After parting company with Pierre Dorion on Wednesday, the Ottawa Senators are now in the market for a new general manager. Here are five good possibilities.

Suddenly, the Ottawa Senators need a general manager. 

On Wednesday, Pierre Dorion mutually agreed to part company with the Senators after they were forced to forfeit a first-round pick. The club was penalized by the league after trading Evgenii Dadonov to Vegas without communicating to the Golden Knights that Dadonov had a no-trade clause.

For now, the president of hockey operations, Steve Staios, will serve as interim general manager.

Here are five names to consider as the next GM of the Ottawa Senators:

1. Peter Chiarelli

There has been a lot of buzz around Chiarelli, who has been to Ottawa frequently since Michael Andlauer became owner. The former Senator assistant GM has a mixed track record. He piloted the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup Championship in 2011. He also oversaw the Edmonton Oilers at the dawn of the Connor McDavid era in Edmonton. 

However, the Oilers won just one playoff round during his tenure, which is remembered for some questionable signings and trades, including giving up Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. In the 2017-18 season, Taylor Hall won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player with the New Jersey Devils.

2. Mathieu Darche

Mathieu Darche has been talked around the NHL for a couple years as a leading candidate to become a GM. He was a leading candidate for the Canucks GM opening in 2021 and mentioned for openings in Montreal and Chicago. He is a former NHL forward with 250 games in the NHL and has been the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Director of Hockey Operations since 2019. As such, he has been part of a front office that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and made three consecutive Stanley Cup finals. In the team’s span of recent success, they have found many players seemingly from nowhere, including Ross Colton and Nick Perbix.

3. Eric Tulsky

Eric Tulsky has been the assistant GM of the Carolina Hurricanes since 2020. Carolina has been one of the best teams in the NHL for many years. Tulsky is deeply rooted in analytics, which is how he started with Carolina in 2017 as their Manager of Hockey Analytics. The Hurricanes have been known for their shrewd moves, finding good players on contracts who go on to outperform. Tulsky was linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins job before Kyle Dubas became President of Hockey Operations and General Manager.

4. Ryan Bowness

Bowness has been the Assistant General Manager of the Ottawa Senators since 2022. He was a Director of Professional Scouting with the Pittsburgh Penguins and a former scout with the Winnipeg Jets. His deep scouting background and hockey roots would be similar to Pierre Dorion’s. Ryan's father, Rick Bowness is a long-term NHL coach, currently with the Jets. Bowness would be an in-house hire, someone who knows the players and franchise.

5. Steve Staios

Steve Staios has the ear of the new owner, Michael Andlauer. They worked together before, winning two OHL Championships, with Staios as the General Manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Staios would not be the only person to have the role of President of Hockey Operations and GM. There are currently five teams that have a President of Hockey Operations who is also the General Manager: Don Waddell (Carolina Hurricanes), Chris Drury (New York Rangers), Kyle Dubas (Pittsburgh Penguins), Lou Lamoriello (New York Islanders), and Ken Holland with the Edmonton Oilers.