KANATA, Ont. — Steve Staios has seen what the rest of us have observed over the past handful of games by the Ottawa Senators.
A level of play and commitment that the new general manager had been hoping to see all along.
If it continues, how will that impact Ottawa’s position at the trade deadline?
Staios didn’t commit, exactly, but he’s hoping the trend continues so that when he is assessing his roster he is viewing it from a position of strength, not weakness. And he is looking to add experience to the Senators’ roster, to boost the young core of talent.
“I think the long-term vision is extremely important to keep an eye on here with our group,” said Staios, in a mid-season, state-of-the-union session with Ottawa media Thursday.
“You can’t have enough leadership and experience — and that’s certainly an area I’d like to look at.
“I think we’re looking at complete players, as well. You know, 200-foot players. The market will dictate if there’s an opportunity at the deadline — if not we will continue to work on it. Maybe there’s an opportunity in the off-season.”
Staios said he likes the idea of complementing his young core with veterans who have “been through some of those battles and can look them in the eye and during those times during the game to be able to help them out with that.”
Unlike in past seasons, where management was forever in search of a “Top-4 defenceman,” Staios is looking at upgrades in all areas of the lineup, if they are available.
While Staios didn’t tip his hand about whether or not he would consider moving one of his core pieces, he did say he can do a better job of evaluating what he has now that the group is playing better.
“I don’t think it was fair for me to give a full evaluation on this team until they started to have some stability in their play,” Staios said. “Now we’re getting a sense of what this team is all about.”
Chychrun vs. Chabot
Speaking of top four D-men, Staios was asked if it’s realistic to keep both of his veteran left-shot defencemen, Jakob Chychrun and Thomas Chabot.
Staios began answering a question on Chychrun by saying how disappointed he was that the defenceman’s name had surfaced in trade rumours.
“I guess it’s part of the game, but he’s a great player for us. He’s a great young man and he loves Ottawa, so he’s going to have to deal with those types of (rumours) being out there,” Staios said.
Staios added that while the Senators have three top-four guys who shoot left, Chychrun is able to play the right side, so he didn’t believe that was an issue.
However, when asked about fitting in the likes of Jake Sanderson, Chabot and Chychrun in the team’s salary cap and team budget for the future, Staios admitted it might not all work.
“Those are all really good questions,” Staios said. “Jakob’s obviously an elite defenceman. He’s a year and a half away from being a free agent. Is there a way for us to fit it in? Sure. There’s always ways to be able to manage the cap to make sure you’re compliant. So, we’ll continue to look at that… I think time will tell.”
The way that Staios paused to emphasize the word, “sure,” as far as making it all fit, made it seem just as likely that a choice might have to be made down the road between Chychrun and Chabot. Because having three expensive left-shot D long term could be limiting as far as the rest of the roster is concerned.
No conversations with Tarasenko
While everyone assumes the Senators will part with pending unrestricted free agent forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Dominik Kubalik at the deadline, Staios said he has not had any conversations with Tarasenko about lifting his no-trade clause.
“Obviously he’s aware of where we are in the standings and in becoming an unrestricted free agent,” Staios said. “It’s certainly something that, you know, we’ll continue to take a look at.”
The GM went on to praise Tarasenko for his level of play “on both sides of the puck,” despite being considered an offensive player.
“You see the offence in his game, but he’s much more well-rounded than I expected, watching him on a day-to-day basis,” Staios said. “I’ve been really impressed.”
‘Plan’ is for Martin to finish the season
After Patrick Roy was brought in to coach the New York Islanders, Senators owner Michael Andlauer went on Gatineau radio this week and admitted to a bit of “regret” that the timing was not right for Roy to be a coaching candidate in Ottawa. Andlauer, of course, has links to the great former Canadiens goaltender because Andlauer was a minority ownership partner in Montreal for many years.
Staios agrees that “timing” is a factor as the team shifts from this interim staff to the next full-time coach and staff.
“I think timing has a lot to do with why we have Jacques Martin and Daniel Alfredsson,” coaching at the moment, Staios said.
With Martin just now getting some traction, Staios sees the interim staff as “laying down the foundation” for this team to reach the next level. While the GM didn’t get into the details of what characteristics he is looking for in his next coach, he says he has a picture in his mind of the type of coach he’s seeking. And it won’t be a one man show.
“I think the balance with the coaching staff, the experience, the personalities, their background in each area is going to be hugely important,” Staios said. “It’s no different from putting a roster together.”
Asked if Martin will finish out the season behind the bench, Staios said “that’s the plan.”
He added that while he didn’t see any situation that might alter that, he acknowledged circumstances arose that caused him to change the goaltender coach.
Staios admitted he did not expect his team to have a record of 18-24-1. But he is encouraged by what he has seen over the past five games under Martin’s direction.
“I think that you see the commitment from the group,” Staios said. “I think you see the discipline. I think you see the details starting to come into our game and that’s really what I’ve been waiting for.”
