Fans on the social media site X were fuming when the club posted a picture of its mascot, Spartacat, the Senators’ ambassador of fun, wearing a jersey that was a split between Ottawa and the old colours of the Quebec Nordiques.

At a press conference, Andlauer revealed plans for the Senators to play two pre-season games in Quebec City this September. Initially harmless, his follow-up comments raised eyebrows when he expressed openness to also playing regular-season games there — setting off alarm bells for Ottawa’s loyal fan base.

It was supposed to be a relatively quiet start to the week for the Ottawa Senators, and they had certainly earned it. The Senators are in third place in the Atlantic Division and finally had a day off after playing 10 games in 16 days.

The Ottawa Senators announced pre-season games in Quebec City, but a Nordiques-Senators jersey and the vision of regular-season games in Quebec caused concerns the team later addressed.