Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios doesn’t think his team’s 8-9-1 record is a “dire situation” even if it’s below his expectations. But while Staios understands a team’s development could take time, there are subtle signs that waiting for his team to take the next step isn’t easy for the general manager, either.
“I don’t know if I’m preaching patience,” Staios said. “I’m preaching that we address some issues as a group. When a process like this is going along, it takes some time. I guess I am talking about patience here. But some of the bigger mistakes, I think, as teams go through these phases at this point in time are to make decisions that are for today.”
If you’re a Senators fan hoping the team makes a significant change soon to escape its middling record, Wednesday afternoon wasn’t your day.
Staios addressed the Ottawa media on Wednesday afternoon, delivering a quarter-mark state of the union as the Senators are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Here’s the biggest takeaway. While Staios, like every NHL GM, is open to making something happen if the deal is right, he’s confident in the group because he’s seen them play to their potential. Just as captain Brady Tkachuk said Tuesday night — he had a maintenance day Wednesday, explaining his absence from practice — it’s all about doing it over and over again.
“I don’t see any glaring area where I think that this group needs a great deal of improvement because they’ve shown it,” Staios said. “Now, about showing it consistently and the things we’ve talked about and what we’ve addressed, I guess time will tell. I think every general manager is doing their job by always looking to see if there’s anything that you can do. I can’t see one major area with this group because they’ve shown how they can play in certain games this year, in the majority of the games this year, that would need to be addressed.”
Unfortunately for Staios and the Senators, patience won’t resonate with a fan base more than three years removed from the previous GM saying the rebuilding days were over.
Staios has a point in wanting this group to see it through. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Senators are a good team at five-on-five. The Sens have the sixth best Corsi rate, fourth best expected goals rate and second best expected goals-against. Some data supports the fact that the Senators should be better than what they currently are.
It just hasn’t happened enough. Sens fans, meanwhile, haven’t shed that familiar dread that has become a yearly occurrence. You can’t blame fans for feeling uneasy about their team letting wins against top teams slip while putting up poor performances against teams lower in the standings.
“We’re 8-9-1 and they keep score for a reason,” Staios said. “Do I think we’ve played better than that? Sure. I think for us to figure out, as a group, why that’s our record is what we’re trying to unlock. For the majority of the games, I think to me and most people, the team looks and feels like not only a competitive team but a playoff-looking team. And we’ve proven it against good teams.”
Or wondering why their team allows goals in quick succession the way they do.
“I look at how many times we’ve given up a goal and then another goal within — a lot of them are in a short period of time — five minutes and there’s a handful already this year,” Staios said. “You look at it last year during this time of year, that happened last year as well. And you can go back to the year before and that happened as well.”
Or seeing that “immaturity” is a theme for a squad whose core isn’t a baby-faced nucleus needing time to come into its own.
“What’s been addressed with the group is that we’re still trying to figure out the mental resolve of the game, and how to be better in certain situations in games and how to deal with adversity throughout games,” Staios said. “Each game is going to be a little bit different. Fast, physical. Officiating might not go your way as evidenced a couple of games ago. How do we deal with that? That’s the next challenge for this group.”
Or that the team’s longstanding goaltending issue remains, well, an issue. The Senators rank eighth-worst in team save percentage (.888) and 19th in goals-against per game (3.22). After some strong early showings, Linus Ullmark could stand to improve after allowing 10 goals in his last two starts.
“Could be better,” Staios said. “We certainly have faith in both of them and I think they’ve proven it. You can ask each individual.”
The good thing about having fresh eyes to look over a situation is that you’re able to provide a different perspective. Staios is that fresh set of eyes, having been on the job for a calendar year plus 20 days. But Sens fans have been here longer. And they’ve seen their team fall short in and out of the rebuilding era that has dominated the late 2010s and 2020s.
Staios might have been better off exclaiming explicitly that the Senators’ start isn’t sufficient for where this team wants to be, even if he might be right that the roster as constructed is still worth believing in. To that end, the Senators should still add another defenceman and a scoring winger. But even if Staios was hungry to make a move, the Senators only have $1.3 million in cap space to play with. And a deal for either of those pieces would mean moving a key cog.
“As we move along, if there are some decisions that can help us today and move us forward as well, I’m open to it,” Staios said. “I’m in discussions all the time about different strategies we can look at. But again, the group has played some good hockey and has proven against some good teams that they’re up for the challenge.”
Then, as Staios himself said on Wednesday: “It’s time to get the results.”
(Top photo of Steve Staios: Chris Tanouye / Freestyle Photography / Getty Images)
