new owner, Andlauer addressed the situation, making no secret of his dissatisfaction with the league’s decision which had just caused him to lose a first round pick for an event which he had no control before his arrival.
But it is sometimes said that revenge is a dish best served cold.
Over the past few days, the Stanley Cup Final took place in the NHL, the most important moment of the year for the league, while Gary Bettman hopes to have maximum media exposure on the final matches and the presentation of the Stanley Cup, which is why he asks the 30 other teams not to make major announcements during these few days, especially during the match nights, to avoid overshadowing the match in question.
What did the Sens do? Literally 15 minutes into Game 7, the most important moment of the year in the eyes of the commissioner, they announced a major trade as they acquired goaltender Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins. The announcement was made right during the pre-match warm-up, creating a bit of media coverage and certainly making Bettman red with anger.
Genius. Nothing less! He could have done like the rest of the teams in the league and followed the instructions by waiting until the next day before making his announcement, but no, he chose the most strategic moment possible.
Needless to say, he made sure to remind the league of his discontent in the most brilliant of ways.
