Did the Ottawa Senators Set Themselves Up for a Busy Offseason?
During the first Intermission of the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks game on Saturday, Senators GM Steve Staios sat down with Claire Hanna of TSN and was asked about his approach to the trade deadline and his priorities this offseason.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Claire Hanna: “The trade deadline was just over a week ago. Tomorrow you’re going to be heading into GM meetings. I heard that you laid some of the groundwork during the trade deadline for the offseason. What kind of moves could we see in the off season?”
Steve Staios: “It’s hard to say right now, but certainly my approach going into the deadline was that we were in it. Like we were not in a playoff spot, as it is, but to watch our team play on a nightly basis, to see the commitment, the consistency and effort, I approached it aggressively, like we’re in it, trying to help the team. And I think that we did. I think that we had, getting Warren Foegele into our lineup, who plays our style of game, who’s got speed, he’s got some variability to his to his game, where he can move up and down the lineup for us and play in all different situations.
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So we added again to our depth. And I just look at where we were a couple of years ago and how we’ve been able to continue to pick away at this roster and add to it, but it could lead to a very interesting offseason with all the discussions, as there just wasn’t a lot that shook loose at the deadline.”0
Hanna: “What is the number one priority for the off-season?”
Staios: “It’s a good question. Really. I think with the strong returning group that we have, and the up-and-comers we talked about, Carter Yakemchuk. The position on defence, I think we’re going to continue to look at improving that area, but we may just have it internally.”
NHLRumors.com Note: The Ottawa Senators added at the deadline, bringing in Warren Foegele, along with moving out David Perron. The feeling was that Perron was going to be moved, whether the team was in a playoff position or not. An area of need at the deadline was on defense, specifically the right side. Given Nick Jensen‘s offseason hip resurfacing surgery, he isn’t the same player he was last year. Jordan Spence is adjusting to playing a bigger role.
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Having another veteran to go with Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, and Artem Zub. With Sanderson out week-to-week with an injury, adding a player like Rasmus Ristolainen or another player of his ilk would have been ideal. But that doesn’t mean they can’t do it in the offseason.
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