Can you raise the performance bar for an NHL organization without raising expectations?
There is no doubt that speaking to the media is something that a general manager of an NHL team needs to be comfortable with. In Ottawa, it would even be helpful to be comfortable doing so in both official languages.
Former Senators' GM Pierre Dorion was very comfortable with both official languages, but in a media world where the safest bet is “less is more,” Dorion frequently attempted to make a splash that sometimes painted him into a corner he couldn’t escape.
New GM Steve Staios, on the other hand, generally seems to embrace the “less is more” philosophy, and does so exclusively in English. He leaves the bilingualism to owner Michael Andlauer.
After the trade deadline, Staios made it clear that he had learned a lot about the value that teams see in their current roster. Though he only pulled the trigger once, he seemed optimistic that he'd laid the groundwork for future deals, but he ultimately chose not to deal in a buyer’s market.
Having said that, Staios made his first somewhat controversial statement recently, telling TSN that “expectations this season were a bit debilitating for us.” He was even avoidant about whether next season’s goal would be to compete and qualify for the playoffs.
Regardless of what language you are speaking, the message that the players, fans and media probably heard was that Staios either didn’t believe in the team, as is, as much as Dorion did, or that he's had a change of heart about them.
If so, what is to be made of that?
It’s hard to imagine that players like Tkachuk and Giroux would have enjoyed hearing that, considering the time they have spent defending this team and its potential to the media.
Fans don’t like having false hope thrown in their faces, and they enjoy contradictory messaging even less.
Are you on track or are you not?
Of course, the expectations of being a playoff contender weren't set by Staios. They were also predicated on having Shane Pinto in the lineup for the whole season and Josh Norris back to his 35-goal form of 2021-22.
Still, in his debrief after the deadline, not only did Staios seem optimistic about the value of his roster around the league, but he also cited that when the team plays the right way, they have seen that the goaltending in Ottawa is good.
The question that needs answering is “Can you raise the performance bar for an organization without raising expectations?”
When your GM makes a statement like “Expectations this season were somewhat debilitating," is he not giving the coaches and players an out?
The debate over whether the Senators should have qualified for the playoffs has its pros and cons. However, when teams like the Flyers, Red Wings, Capitals, Islanders and Sabres are all in the mix, is it really that unrealistic to expect the Senators to be in contention with the roster they have?
They own an 8-7 record against those teams.
Why would Staios say this? Why now and not at the year-end presser?
Perhaps the word debilitating is aimed at the heart and soul of the team and whether they have the will to match the skill to take the next step.
Saying that expectations were debilitating is not a "less is more" approach. It’s cryptic and leaves a lot open to interpretation.
Expectations exist at an organizational level as well as a team level. Even a team not expected to win the championship can have high expectations. This is how an identity is created.
Rather than saying “Expectations this season were somewhat debilitating” before the season even ended, how about something at the year end address to the effect of:
“As an organization, we need to understand why our team surrendered so many third period leads, had such a poor road record, and failed to elevate against teams that were lower in the standings.
Was it a question of immaturity, skill, coaching, not handling the weight of expectations or a combination of all? Regardless, this season was unacceptable.
The off-season will be spent addressing these issues and the message to the players, media and fans is that mediocrity will no longer be tolerated."
The timing and content of this week's actual message left people guessing and doesn’t promote stability.