There is rarely a quiet day in the world of the Ottawa Senators. After the team was sold to Michael Andlauer, the sports betting story with Shane Pinto, there is a battle for the position of general manager.
Watch the press conference in the video above.
• Also read: Resignation of Pierre Dorion: Is the door finally opening for Patrick Roy?
• Also read: Senators lose first-round pick
A sweep caused by the loss of a first-round pick to the Senators, the result of mismanagement in the July 2021 trade of Evgenii Dadonov to the Vegas Golden Knights.
But we will return to the story of Dadonov.
Pierre Dorion had been with the Senators since the 2007-2008 season, first as director of amateur recruiting and since 2016-2017 as GM. He gave up his position.
Andlauer met with him on Tuesday evening and the two agreed to part ways.
“Pierre is a proud man and I wanted to do it personally,” the Senators owner told Ottawa reporters during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. He cares about this organization and has worked there for a long time. He also comes from Orléans in the region.”
Steve Staios will temporarily replace Dorion as the team’s GM. In late September, Staios left his position as special advisor to the Edmonton Oilers to join the Sens’ ranks as president of hockey operations.
Staios has a long history with Andlauer. Before making the jump to Edmonton, he served as president and general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Junior League, a team owned by Andlauer.
“I will do what is best for the Senators,” Staios said. We will take time to evaluate our options and determine who may be available for this position.”
An embarrassing situation
Dorion found himself in an ejector seat before the first day of the season. The same goes for DJ Smith, the head coach.
The Senators didn’t clean up behind the bench, but within upper management.
Dorion’s departure came just hours after it was announced that the Senators had lost a first-round pick in 2024, 2025 or 2026. NHL officials cracked down on the team from the nation’s capital over the handling of Dadonov’s transaction with Vegas. Dorion forgot to tell the Golden Knights about a clause in the Russian winger’s contract that said he couldn’t be traded to ten teams.
In March 2022, the Golden Knights attempted to trade Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks. This transaction was canceled because the Russian mentioned his no-trade clause.
“The 73-page report I received this week showed that the team acted negligently,” Andlauer said. We embarrassed the NHL and infuriated two organizations [Vegas et Anaheim].”
“We haven’t had a first-round pick in 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 last straw.
Under Dorion’s leadership, the Senators reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017, losing in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7. Ottawa has since missed the playoffs, a six-season losing streak.
Smith: a respected coach
DJ Smith’s future will continue to be a hot topic in Ottawa. At a press conference, Staios expressed his confidence in him.
Screenshot / VAT Sports
“The players respect him, they play intensely and don’t cheat, the team has a good structure,” said Staios. 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.”