Senators GM Steve Staios and His Staff Are Working For The Weekend

Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios and head amateur scout Don Boyd met the assembled media Wednesday in advance of the NHL Entry Draft taking place this Friday/Saturday in Los Angeles.

While Boyd responded to questions surrounding the Draft itself, Staios was pressed by local media, including Full Press Hockey, on a range of topics; first and foremost, the status of negotiations with Pat Brisson, the player agent for pending unrestricted free agent Claude Giroux.

At 37 years old, the league leader in faceoff percentage (61.5%), Giroux still has plenty left in the tank. The Ottawa resident is a respected team leader serving as a mentor to the Senators young core.

The team obviously want Giroux to return for his 19th NHL campaign; however, the two sides remain at a stalemate with the clock ticking towards noon on July 1 when the free agency period opens.

“Well, we continue to talk. I think stated how we want Claude back. And again, without getting into it, I just think it’s not respecting the integrity, the process of negotiating, if I make any more comments other than that, but we continue to talk, and that’s really all I have, nothing really to report on,” said Staios.

The Senators currently possess $10.6 million cap space with a need to sign restricted free agent goalie Leevi Merilainen and likely another pair of depth NHL roster players, the belief is the contract discussed with Giroux contains bonus incentives in order to push possible bonuses achieved monies to the 2026-27 season when the cap rises exponentially.

Fans look at the lead-up to the Draft and free agency itself to mold their team’s roster for the upcoming season. It’s not that the Senators GM poured water on the fire that his club won’t make additions, Staios appears to be looking at the long game this offseason, “If I get aggressive to try and add, where do I add? And who is it? You know, is the question. And if I can, and it makes sense, I would, everybody gets eager at this time of the year to make a big splash or get a big player in. But my approach has always been that it has to be the right fit at the right time, and if July 1 and free agency or the first part of free agency, if there’s not a fit, we’ll continue to work at it. And there are other opportunities further down into the summer and and also into the year. I don’t want to force anything with this group, and I think that they continue to move in the right direction. And keep that in mind,” Steve Staios explained.

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As for the Senators other notable pending UFA forwards Nick Cousins, Adam Gaudette and netminder Anton Forsberg, Steve Staios once again deferred, but noted he was happy with existing depth goaltenders in Merilainen and Mads Sogaard, who has a one-way deal this season.

One pressing need for the Senators is to improve on five-on-five scoring. The team ranked third-worst in the league, scoring only 143 goals at even strength.

Staios believes trade deadline acquisitions Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund can do just that.

Recently signed to a three-year contract extension, the Senators GM is of the thought that Zetterlund “can grow into that type of player.”

Adding. “He’s a good shooter, something that I thought we lacked a little bit up front, gets to those tough areas of the rink.”

Another topic of discussion for the GM, Steve Staios, was the timeline for the recovery of defenseman Nick Jensen.

Jensen, who was unable to practice the majority of the final 40 games, underwent hip surgery shortly after the conclusion of the season. While Jensen’s wife, Jenner posted video of her husband rollerblading, working his way back, Staios mentioned there’s currently no timeline on if the d-man will attend training camp.

Telling Full Press Hockey, “Not specifically yet. It’s no surprise that he seems to be beating the timeline, and you’ve heard me speak about what type of pro he is as a player, and how he looks after his body, and the discipline, dedication and commitment. So I guess we’re not surprised. I think, you know, we’re cautiously optimistic. He was dealing with a significant injury. He was such a good player for us in the first half and still a good player in the second half. And I don’t think we recognize the severity of what he was dealing with. So full credit to him. And I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s ready sooner, but as far as a specific date, I’d be cautious on doing that right now.”

The club recently signed Lassi Thomson to a one-year, two-way deal as insurance if Jensen isn’t ready to open the season. Thomson, who left the organization following the 2023-24 season, excelled playing for Malmö in Sweden last season, tallying 17 goals from the blue line.

As for the Draft itself, the Senators currently hold the 21st pick. Staios is willing to trade down in the Draft if a situation presents itself to add a couple of assets, but the likelihood of moving up is fairly low.

As for that 21st pick, Don Boyd feels “Hope springs eternal” this team will be able to select one of the several players they’ve been eyeing, “Well, I think that first of all, we’re looking for some people with hockey sense and and some skill level. And I think they’re there. I think there’s four or five or six guys in our area
that are that’ll be still available.”

Boyd’s draft approach is, “a general philosophy of mine would always be that you draft the talent and create the position.”

The former GM/Coach of the Ontario League, London Knights, and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, assistant GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets, has viewed a lot of draft scenarios since his coaching/scouting career started in 1979-80 as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan. Boyd and his amateur scouting staff will be fully prepared if his GM elects to trade down a few spots.

“You have to be prepared. That’s why the list has to be accurate. In our opinion, we can’t just put a list together of 20 people. How far along the way? From one to 21, where are the drop offs from 21 to 31? How far were you willing to go back before you say no, no further?… Based on our list, what do we have to have to come back to us to make it worthwhile?”

With this year’s Draft being remote, communication with other clubs may be difficult. However, Steve Staios and his staff will be prepared for any situation that may arise.