GARRIOCH: Steve Staios is confident in the changes he's made to Ottawa Senators roster

Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios didn't utter the word "playoffs" in a talk with the media Wednesday.

Published Sep 04, 2024  •  4 minute read

'My expectations are that we're going to be a hugely competitive team day-in and day-out. That includes practice. I want us to handle ourselves with professionalism and a commitment to a team-first attitude,' Steve Staios, president of hockey operations and general manager of the Ottawa Senators, said Wednesday. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Steve Staios won’t be making any bold statements.

With training camp set to start Sept. 18 at the Canadian Tire Centre, the Ottawa Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager is confident in the changes the club made during the off-season, but he didn’t utter the word “playoffs” in a talk with the media Wednesday.

Instead, speaking at an event to kick off the 2024-25 campaign, Staois made it clear he wants newly appointed head coach Travis Green and the club’s core players to focus on helping the Senators to improve so they can be competitive on a nightly basis.

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“My expectations are more in the immediate and on a day-to-day basis,” Staios said. “My expectations are that we’re going to be a hugely competitive team day-in and day-out. That includes practice. I want us to handle ourselves with professionalism and a commitment to a team-first attitude.

“Those are my expectations. As far as the expectations for what the results are at the end of the season, that’ll be up to the group. I do think if you set the standards, and Travis and his staff have talked about the identity of what being an Ottawa Senator is, the results will take care of themselves.”

Though Staios has put his stamp on this roster by acquiring goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins and defenceman Nick Jensen in a deal with the Washington Capitals, the club was also busy bringing in veterans who can make an impact through free agency.

Those additions include forwards David Perron, Michael Amadio, Nick Cousins and Noah Gregor. It’s incumbent upon captain Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Josh Norris and Claude Giroux to help this team get to the post-season.

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‘My first vision or goal is to get back into the playoffs because the playoffs is where everybody wants to be and that’s where the fun begins,” Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark said Wednesday. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Ullmark, who won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie two years ago, didn’t mince words on his expectations.

“There’s always going to be ups and downs. You can’t let it get to four, five or six losses, you’ve got to be able to cut them short,” Ullmark said. “You have to get on the winning train and keep building. You always have to feel you have a game plan that you can fall back on.

“Once you do that, the results and skills will take over. My first vision or goal is to get back into the playoffs because the playoffs is where everybody wants to be and that’s where the fun begins.”

Staios went into the off-season with a goal of trying to help make this club more competitive. Trying to solidify the goaltending was the first priority and getting more leadership was a must. Perron, Amadio and Cousins have all won the Stanley Cup, which was important to Staios.

“We feel like we have our feet underneath us as a management group and we feel proud of what we’ve been able to do,” Staios said. “The work has just begun. I believe in our core group of players, I really do love the opportunity we took to add some experience to this group of character people.”

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If the club’s core improves with the help from the pieces acquired by Staios then this team will be better.

Having a healthy Norris would be a good start at camp. He had the third shoulder surgery of his career in February.

“I’m happy to say that Josh is ahead of where he was last year at this point in time,” Staios said. “I don’t think it’s fair to put a timeline on Josh. He’s done everything he can to prepare himself for the season. It’s all moving in a very positive direction.”

Staios doesn’t want to put any pressure on Norris, but he’s confident he’ll be a 100 per cent participant in camp.

“I would say it’s moving in that direction, but I think you can understand with any player leading into camp, you want to make sure it’s the 82 games that these players are healthy,” Staios said.

Staois has tried to bring stability to the organization and he’s hopeful that will pay dividends.

“Just the approach,” he said. “There’s a quiet confidence, not only with this group, but also with the staff. We feel we’ve addressed some of the areas we need to. The coaches have put in an extraordinary amount of time preparing, they were here through the summer, they’re preparing for camp and they’re setting the right standard for this group.”

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He hopes that stability can lead to confidence.

“We’ve got to take it one day at a time instead of trying to get ahead of ourselves,” Staios said. “I know things will get thrown at us during the season, but I do think with the experience that we have as a group and individuals, I think it’s prepared us for what’s to come now.

“As much as it was difficult to go through some of those experiences last year, I think we’ve all grown as people and as a team.”

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