It's been a rough start, but Steve Staios remains focused on restoring stability in Ottawa.

While Michael Andlauer celebrated his first 90 days as Commander-in-Chief of the Ottawa Senators on December 20th, his second-in-command and President of Hockey Ops, Steve Staios, is about to celebrate his.

While the milestones are essentially the same, the role Staios is playing in navigating the terrain is different. Andlauer may have been given the keys to the Sens-mobile, but Staios is the one at the wheel.

The game plan laid out to the fans and media was to assess the entire organization before making any moves. Despite some early struggles on the ice and chants of “We want Pinto” or “Fire DJ” emanating from the stands, the brain trust held firm.

Perhaps the most critical move Staios made was on October 14th when it was announced that the prodigal son, Daniel Alfredsson, had returned to the fold in a player development capacity.

If you are going to endear yourself to your fan base, what better way to do so than to bring back the longtime captain, the all-time leader in goals, assists, and points, and the only modern-day Senator in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Optimism reigned supreme, and it was easy to see that the organization was back on track.

Then, through forces unseen, the plan had to be altered. Like Andlauer, Staios had to deal with the Pinto and Dadonov dilemmas – the latter leading to the parting of ways with GM Pierre Dorion.

Clearly, the plan was to have Dorion and Smith in place for the year while Staios worked behind the scenes to fortify hockey ops and evaluate what he and Andlauer had inherited.

Then, in a rather odd and uncomfortable move, Staios decided on December 6th to hire Jacques Martin, the longest-serving and winningest head coach in team history, as a senior advisor to the coaching staff.

From day one, it felt like Martin was more Staios’ advisor than Smith’s. The media seemed to care what Martin thought of the team’s play as much as Smith. To no one’s surprise, it took less than two weeks for the humane thing to be done, and Smith was replaced.

The fact that Smith and assistant coach Davis Payne were replaced by the two people that Staios had hired in his brief tenure seems to undermine the notion they were here to advise.

Clearly, the Dadonov debacle meant that, barring a playoff berth, Smith’s tenure with the team wouldn’t go beyond this season – not when the one person who had always protected him is no longer there.

While many did not see DJ Smith as the way forward for this team, how he was disposed of almost had the fan base feeling sorry for him. Whatever you may have thought of Smith’s coaching, he was a first-class gentleman in his four-plus years and likely deserved better than to have his successor in the mix while he was still there.

Regardless, the most important decision that Staios may have made in his first 90 days is to not rush into hiring a new GM. With plenty of candidates to choose from in the unemployment market, a successor could have been named by now and hasn’t been.

This likely means that some very intriguing candidates are currently employed, and Staios doesn’t want to fill the seat without talking to some assistant GMs who are ripe for the picking. Recycling GMs and coaches that have already had their kick at the can might not be the way forward for Staios.

Contract-wise, Dorion didn’t leave a lot of loose ends. Staios can likely handle the fates of Pinto, Tarasenko, Kubalik, and Brannstrom himself.

Staios’ first 90 days gave fans a glimpse into how he conducts his business and that he is prepared to do what he feels is necessary, regardless of the optics.

With Martin and Alfredsson likely to remain in interim roles only until a new GM is named, it seems Staios isn’t going to throw a hail mary in the hopes of saving this season.

While it's not yet the current reality, restoring stability remains the goal for Staios.