There’s rarely a quiet day in the world of the Ottawa Senators. After the sale of the team to Michael Andlauer, the sports betting story with Shane Pinto, there is a sweep at the position of general manager.
Watch the press conference in the video above.
• Read also: Resignation of Pierre Dorion: is the door finally opening for Patrick Roy?
• Read also: Senators lose first round pick
A sweep caused by the loss of a first-round pick for the Senators, the result of mismanagement in the transaction for Evgenii Dadonov with the Vegas Golden Knights in July 2021.
But we will return to the story of Dadonov.
Employed by the Senators since the 2007-2008 season, initially in a role as director of amateur recruiting, and in the GM seat since 2016-2017, Pierre Dorion left his position.
Andlauer met with him Tuesday evening and the two agreed to part ways.
“Pierre is a proud man and I wanted to do it in person,” the Senators owner told Ottawa reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. He cares about this organization and has worked there for a long time. Plus, he comes from Orléans in the region.”
Steve Staios will replace Dorion as the team’s GM on an interim basis. At the end of September, Staios gave up his position as special advisor with the Edmonton Oilers to join the ranks of the “Sens” as president of hockey operations.
Staios has a long history with Andlauer. Before making the jump to Edmonton, he worked as president and general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Ontario Junior League, a team that Andlauer owned.
“I’ll do what’s best for the Senators,” Staios said. We will take our time to evaluate our options and see who might be available for this position.”
An embarrassing situation
Dorion found himself in an ejection seat before the first day of the season. Ditto for DJ Smith, the head coach.
The Senators did not clean up behind the bench, but within the upper management.
Dorion’s departure came just hours after it was announced the Senators had lost a first-round pick in 2024, 2025 or 2026. NHL executives have cracked down on the team from the nation’s capital due to of their handling of Dadonov’s transaction with Vegas. Dorion had forgotten to convey to the Golden Knights a clause in the Russian winger’s contract stipulating that he could not be traded to ten teams.
In March 2022, the Golden Knights attempted to trade Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks. This transaction aborted since the Russian had mentioned his no-trade clause.
“The 73-page report I received this week demonstrated that the team was negligent,” Andlauer said. We embarrassed the NHL and enraged two organizations [Vegas et Anaheim].”
“We haven’t had a first-round pick the last two years. For what? And now we lose another first round pick. For what? We need our first-round picks.”
For Andlauer, this other saga was the straw that broke the camel’s back in Dorion’s case.
Under Dorion’s leadership, the Senators reached the Eastern Conference final in 2017, losing in overtime in Game 7 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ottawa has missed the playoffs since, a drought of six seasons.
Smith: a respected coach
The future of DJ Smith will remain a hot topic in Ottawa. At a press conference, Staios offered him a vote of confidence.
Screenshot / VAT Sports
“The players respect him, they play with intensity and they don’t cheat, the team has a good structure,” Staios said. Is there room for improvement? Yes. DJ would tell you the same thing. I have confidence in this group. We are moving in the right direction.”