When Ottawa Senators Michael Andlauer arrived at what used to be the old Lexus Lounge in the bowels of the Canadian Tire Centre to meet with several local media members before Friday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens, he was all smiles.

His hockey team had clinched its first playoff berth in eight years, representing the first of his ownership era. Andlauer's friendly nature was understandable.

When he bought the team, he had no informed opinion or true understanding of what kind of roster he had. He knew the players were young, so all of his excitement stemmed from a single belief.

 "The excitement of buying the team was (tied to) the fact I had a young team," the owner acknowledged. "(A young team) that you could mold into what you thought its potential could be."

 Clinching a playoff spot was a pivotal moment in this franchise's history.

 Andlauer is the first to acknowledge that he has not endured "eight years of pain" but recognizes what the playoffs mean to his players, fans and staff.

 "The excitement came because I was just so happy, but not for myself, because I haven't endured eight years of pain as our fans have," explained Andlauer. "Fans are a lifeblood, and I am a fan. For me, (clinching) in that moment was like, 'Wow, you did it.'"

Once the Senators clinched, he immediately called general manager Steve Staios to congratulate him and pass along compliments to the coaching staff.

 His next call was to the captain, Brady Tkachuk.

 "He is everything that our fans believe in," Andlauder described while taking pauses between smiles. "(Brady) has the right character. He cares so much, (he's) very young, too. Desirous, cares, wants to do right, and both on and off the ice, you see what he does off the ice, as well.

"To have that desire and that care. You've heard me say it before, work harder than your competition, and care more. The care more part is just as important, and he does. For that, we're very fortunate to have him as our captain."

Andlauer described that conversation with the captain.

"I reached out to him and just told him how happy I was for him," Andlauer recalled. "In light of everything he's gone through and to be in this position now, I'm really (happy for him).

"My excitement is for the fans and players who have endured this. I reached out to Thomas Chabot the next day as well. These guys have played over 500 games with our organization, (were) drafted and have never (played in the postseason). I know they're hungry for the playoffs, and now they can taste it. It's going to be great."

Andlauer can feel the excitement building within this city.

He knows the 'Sens Mile' signs have gone up on Elgin Street. He feels it when he arrives at the arena and exchanges pleasantries with a longstanding security guard named Bill. He hears it when his daughter, who works part-time in merchandising for the organization, informs him that they have run out of their supply of car flags.

Andlauer's excitement goes beyond the fans and players, it extends to his longstanding employees within the organization.

"From an employee standpoint, we have people that care, who are willing to work hard, and maybe didn't have direction," he stated. "I really don't want to talk about the past, because for me, I'm just looking forward.

"I've never endured what our fans have, so I can imagine our employees probably feel the same way. It's an exciting time for the city."

Given the parity and competitive nature of the NHL, Andlauer was uncertain whether this iteration of the club would reach the playoffs - especially when the team had its annual November struggles.

"(Success) doesn't come easy, and you learn from that," Andlauer said. "You see how people rally together. We communicate a lot better today than we did this time last year, as an organization and as a team. It's a team game, and it needs support.

Support means, when you say care more, it's care more for the person next to you. Be happy for that person's success. A guy like David Perron, is bringing that in this dressing room, for example. If you win and it's easy, I don't think it's much fun."

Winning can certainly be more fun when facing adversity, but no one will object to the opinion that it is essential for this young core's growth and development. This season, with its highs and lows, should be a strong foundational building block piece for this group moving forward.

Given the team's competitiveness and ascent up the standings, Andlauer reflected on the team's prospective draft position and whether postseason success would influence the organization's decision to forfeit its 2025 selection as punishment for Pierre Dorion's culpability in the Evgenii Dadonov no-trade clause scandal.

"Steve (Staios) asked me that question, and I'm still hoping that I get some type of forgiveness from the commissioner," Andlauer noted. "You got to look at draft classes as well.

"If we obviously were Stanley Cup finalists, then we're picking second last or last. So we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But, you know, looking at the draft class and where we would pick today. It would be 17th or 18th, something in that area. (We would) sit down with our amateur scouts and see what's coming up and in next year's draft class. It's so hard, but ultimately it'll be Steve's decision. I would probably lean towards the fact that we're going to keep our first-round pick this year, and you have to feel that we're going to get better; therefore, the first pick could become less valuable."

It is encouraging to hear that the owner will likely continue to lobby the league and commissioner Gary Bettman for forgiveness.

One of Andlauer's longstanding complaints about the sale process was the lack of disclosure from the estate and the league regarding the investigation into the Dadonov trade with Vegas. Considering how it was downplayed, it fuels speculation that Andlauer was kept in the dark for the purpose of driving up the sale price.

Interestingly, due to the fallout of the Dadonov situation, the league has rolled out a new private app for its franchises to modernize the league's rosters, contracts, and salary cap information.

According to an article on Sportsnet, the league worked with SAP "to develop an app for Apple iPads that streamlines Central Registry data, cap and long-term injury status and no-trade and no-move clauses and lays it all out for general managers and league executives to access at their fingertips for the first time."

This app was officially revealed on March 20, 2025, but general managers have had access to it since December.

When I asked Andlauer about the league introducing this new tech to help front offices around the league, he had no clue what I was referring to. With the owner's public admission that he was still looking for relief from the Dadonov punishment, I wanted to raise a point about this app's introduction and whether its existence could indicate culpability on the part of the league.

Say what you want about Pierre Dorion's incompetence or willful ignorance; the existence of this product years ago would have allowed Vegas to access the status of Dadonov's no-trade clause and to which teams it would have applied.

Coupled with the lack of disclosure that the league and the estate provided during the sale process, it may provide enough substance for Andlauer to go to the league and leverage these truths into a less severe punishment.