Senators’ Andlauer shoots down potential Quebec City move amid arena talks
Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer hopes that the NHL brings a team back to Quebec City, but he doesn’t see that as an option for his squad.,
Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer has never been shy about wanting his team to have more of a footprint in the Francophone market.
So it comes as no surprise that the Senators will be playing a pair of pre-season games as part of a four-day stay in Quebec City, where the team will engage in a number of community initiatives next season.
Andlauer has wanted to see the Senators play games in Quebec City ever since he bought the team back in 2023. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Kings beat him to the punch in 2024 after playing a pair of exhibition games against the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers at Vidéotron Centre.
There has always been a desire for the city to bring an NHL team back after the Quebec Nordiques relocated to Colorado in 1995, but many have speculated there is a better chance of new U.S. markets joining the league.
Andlauer hopes that a return to Quebec City eventually happens, though. He even hopes that the city will be able to see more than just Senators exhibition games going forward, but he isn’t thinking about the team taking up permanent residence in Quebec.
“Quebec deserves, in my opinion, an NHL team, but that will not be on my file. In the future, I hope we can play a few regular season games in Quebec City,” Andlauer said. “If we can play in Sweden, we should be able to play in Quebec City. That’s a decision the NHL must make.”
When it comes to his own team, Andlauer admits that it has been a tough process to secure a deal with the National Capital Commission on an arena at LeBreton Flats.
As Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan explained, the big issue is that Andlauer and NCC have been unable to set the terms on fair market value.
“There were terms in our agreement that talked about ‘fair market value,’ which I’m totally for and that’s what I want — what’s fair,” Andlauer said. “Let’s just hope the NCC doesn’t change the rules at the last second.”
Could the Senators look to alternative options including an empty NHL-ready arena in Quebec City?
Andlauer made sure to shoot down that possibility.
“No, because for me, I love Ottawa-Gatineau; I love our supporters (fans),” Andlauer told reporters about whether Quebec could be an option for the Senators to consider. “Despite the fact that we are 20 minutes from downtown in Kanata, we can continue to make it work, but it would be better to be downtown.”
