NHL owner takes a stand against today's terrible decision.

Earlier today news broke regarding the upcoming 2026 National Hockey League Entry Draft, news it seems no one in the hockey community wanted to hear.

After the debacle that was the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the first ever decentralized draft in the league's history, it seemed that there was a widespread belief that we would never see another of its kind in the NHL again.

Unfortunately the general manager's around the league have voted to bring it back for at least another year, with the reaction to that news appearing to be complete and total disbelief on the part of just about everyone that isn't an NHL general manager.

Although the league as a whole has voted to do the unthinkable, that doesn't mean that everyone within the NHL is in agreement here. In fact it would appear that Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer is going out of his way to distance himself from this decision.

On Saturday, Senators insider Bruce Garrioch reported that the Senators were not in favor of the decision, and more specifically that Andlauer himself felt it was important for the players to talk up on stage and receive their jersey at a centralized draft.

The Sens weren’t in favour of this. Michael Andlauer believes the picture on stage in the jersey is an important moment for the players. The cost of the draft is the reason it’s staying this way. Only the host city benefits.

Perhaps the most disappointing detail in all of this is that, according to Garrioch, money is the primary reason things have ended up this way.