Patrick Roy in New York: Michael Andlauer regrets “a little bit”.

As you know, the Ottawa Senators are having a bad season. Why not? In my opinion, because club leadership always starts at the top of the pyramid.

Right now, in Ottawa, we have an owner who has just arrived and inherited the problems of the previous administration. He’s brought in his right-hand man (Steve Staios) as president, putting the GM and coach in the hot seat.

The players had no choice but to stress.

Finally, Pierre Dorion was fired and replaced by Staios on an interim basis… and for good. The club chose not to go with the Habs format (one GM and one VP/President), as planned.

But because the club didn’t know who its DG was, a full-time coach couldn’t be signed. That’s why Jacques Martin was brought in to help out more than anything else.

Just reading this is breathtaking.

All this to say that the Senators didn’t put themselves in a position to hire a full-time coach. Their plan was to wait until this summer to evaluate their candidates… including Patrick Roy.

Because yes, as Michael Andlauer told Gatineau’s 104.7 FM, he was planning to make these changes this summer. He just didn’t think it would happen so quickly…

And understandably, he didn’t expect Patrick Roy to land in New York. Who wasn’t?

The two men communicated together, but the timing wasn’t right. So he waited… only to have it stolen from him by Lou Lamoriello.

I say steal, because he sounded like a guy, in a radio interview, who loves Roy.

Absolutely, I like him a lot. In his DNA, he’s a real champion.

That’s one thing our Senators don’t understand today: how to win. They’re going to learn. – Michael Andlauer

I wonder how Jacques Martin sees it all. Because let’s face it: the owner has just cut off all the credibility of his coach, who already has a huge order.

Meanwhile, in New York, we hear that the club is satisfied. After just a few games, the Roy effect is well and truly underway.

Meanwhile, Senators fans are disappointed. They were hoping to see Patrick Roy come to town, but as we know, that never happened.

Did the club want to cut corners by going with an interim coach? With a president who is also the GM? Perhaps, yes.

Let’s not forget that the other big issue right now is the arena. Will the club be able to secure a deal to move to LeBreton Flats? Who knows?

And if it doesn’t work out? Would Quebec Markham be a solution for the local businessman?

Extension

– During his interview, Andlauer also had kind words for Benoît Groulx, who is a crowd favorite following his years as coach of the Olympiques.