Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios held court with the media on Monday afternoon, a tradition he usually observes around the quarter mark of the season. With Staios heading to Toronto for the NHL GM meetings this week, the organization decided to move up the availability to give Ottawa reporters first crack (ahead of Toronto's) at asking about the team's general state.

Here are the seven best questions and answers from the Staios newser, starting with his evaluation of the first 16 games.

Staios: Well, I was a little surprised on our start, to be quite honest. I thought... you hope with the continuation of last year, a similar group coming back, the same coaching staff, that we would have been on our game early. And I think we've grown into it, playing to our identity more now. But there were some early stumbles, to be quite honest with you, I thought we’d pissed away some points early on. But I feel like we're getting closer to playing to our identity. Full credit to the group.

Media: What do you make of that, just in terms of the poor start and how you guys kind of came out of the gate?

Staios: Yeah, I wouldn’t say it was a poor start. It was just, I think... two things I would point to. I think we have a very well-intended group, and I've stated that a number of times. They're eager to prove themselves, and they're eager to compete. I want to believe that expectations are one thing that is new to this group.

Making the playoffs last year, trying to get to that level right away, I think that might have been part of it. And the other thing is, as much as we talked about our five-on-five scoring, I think as you watched our play through the first four or five games, it seemed like we were a little eager to try and get on the offense and just a little bit disconnected that way. All well-intended, though. You know, our D were kind of moving up the ice, and as I watched game flow, it seemed like we were moving pretty well. But just a little bit disconnected and not playing to our identity.

What have been your impressions of Linus Ullmark’s start to the season?

Staios: I believe in Linus. The team believes in Linus. If you look at goaltending around the league, some of the top goaltenders go through stretches where they’re not getting the results they want. Not making excuses, but honestly, I think he’s been a little bit unlucky when you look at some of the goals that have gone in. He’s in better shape than he’s ever been, he’s made that commitment, and his game is rounding into form. Over a long period of time, he’s our guy and we have full faith in him. And we’ve got a pretty good young goaltender in Levi Meriläinen, who continues to develop as well.

Where are things with a contract extension for Shane Pinto?

Staios: Continued good dialogue. We’re going to meet again this week and are hoping to come up with a positive outcome. I don’t want to say too much. I think you guys respect that I don't like to say too much about contracts. I don't think it's fair to the player, agent, or our team. Shane’s a good player, he's an important player, and we’ll continue to work on it. We're meeting again this week.

There’s been talk about Jordan Spence’s fit. What was your vision when you traded for him?

Staios: A lot of it was that Nick Jensen went through a major surgery. We didn’t know what his timeline was on a return, so we’d always liked Jordan as a player and kept our eye on him. Nick worked extremely hard to get himself back into the opening-day lineup, and we have depth at the position, which is a good thing. Sometimes these transitions when you go to new teams take time — new systems, new environments. But we like Jordan as a player.

How do you feel about the Belleville group right now?

Staios: Yeah, I'm pleased with it. It’s a competitive league and our young guys continue to grow. I think having (GM) Matt Turek there has been a nice step forward for our organization with his leadership and making sure the environment is right for development for our players.

They’re a competitive team. We’re maybe a little young, but our young players are getting a great opportunity to play. In particular, Carter Yakemchuk and Stephen Halliday continue to grow. We’ve put him in a lot of situations, almost to the point where we’ve talked about Carter playing a little bit too much in the back-to-backs and the 3-in-3s. We want to continue to put him in those situations and let him learn, but he’s been very, very good, to the point where a number of those players (including Yakemchuk) can come up and give us minutes.

Speaking of Yakemchuk, Staios will be in Toronto for Tuesday's NHL GM meetings, where rule changes are always discussed. There are reports that the league may further discuss the idea of allowing 19-year-olds to play in the AHL. That's an option the Sens might have chosen for Yakemchuk last season. He had just turned 19 when the Sens sent him back to the Western Hockey League.

While Staios is in Toronto, shaking hands and visiting with the other GMs on Tuesday, his team will have its hands full with a visit from the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa

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