Senators GM Pierre Dorion confident he will be back on the job next season

As the Senators head into an offseason like no other, their top staff are using the “if” word a lot. 

Before the summer is out, there will be new owners in Ottawa, which puts a condition on what the general manager and head coach can say as the season ends. Their new bosses aren’t on the job yet. 

GM Pierre Dorion was decidedly circumspect in his meeting with the media on Monday, and yet he came across as a man who expects to be back next fall. 

With two years left on his contract, Dorion has had a chance to make the case for himself in meetings with prospective new owners, with all the bidders having been to Ottawa to check out the city and the franchise. It’s easy to see a scenario where the new owners come in and take the club for a test drive, while letting current management carry on. 

In a radio discussion yesterday, Dorion admitted these meetings were a bit like a job interview. He explained to prospective buyers his plan for this team and used the competitive and entertaining Senators season that just passed as testament to his work. 

“I think this team is heading in the right direction,” Dorion said. “We don’t have one bad contract. Maybe we don’t have as many (draft) picks this year as in other years, but that was part of the plan. So, I’ll let those people (the new owners) decide my fate. But I know this team is heading in the right direction for multiple years to come.”

If Dorion sounded somewhat confident about his present and future role with the Sens, he was less committal about head coach D.J. Smith, who is entering the final year of his contract (with a team option for one more). 

This GM who has often raved about Smith, and said “he’s our coach,” now says the head coach will be assessed along with other aspects of the team. On the plus side, Dorion said that Smith did a great job developing the Senators young players and that this year, with a new mission to win games, the team was above .500 for the first time in years. 

“I’m going to sit down over the next little while and debate things internally, but I think what we’ve asked of him he’s delivered on,” Dorion said of Smith. “And at that point in time I’ll make my recommendation.”

If that falls short of a slam dunk endorsement, keep in mind our opening premise. Everything changes this summer. It’s possible new ownership wants a change in direction, and Dorion may just tread water until there is clarity from above. Or, Dorion might feel he buys himself more time with a new coach. 

Dorion, who last week marked his seven-year anniversary as GM, was more assertive in assessing his players. 

While he said he will address expectations for next year’s team in the fall, here’s a look at how he views his roster and what needs work after professing to be “very happy about the progress this team has made.”

Goaltending: Talbot won’t be back

Veteran goalie Cam Talbot, brought in last summer in a trade with the Minnesota Wild for Filip Gustavsson, will not be offered a contract. Although, there were times this season when the team talked to him and his agent about a deal. 

“I don’t know what our save percentage was, but it wasn’t what I expected it to be,” Dorion said, in assessing his goaltending.

Before the season, Dorion had told Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman he needed his goalies to be in the top ten for save percentage if this was going to be a playoff team. Last I checked, Talbot was ranked 42nd (.898) and Anton Forsberg 33rd (.902). Both also suffered serious injuries that caused Ottawa to use seven goalies this season. 

While Dorion praised Talbot for his work ethic and support of the younger goalies, Talbot’s injuries and inconsistencies meant the Senators struck out once again on a veteran goalie answer. Just as they did with Matt Murray before him. Now, the Sens are again looking for an answer to the goalie question. 

“Anton Forsberg will be one of the goalies next year,” Dorion said. “The other guy will either be (from) internally, through trade or free agency.”

Rookie Mads Sogaard, who appeared in 19 games this season, would be the internal candidate. But Dorion wants to find an experienced goalie so that Sogaard gets more time to develop and gain physical strength. 

DeBrincat’s future a definite maybe 

In his departure media session, winger Alex DeBrincat didn’t sound overly enthusiastic about signing in Ottawa long term, although he said he was “open to anything.”

Dorion didn’t have any more positive news either. He has said in the past he would qualify DeBrincat at $9 million for next season. 

“We know he’ll be back for one year and then we’ll go from there,” Dorion said. “We had a productive (exit) meeting . . . if he wants to sign, I think we can get a contract done. But if he doesn’t want to stay we’ll have to look at our options on it.”

Would DeBrincat and his young family prefer to return to the US? Stay tuned on this one over the months ahead. 

Hamonic and Brassard could return

Venerable forward Derick Brassard will be invited back to camp as a PTO once again, if he’s able to recover from his broken fibula. 

“Because it was a pretty significant injury, we’ve left the door open for him to come back, same situation as this year,” Dorion said. 

Winger Austin Watson will be offered a one-year deal, but has indicated he would look elsewhere for something longer. 

Defenceman Travis Hamonic could return as a support defenceman, but only if he can accept a one-year deal. 

“We’re going to be a cap team next year, so we’re going to have to be creative with how we do certain contracts,” Dorion said. 

Winger Patrick Brown, another UFA, could return depending on who else is in the mix as a depth forward. 

The GM thanked defenceman Nick Holden for his services over the past couple of seasons, but there isn’t a place for him any more, as Holden had already expressed on cleanout day. 

Bottom six needs work

Dorion concurred with my premise that the defence position is now one of strength, as the onus switches to depth at forward. 

“Our top six, when we’re healthy, is very good,” Dorion said. “It’s excellent. You need guys on the top six, and even the top nine if not a top 12, to produce offence. But at the same time, you need to have your bottom three to be able to check, to stave off the puck, prevent other team’s matchups. 

“You can’t always go power on power. Sometimes my vision is a bit different than D.J.’s vision,  but we’ve got to make it work,” Dorion added. 

My interpretation of a long answer – Smith loves his grinders on the fourth line while Dorion would like to see a little more skill and speed to complement the grit needed in a bottom six for a playoff team. Also, Dorion would like to see a legitimate checking line instead of always using the Stützle line head to head with opponents’ top lines. 

A healthy Josh Norris at centre next season would give the Senators the added bonus of dropping Shane Pinto back to a third line role to strengthen the bottom six.

Asked which of his players exceeded expectations this season, Dorion rhymed off a long list: Sanderson, Erik Brannstrom, Hamonic, Pinto, Claude Giroux and Stützle.

About the long leash 

Asked about his ability to stay on the job for as long as he has without a playoff appearance since 2017, Dorion replied that he is satisfied with the progress made to date, with the Senators in wild card contention right into April this season. Many other GMs have not had to contend with a rebuild this deep, Dorion says. 

“I feel comfortable with this team moving forward,” Dorion said. “I’m not going to give names, but we have two potential superstars (let’s go out on a limb with Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson) and five or six stars.”

Dorion said he tried to avoid shortcuts to contention so his young players could gain experience, and only brought in veteran types to support their growth.