If the past week’s events have taught us anything about Steve Staios’ stewardship of the Ottawa Senators as general manager, it’s that he is incredibly guarded.

In the modern sports world, where organizations treat proprietary data and information like nuclear codes, it has become commonplace for executives to speak in generalities and offer platitudes about how they will “look at everything” and “exhaust every avenue” before arriving at an important decision.

It was easy to leave Monday’s end-of-season media availability with Travis Green and Staios feeling like the general manager offered a lot of words without really saying much at all.

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This approach stands in stark contrast to the previous era, when Staios’s predecessor would call into local sports radio under the pseudonym “Pierre in Orleans,” or use events like Monday’s availability to make surprise announcements or openly disclose which players would not be returning next season.

The benefit of a careful and deliberate approach is that it reduces the risk of miscommunication or poor messaging. After enduring years of embarrassing soundbites from ownership and management, this departure from the past is a welcome change—but it comes with a trade-off.

Fans are hungry for news and insights, but under this new regime, it will be harder to glean much from what’s publicly said.

There were two notable examples of this approach at work.

Rather than formally announce that a Nik Matinpalo extension was close to being signed, Staios revealed the news on TSN 1200 later that afternoon—just minutes before the organization issued an official press release.

Similarly, when TSN 1200’s Graham Creech asked during Monday’s media availability whether Staios anticipated any changes to the front office this offseason, the general manager was evasive, emphasizing a general desire for continuous improvement.

“Possibly, we’re always looking to improve,” Staios reaffirmed. “We all will always look at areas to improve, and as far as taking that next step for the group on the ice goes, it’s for us as a staff as well.

"We’ve taken a step. We can get better. There are lots of areas of improvement, and if we don’t continue to push for that, we’re not doing our jobs. So there are certainly areas throughout the organization that will continue to be addressed.”

Less than 48 hours later, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported that the Senators and associate general manager Ryan Bowness had mutually agreed to part ways. News of the split likely emerged after Staios sent an email to other league franchises informing them of Bowness’ availability.

In just two instances during Monday’s media session did Staios explicitly acknowledge anything of substance.

First, while he refused to discuss contract negotiations, he made it clear that the organization values impending unrestricted free agent Claude Giroux.

“I won’t talk about contract negotiations, but we love (Giroux),” Staios admitted. “I want to have him back, and we touched on it briefly at the exit meetings.

Everything’s still fresh right now. To be honest, even talking to Travis (Green), it still stings that we’re here. We had a belief in our group, and so everything’s really fresh right now, but I will get to speak to all of our players that are up for a contract.”

Staios’ sentiments are echoed throughout the organization. Listening to the players speak during Saturday’s dressing room clean-out day, their reverence for Giroux was unmistakable.

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The second item he confirmed was that the Senators are likely to retain their 2025 first-round pick, rather than forfeit it as punishment for former general manager Pierre Dorion’s failure to disclose Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause to the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I know what we’re going to do with it,” Staios told local media. “I don’t know if I want to reveal it to you guys right now, but no, it’s highly likely that we’ll keep our pick.

We have good scouts. They’ve proven along the way that they can find talent. So every draft year, you go into it, and people say the drop-off is at 12, and then there’s a group of this or that. But I trust in our scouts.”

It’s somewhat amusing that Staios’ first instinct was to equivocate before deciding it was safe to provide clarity.

His message aligned with that of his boss, Michael Andlauer.

The Senators’ owner recently expressed hope that the league might forgive the team for Dorion’s misstep.

“Steve (Staios) asked me that question, and I’m still hoping that I get some type of forgiveness from the commissioner,” Andlauer told reporters on April 11, 2025. “You’ve got to look at draft classes as well.

"If we were obviously Stanley Cup finalists, then we’re picking second-last or last. So we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But looking at the draft class and where we would pick today—it would be 17th or 18th, something in that area—we’d sit down with our amateur scouts and see what’s coming up next year. It’s so hard, but ultimately it’ll be Steve’s decision.

"I would probably lean toward the fact that we’re going to keep our first-round pick this year, and you have to feel that we’re going to get better; therefore, the first pick could become less valuable.”

Ottawa Senators Owner Michael Andlauer Caps Successful Second Season With Open Letter To Fans When Michael Andlauer took over as owner of the Ottawa Senators at the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, he set exactly the right tone for the organization. Andlauer told the city's fan base he wanted the Senators to be, in every way, "Best in Class." 

By continuing to delay the decision, the Senators preserve a glimmer of hope that the penalty might be reduced—especially since it stems from a prior regime. Although Andlauer employed Dorion for several months, he was reportedly kept in the dark about the league’s investigation and its implications, possibly to help maximize the sale price of the team.

In the aftermath of the Dadonov scandal, the league introduced a new app developed by SAP that consolidates roster management data—such as contracts, cap status, and movement clauses—into a centralized system for NHL front offices.

The app’s very existence is a tacit admission by the league that a centralized, league-controlled system is necessary to prevent similar issues from arising in the future. While this doesn’t absolve Dorion’s incompetence, it does suggest the league bears some responsibility.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Senators use that argument when they formally request a reduction in the penalty. In his TSN 1200 interview Monday afternoon, Staios cited the team’s potential progress as an additional consideration.

“We’re just trying to figure out with the draft and where we’re picking and what type of impact player we could get at that number,” Staios explained.

“We hope that our team continues to progress and take the next necessary steps. It’s never going to be an easy decision. It’s a penalty we feel is harsh. We have to pay it back to the league. That happened before our time, and we got punished. We’ve got to manage it as best as we can.”

It’s a compelling situation to follow.

The 2026 draft class is projected to be significantly stronger than the 2025 cohort, meaning this year’s pick may be less valuable than one next year.

Of course, the hope is that the Senators take a step forward next season—but progress isn’t always linear. The three Atlantic Division teams ahead of Ottawa are all in win-now mode. If the standings remain unchanged, Ottawa could find itself in a similar position next year.

Still, the possibility that the league may reduce the penalty might be too tempting to pass up. Another possibility is that Staios intends to accelerate the team’s competitiveness.

He never explicitly said as much—but with Steve Staios, what he doesn’t say often speaks just as loudly.

Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News-Ottawa

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