{"id":812984,"date":"2018-05-03T12:33:46","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T16:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=812984"},"modified":"2018-05-03T12:33:47","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T16:33:47","slug":"thoughts-in-bold-dorion-speaks-on-tsn-1200s-in-the-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/thoughts-in-bold-dorion-speaks-on-tsn-1200s-in-the-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts in Bold: Dorion Speaks on TSN 1200&#8217;s &#8216;In the Box&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-802593 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thebloguin.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/04\/dorionphone.jpg\" alt=\"dorionphone\" width=\"574\" height=\"359\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After conducting his end of the year media availability last week, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion jumped on <em>TSN 1200<\/em>\u2019s \u2018In the Box\u2019 for the first time in months to talk about his hockey club.<\/p>\n<p>To listen to the full interview, you can use the embedded media player at the bottom of this post, but I\u2019ve transcribed all of Dorion\u2019s comments below.<\/p>\n<p>Interspersed between Dorion\u2019s remarks are thoughts of my own which I\u2019ve highlighted in <strong>bold<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy\u2026<\/p>\n<p>On what Dorion didn\u2019t like with the media coverage this season\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay, let\u2019s start off. I think we\u2019ve got to be better at this. We\u2019ve probably got to do more media availabilities. We\u2019ve got to be more transparent. I don\u2019t want to get into too many specifics, but I will say one tweet from someone that I respected a lot bothered me tremendously. The way it was constructed, the way it was phrased, the way it took momentum, made our jobs much tougher. It created a distraction that was unnecessary and I don\u2019t think it had much relevance or truth to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>CTV<\/em>\u2019s Terry Marcotte was on Ottawa the radio the next day and he\u2019s of the belief that it was his tweet that set Dorion off. (As an aside, he sounded pretty damn emotional in the interview and doesn\u2019t understand why he was targeted specifically by Dorion.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hearing that several teams will be pitching Sens this week on Erik Karlsson. Taking on Ryan contract expected to be part of the ask.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Terry Marcotte (@TerryMarcotte) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TerryMarcotte\/status\/965936074726965249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why the general manager would be upset with a tweet that was later corroborated by NHL insiders like Bob McKenzie or was something that Bobby Ryan believed was moments away from happening on deadline day is beyond me. It probably has to do with Marcotte\u2019s phrasing on \u201ctaking on Ryan contract expected to be part of the ask,\u201d like it was a definitive component to what the Senators were looking for.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Whatever the case, moving Erik Karlsson was never going to be easy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If Karlsson no longer has the confidence in ownership to want to sign an extension here and it forces Dorion\u2019s hand to move him this summer, that\u2019s an unenviable spot to be in \u2013 regardless of Terry Marcotte\u2019s tweet.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>At this stage, fans are being held hostage by Melnyk\u2019s ownership, but if Karlsson won\u2019t return because of him or his unwillingness to pay his best players market value, I don\u2019t think many fans will begrudge him for wanting out.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I don\u2019t know whether Marcotte\u2019s tweet disrupted the market or impacted the kinds of offers Dorion was getting, but maybe Dorion\u2019s pissed because Marcotte tipped the organization\u2019s hand and gave some insight into how ownership may be pressuring Dorion into cutting payroll and leveraging Karlsson\u2019s awesomeness to rid itself of the unpalatable Bobby Ryan contract.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s goofy. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Had the events unfolded with or without Marcotte\u2019s tweet, you can take whatever frustration Dorion has and magnify it by a million because this fan base is going to be irate to see this organization prioritizing savings over making the best hockey deal it can. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On putting forth the idea that the Senators didn\u2019t actively shop Karlsson and whether that was semantics. Did the Senators actually come close to trading Karlsson at the deadline?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, I want to answer this as truthfully as possible. I think we\u2019ve got to show Erik some respect here. He\u2019s our franchise player and he\u2019s a dynamic player. To be quite honest with you, after I said the Gretzky comment, I think it was two days after I saw Erik in Minnesota, I apologized. I said, \u2018No one should ever have to hear that.\u2019 We never shopped Erik actively. Obviously we were a team that was very close to the bottom. Many of my counterparts phoned on a lot of players on the roster. I think it took momentum, whether we were close with a team or not close with a team that\u2019s really not to be debatable. We just listened to offers and at the end of the day, there were no franchise deals on our franchise player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Semantics.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Maybe this will placate some fans, but if the team is listening to offers because it has to and is negotiating or making counterproposals once said offers are made, most will recognize that there\u2019s essentially no difference.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether Bobby Ryan was any part of these discussions and whether Bobby Ryan is a deal-breaker and whether he has to be a part of a Karlsson deal moving forward\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to get into specifics on Bobby Ryan. The one thing I will say and it\u2019s the only thing that I will say \u2013 I don\u2019t want to talk about it anymore \u2013 is that there were teams that made multiple offers where he wasn\u2019t even part of it. So let\u2019s be clear on that. The last time we talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>There were many confirmed offers on the table and some permutations included Bobby Ryan, so why was Dorion mad at Terry Marcotte for reporting the truth? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On what management is specifically looking at to decide if the coaching staff will return next season\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, it was a tough year. There\u2019s no doubt that we feel that this team underachieved. We all have to look in the mirror. Management has to look in the mirror. What could we have done better? I think we have to evaluate the coaching staff from top to bottom and we\u2019re going to do so in the next few days. It\u2019s not going to be a decision we\u2019re going to make right now. We\u2019re going to sit down with them again at some point in time over the next few weeks and from there, everyone knows I\u2019m going to Barrie tonight to scout and then I\u2019m going to spend some time in Belleville. We want to sit down and really reflect. There\u2019s no blame here. We just want to look forward, but at the same time, we want to make sure that we make a proper evaluation whether it\u2019s coaches, support staff, players, we have to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s hard to believe the organization needs the time to step away and evaluate everything that\u2019s gone on when the team has essentially been out of the playoff picture since December. Since that time, management has had the opportunity to collect all the evidence it needs to figure out what the cause of the struggles are. Between Dorion\u2019s comments about Boucher\u2019s practice habits, the reluctance to integrate younger players and the poor special teams play, it\u2019s hard to believe that there won\u2019t be some kind of dismissal \u2013 whether it\u2019s Boucher or at least some of his assistants \u2013 to pay the price for this disappointing season, but it wouldn\u2019t be a shock to see this group return next season as a cost-cutting measure. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On how much responsibility Boucher took for the power play and the struggles the team had without him running it\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019d have to ask him that, not me. To me, everything falls on the coach\u2019s sword. He\u2019s the coach, he\u2019s in charge. It\u2019s the same thing with myself being the general manager, even though Randy Lee is the general manager in Belleville. I\u2019m accountable for that team. We\u2019re accountable together, but I\u2019m in charge. I\u2019m the head of hockey operations, so at the same time, I\u2019m accountable for it. I think Guy being the head coach has to be accountable for our special teams. He\u2019s the guy in charge. He can overrule on anything, that\u2019s the job of a head coach. Even though you delegate certain responsibilities, you can always oversee. For him, he was always told that, \u2018Guy you\u2019re in charge. You have to make sure it works.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>Full marks to Dorion for taking accountability for their AHL team in Belleville. The B-Sens were tied for possessing the league\u2019s third-worst point percentage (.414), their MVP was Jim O\u2019Brien and Filip Chlapik led the team in scoring with 32 points. Dorion\u2019s a brave man for accepting responsibility for this. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s interesting how management is willing to let the staff operate as it sees fit without much intervention. In Dorion\u2019s media availability, he referenced how he made mention of things that he did not agree with \u2013 like his disdain for the lack of practices the coaching staff ran this season \u2013 but let them continue to do it. Instead of curbing the problem, a perceived shortcoming was allowed to continue to what the general manager believes was the detriment of the team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In what world does that make sense?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Success should be built off the flow of information across all levels of this organization to ensure that everyone is given all the tools and support it needs to make the most informed decisions it can. If shortcomings aren\u2019t being properly addressed and are instead being held over a person until the end of the season, how dysfunctional is that and more importantly, in the data and communication era, how much success can you have as an organization?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s archaic.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On the Senators practicing enough and the questionable integration of young players into the lineup\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s address it in three points. First of all, we talked about it in the presser upstairs. Practice, we don\u2019t want to hear that \u2018rest is a weapon\u2019 anymore. We have to practice more. It was brought up a few times during the year, but we\u2019re going to let Guy coach. He\u2019s got a difficult job. We\u2019re going to practice more if he\u2019s back or whomever the coach is. Second thing, the implementation of younger players. We have to be careful here. I talked about it in the presser. We\u2019ve talked about it all year. I think Randy (Lee) when he\u2019s had media availabilities he\u2019s talked about it also, we all want our young players to succeed. But, you talked about when you bring younger people into an organization, they\u2019re probably paid less \u2013 whether it\u2019s the business world \u2013 but sometimes they\u2019re not ready to make big decisions. In the hockey world, you bring younger players in maybe they\u2019re not ready to have an impact. So you\u2019ve got make sure that you develop them well. We alluded to it in our press conference earlier, Colin White of all of our young prospects, him and Chabot get it so much. They are mature beyond their years, but they mean it (when they say the right things). When we talked to him at the end of the year and we said, \u2018On few times when we called up someone else,\u2019 he said, \u2018No, they were better than me. They deserved to be called up.\u2019 When we called up Ben Sexton, Randy to him and he said, \u2018You don\u2019 even need to explain to me. He\u2019s been better than me. He deserves to go up and play in the NHL.\u2019 And at the end of the year, we explained to him maybe the situation could have been a bit different if we were in a playoff run, but for his development, we felt that he needed to play 50 games or so, handle the puck as much as he can and play in all situations. Mistakes aren\u2019t as magnified down there as they are here. He\u2019s got to get stronger, he knows it, he\u2019s coming to Ottawa and he\u2019s making a full commitment, but he\u2019s got it. For a 20-year old who sees a lot of his good buddies being established NHL players, you might think there\u2019s jealousy or he\u2019s mad, but it\u2019s the furthest thing from it. He goes, \u2018For me to be the best NHL player, I knew I needed to spend more time in Belleville than in Ottawa this year.\u2019 So it always depends, you have got to gauge where every player is. It\u2019s like when they come into the business world, some people will gravitate towards higher levels quicker and others take time. It doesn\u2019t mean that the guy who takes two months to achieve a certain position isn\u2019t as good, it\u2019s just you\u2019ve got to do it the right way. And sometimes we have to tell our fans if I get stopped in the grocery store and they ask, it\u2019s each case individually. Like Thomas Chabot probably only needed about 15 games. Colin White probably, we figured needed about 50 (games) and that was the gauge of where we felt they needed to be. I hope that answers and what was the third (question)? Yeah, I touched on them all: practice; implementation and the development of younger players.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Beyond Chabot\u2019s successful season, I don\u2019t know if there was another player on the Senators\u2019 roster who had much of an impact. I referenced the Belleville Senators\u2019 unproductive season earlier, but on a number of occasions this season, the Senators were forced to promote their best younger prospects because the organization lacked quality depth.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Whether it was on the parent roster on the third or fourth lines or AHL veterans who could step into the Senators\u2019 lineup and allow the better prospects to remain in the minors playing more meaningful minutes, the organization failed to learn from what helped make the team successful down the stretch and into the 2017 playoffs: quality depth.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As much as we can fault the organization for failing to integrate the younger players, especially Chabot earlier on in the season, the organization brought in shitty veteran players who were given every opportunity to fail before the team moved on. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Making matters worse, after the success that Tom Pyatt and Guy Boucher had last season, Dorion empowered the coach to have a larger say in the player personnel moves. Maybe it was reflective of the organization\u2019s budgeting and scouting staffs, or maybe it was a sign that Dorion wasn\u2019t necessarily comfortable targeting players who could be successful in Boucher\u2019s system, but whatever the case is, every free agent pickup or waiver claim was predictably a bust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In the case of players like Nate Thompson, Johnny Oduya, Gabriel Dumont, easily available data and evidence showed these players to be inconsequential players at this stage of their respective careers, but it was ignored. Chalk it up to ignorance, bias, or poor evaluation, but the Senators gave a lot of ice time to shitty veteran players this season and that\u2019s not all on the coach.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The general manager has to own some of it for not only failing to bring in higher calibre players, but for failing to get rid of these players quickly enough to remove Boucher\u2019s temptation to keep running with these guys.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On having younger players and not forcing guys when they\u2019re not ready\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, an example of that is Filip Gustavsson. We\u2019ve got something special in Filip Gustavsson like Thomas Chabot is special. Barring any miracle, Filip Gustavsson is going to be at least in the minors for a full year if not more. We have to make sure that we develop him properly. We\u2019ve got to make sure that when he steps into the NHL that he\u2019s ready to succeed. No matter how our goaltending is next year, when you have a prized asset, you have to make sure you develop him well and he understands that. We\u2019ve talked to him about it \u2013 that at the right time, he\u2019ll be our goalie of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Belleville was supposed to be a place for development, but the only thing that developed this season was a headache. The mismanagement of its goaltenders was inexcusable and it stemmed from the na\u00efve belief that they could rid themselves of Andrew Hammond\u2019s contract last summer. They inked veteran Danny Taylor to a contract believing that someone would roll the dice on Hammond\u2019s previous NHL success. A trade never materialized until November, but even then, Hammond was loaned to the Senators by the Avalanche.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>These two veterans ruined whatever opportunity there should have been for younger goaltenders like Marcus Hogberg and Chris Driedger, and these mistakes cannot be made again in the team\u2019s handling of Gustavsson.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Even if I don\u2019t think much of Driedger\u2019s outlook, Hogberg and Gustavsson should play next season, but Kurt Kleinendorst is already on the record petitioning the organization to bring in a veteran next season. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but let the kids play. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On being disappointed in the work ethic or compete with the players down the stretch after being eliminated so early in the season\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a good question. A lot of players played for pride. I don\u2019t think we were blown out of too many games down the stretch. After, you could say we were kind of\u2026 to me, when we couldn\u2019t win every game to get to 96 or 97 points, we felt we were eliminated. From that game, we had that game in Toronto where we were blown out early and maybe another game out of 25 or so, so that\u2019s pretty good. You can\u2019t question the players\u2019 work ethic and commitment at that part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2016-17, the Senators had 11 games in which they allowed five or more goals (0-10-1) and this past season, they doubled that total to 22 games (2-19-1).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether the Senators will offer Erik Karlsson a contract on July 1<sup>st<\/sup>\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The suspicion here is that the Senators will table what they feel is a fair offer to Karlsson, he\u2019ll rebuff the offer and then the organization can turn around and say that it did its best to keep their generational defenceman in the fold, but he just did not want to return.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether Erik Karlsson is going to be an eight-figure cap hit on an annual basis player on where he stands in the league\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best thing I can do is is there is no chance I am ever paying a fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the decision that goes with whether he wants to sign here or not and whether his decision to stay impacts Stone or Duchene\u2019s decision to stay long-term\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think you would have to ask them. I alluded to it earlier. We alluded to it. Randy (Lee) and myself, we had great exit interviews. I think our five best ones were Erik, Mark Stone, Matt Duchene \u2013 both those guys have said they love it in Ottawa, especially Matt with how much he likes it in Ottawa. The other two were Craig (Anderson) and (Mark Borowiecki).\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>You just knew Mark Borowiecki would be a good interview, there\u2019s a reason why the media just love talking to him. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On what makes for a good exit interview\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonesty and accountability.<\/p>\n<p>\u2026<\/p>\n<p>We got to one goal of the Stanley Cup Final last year and they were extensive and we were in 30<sup>th<\/sup> place this year and they were extensive. Sometimes you need a few days to gather your thoughts and that\u2019s what we did with the players. We gave them a full day to gather their thoughts and a good exit interview is when we listen. A few were told, but (for) most of them, we listened and listened to what happened, what we have to do to be better and what we have to do so this year never repeats itself again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mixing in some saves will help. A full and healthy year out of Karlsson would help too. Beyond that, it\u2019s hard to envision next season being significantly better if the goaltending struggles and the Senators either move Karlsson for a marginalized return or trade him for a number of young assets who could be years away from being productive contributors to the team. There\u2019s a very real chance that next year\u2019s team could bottom out again. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On having contract negotiations with Mark Stone\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe touched base during the season. I want to correct you and make sure you get it because I know how some of our fans think and they might expect a contract tomorrow. We touched base during the season and we said at the end of the season, we\u2019d sit down. Mark\u2019s an important player for us, so Monday on my way home at about 6:30 (pm), we had a good productive call from the CTC to Orleans and we know we\u2019re going to sit down in the next few months. Craig Oster, myself and our group have done many contracts together. We feel that we\u2019ll be able to work on something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>If I\u2019m an agent, I\u2019m leveraging an offer sheet to ensure that my client gets the most money he can get. In this case, using a team like Colorado \u2013 who have acquired a number of high picks and can risk losing them by extending an offer sheet \u2013 to get Stone the kind of deal he should be looking for if the Senators balk at giving him market value in the negotiations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On avoiding arbitration with Mark Stone if it gets to that\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to say that because what if, but we have a great relationship. Craig is someone that we\u2019ve always had a great relationship (with). We\u2019ve had many of his players by coincidence and we avoided arbitration with (Jean-Gabriel) Pageau last year, so we hope we can do the same (with Stone).\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>If a player elects for arbitration, he cannot sign an offer sheet. In Ottawa\u2019s situation, they probably want to avoid arbitration with Stone because they\u2019ll be looking to extend him long-term rather than get him on short-term deal that brings him closer to unrestricted free agency.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether there were any talks of extending Chris Wideman during theseason\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were talks that we thought Chris would be able to come back and then the surgeon threw a curve at us and we have to respect that. They are experts in their field. If you speak to Chris, he felt he was ready to play the last few games of the year or the last week of the year, but we\u2019ll all respect doctors. When it comes medically, they have the final say. We did talk briefly to his agent and said we\u2019d reach out in the next few weeks to see if we could come to an agreement. We like Chris. We think Chris has grown and become a good part of this franchise and this organization on this team, so we\u2019d like to do something, but we\u2019re not going to do anything ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hopefully Dorion\u2019s not saving the ridiculous for Cody Ceci.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Getting Wideman under wraps would be great for the organization because it very well could stand to lose Ceci and Erik Karlsson this summer. Karlsson obviously has the uncertain future because his (un)willingness to sign a contract extension and Ceci is a restricted free agent who should be jettisoned this summer to the highest bidder.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As a right-shot defenceman, at least Wideman represents a depth option who has shown an ability to flourish in sheltered minutes on the third pairing. He can also play on the power play and move the puck.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Wideman\u2019s not a perfect player by any means, he has his own shortcomings that are often exposed when he\u2019s battling with bigger and more physical forwards, but he\u2019s a competent player whose strengths outweigh his weaknesses and in the right situation, he may be able to have success playing more minutes against tougher competition. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On Dorion that buyouts were a possibility and who determines whether a player is healthy enough to be bought out during the offseason\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I\u2019m not mistaken, (the player) has to be medically cleared by doctors to be able to play at that point in time. There can be grievance situations, so on that, I\u2019m not exactly sure, but what we want to make sure, we\u2019ll make sure that if we ever buy out a player, he\u2019ll be healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The question stems from news that Marian Gaborik underwent successful surgery on a herniated disc in his back. Like Alex Burrows, Gaborik is an obvious candidate for a buyout this summer. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On what a team can do something to positively influence the schedule next year\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, that\u2019s something this year that has changed a bit. When it comes to the schedule next year, both myself and Geoff Publow are really involved with the NHL when it\u2019s going to come down to it and sit down with them. The process has already started. I had the chance to talk to the NHL schedule-maker at the NHL GM meetings and we\u2019re set to have a face-to-face at some point in time in the next month where Geoff Publow and myself, we\u2019re going to ensure that the business side\u2019s needs are met, but more importantly that the hockey side\u2019s needs are met.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Geoff Publow is the Senators\u2019 vice president of strategic development and after two seasons of shoddy scheduling, it\u2019s encouraging to hear that the Senators are finally taking their schedule seriously.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The organization can dump on Guy Boucher for giving his players too much rest, but the organization could have remedied the problem by never agreeing to go to Sweden in the middle of the regular season \u2013 which in turn led to the league giving the organization a congested schedule that featured a league-leading 19 back-to-back games. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On how many of this team\u2019s plans and strategies pertain to what happens with Erik Karlsson\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn some ways it influences it greatly, but in other ways, it doesn\u2019t influence it at all. We feel\u2026 we\u2019re not going to fool anyone. For us to say that we\u2019re a Stanley Cup contender next year would be foolish. We have a plan in place where we want to be a perennial playoff team and we hope that Erik is part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>This answer makes me wonder whether the organization is positioning itself to cut expenses everywhere disguising the situation as a rebuild before stating at a Karlsson trade press conference that he simply wanted to go to a contender. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether there\u2019s anyone in Belleville who didn\u2019t play at the NHL level this season but could be a player in the future\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, your favourite guy, Gabriel Gagne. No, there\u2019s a few other guys. Obviously (Marcus) Hogberg had an up and down year. We wanted to follow a plan. We wanted him in the (ECHL) until Christmas. We brought him up, he started great but then had some inconsistencies. He\u2019s one guy. On the back end, (Andreas) Englund got a game late in the year. His character, how he played and how he competes is very difficult to beat. You do need puck-movers in this league, but you do need guys to protect the lead when you\u2019re up by a goal in the last minute and that\u2019s where Englund really comes in. (Maxime) Lajoie started slow. We feel he\u2019s an NHL player moving forward. The last month according to Randy Lee, he really took off. I\u2019m excited to see him on Friday and Saturday. Up front, Nick Paul has to figure out if he wants to be a player. Gabriel Gagne we think is a player down the road. Obviously (Filip) Chlapik and (Colin) White, and I know I\u2019m forgetting someone and I feel terrible and I\u2019ll apologize to them on Friday night. (Christian) Jaros, sorry that\u2019s who I forgot. He had a big time injury in the second half and didn\u2019t play. He was great in the first half and he needed to adjust. That\u2019s the guy I forgot to mention. I was trying to think off the top of my head, he\u2019s another defencemen who we really like down there. Obviously people saw (Christian) Wolanin here. We told him we hope we never see him in Belleville and he made quite an impression to us. Up front, I\u2019m trying to think\u2026 other players need to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>There\u2019s an assortment of young talent in Belleville, but not many players can safely be projected to play in the top half of a lineup. If everything breaks right, most players have middle-six potential as forwards or middle or third pairing potential as defencemen. There\u2019s nothing wrong with this of course, every team needs good, young talent that can be cheaply integrated and staggered into the lineup. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On Wolanin\u2019s poise with the puck and the confidence he has\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cActually, if I can correct you on something, do you know what the most welcoming thing to us was? It was how he adjusted defensively and he got better for the most part \u2013 except for one or two games. He knew which games. He pointed out the Carolina game, I think in Carolina where he wasn\u2019t as good, and the Detroit game where he gave up the two-on-one. But, in the first game, he made a mistake a bit, but it was (Conor) McDavid that came down. He does that to guys that have played years in the league with us. We always knew he had that poise with the puck. We always knew that his skill level was very good, but the way he was able to defend, adjust and how to use his stick and angles, that was the one thing that really impressed us. Because, we told Guy (Boucher), you could play him one game after, (it\u2019s your call). There was no tank nation on our side. The only real directions we asked Guy and we left it up to him was, \u2018Play Christian Wolanin one game and then you can decide if you want him in the lineup or not. That is your decision.\u2019 And then the other one was when we saw that we couldn\u2019t get to 96 points winning every game, we said we better start playing Mike Condon to see what we\u2019ve got in him to bounce back and maybe get into more games. Those were really the only two directions Guy got all year from our side, but they were both when we were out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s easy to get excited about what Wolanin brings to the table as a left-shot defenceman. I can\u2019t remember the last time the Senators featured two competent, puck moving, left-shot defencemen in their lineup. I don\u2019t know if you have to go back to the days of Zdeno Chara and Wade Redden, but it feels like it\u2019s been awhile.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On the goaltending situation in Belleville\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGustavsson will be one of the two guys and then we\u2019ll see. We\u2019re not going to commit to anything else. We\u2019re not happy with the goaltending there this year. We\u2019ve gone with young guys. It hasn\u2019t worked out. We\u2019re really going to evaluate that. One thing is for sure, Filip Gustavsson is one of the two goaltenders there next year. After that, we\u2019re going to sit down &#8212; Pierre Groulx, Cory Cooper, Randy Lee and myself \u2013 and we\u2019ll make a decision from there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The organization has also gone with older players \u2013 Andrew Hammond and Danny Taylor \u2013 were veterans who\u2019ve had success in the NHL or KHL, and that didn\u2019t work either. So maybe it\u2019s hard to evaluate a team\u2019s goaltending when the team playing in front of them isn\u2019t very good.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kurt Kleinendorst indicated to management that he would like to see a veteran goaltender be brought in next season, but maybe that\u2019s a reflection of the talent playing up front. Kleinendorst won the Calder Cup playing a teenage goaltender in Binghamton, so it can\u2019t just be an age thing. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For me, I\u2019d prefer to see Marcus Hogberg and Filip Gustvasson in the mix and developing at the minor\u2019s highest level, but maybe it doesn\u2019t matter that much if the players in front of them don\u2019t improve. The pressure is on Pierre Dorion and Randy Lee to improve the farm.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On committing to making a renewed emphasis on scouting and player development, but not committing to hiring more people in those areas\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no backpedalling on that. I think our hockey resources are abundant and they\u2019ve been the same that they\u2019ve been when Bryan Murray was the general manager. Nothing\u2019s changed there. As far as our management staff, the one thing is that we\u2019re not big. You know when you\u2019re part of our management group that your voice resonates a lot because I\u2019ve been on management staffs where it\u2019s triple the number here and there are too many chefs in the kitchen. So we know that your input matters and when it comes to scouting staff and development people, I\u2019ve been on staffs where you have too many scouts. You\u2019re chasing bad players the entire year instead of focusing on drafting good ones. I alluded to it earlier, I alluded to it in the town hall, the guy that we have now \u2013 Trent Mann \u2013 he can\u2019t hear that, but I think he\u2019ll be a better scout than me. He\u2019s on the right path to be a better scout than me. It\u2019s humbling to say that, but he\u2019s really good. He did tremendous work last year in his first draft and he likes his staff the way it is at the present time. He might move some people around, but we feel we have got the resources to draft well and develop well. I think anyone who talks to Shean Donovan knows that he\u2019s great at what he does. We don\u2019t want to inundate our prospects with having someone there every day. I think they\u2019ve got to play their season rather than have someone with them, but overall, if there\u2019s someone who\u2019s really good, we could definitely look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s no real surprise to see Dorion downplay the size of a staff and reject the perception that more resources could benefit the organization. The last thing he wants to do in this climate is fuel the belief that the organization needs a bigger commitment from its owner. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>With that said, in my earlier \u2018Thoughts in Bold\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XMpHeVRMxw\">piece<\/a> that detailed Dorion\u2019s media availability, I examined the team\u2019s draft history and hesitancy to draft European players who did not play in North America or the Swedish league. It could merely be an anomaly, but this reluctance seems to be related to the size of the scouting staff.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Scouting in North America is cheaper and more efficient for the organization. Shorter travel times, more prospects and repeat viewings make it easier to get a handle on a prospect\u2019s future, so it\u2019s understandable why the organization has shown a preference for drafting talent that develops in North America. With that said, it becomes pretty easy to wonder how many gaps exist in the Senators\u2019 scouting coverage or how many talented players have been passed over simply because the Senators did not due their due diligence on the best available talent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On what was the most disappointing aspect of the season for him watching this club\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 50 times the other team scored first. I think it was 50 or 51. Terrible second periods and (bad line changes). Did you have a bug in the coach\u2019s meetings? There are many things. To me, the one thing that I will come back to and I did talk about it earlier, was us not practicing enough. And I left it that in Guy\u2019s hands. I brought it up a few times during the season, but I respect whatever decision (he) made. To me, that was really bothersome and to our management group, that\u2019s something we cannot afford to do. We\u2019re a skilled team and skilled teams need to skate and practice. At times, our defensive zone coverage drove me crazy, but it was also part of our success last year and we went away from it. But, practicing is the one thing that bothered us the most.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>If it\u2019s really bothersome, change the behaviour before it\u2019s too late. You\u2019re all part of the same team and should be pulling in the same direction, if your experience and knowledge could be of use to improve the team and you\u2019re in a position of power, use it. Waiting until the end of the season to lambaste the coaching staff for not practicing enough reeks of standoffishness. It\u2019s an antiquated philosophy that no longer fits the modern game thanks to the information and communication technologies that exist today. Teams that struggle to adjust will get left by the wayside. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On Fredrik Claesson and Ben Harpur\u2019s development last year\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019d asked me about Ben Harpur after our two games in Sweden where he played with Cody Ceci and they went against arguably one of the better lines in the league and they shut them down, I would have said, \u2018We\u2019ve got a stud there.\u2019 If you had asked me after 10 games in the second half, I would have said, \u2018Not sure what we\u2019ve got there.\u2019 Younger players have to be more consistent. He\u2019s one of them. He\u2019s got to own the confidence he shows in Belleville. Now it\u2019s easier said (than done) because in Belleville, he\u2019s a menace. We don\u2019t think we\u2019re giving you false information here, most times in Belleville, he was better than Thomas Chabot when they were both there. So he\u2019s got the potential and he knows he\u2019s got to be better. It was addressed. Consistency. Don\u2019t accept the fact that you\u2019re here. Impose yourself here. With Freddy, Freddy started great and finished great. He\u2019s got to find consistency. Freddy accepts his role. He\u2019s the happiest man alive. He\u2019s a great teammate. He brings great vibe and energy to the room every night, but you\u2019ve got to understand whether you\u2019re a healthy scratch or you\u2019re playing with Erik Karlsson, you\u2019ve got to be consistent there too. It\u2019s all about consistency, knowing your limits and knowing what you can do to make sure your team has success. So that\u2019s where both of those guys lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ignoring the inane comparison of a small 13-game sample size, Thomas Chabot was 20 years old and he only had one professional game of experience before playing the first 13 games of his AHL career. He tallied two goals and seven points in 13 games on a bad Belleville team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Harpur on the other hand is two years older than Chabot and had 11 NHL games and more than 114 games of minor league professional experience under his belt before the start of the 2017-18 season. I would expect him to be more comfortable in his environment and not have to worry about making as many adjustments to his game.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving past the AHL experience, it\u2019s impossible not to get excited about Chabot\u2019s future and what elements he brings to the Senators. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If he could not separate himself from Harpur at the minor league level, he sure did that in the NHL as a rookie.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 63 games for the Senators, Chabot registered 9 goals and 25 points. His blend of skating, hockey IQ and offensive skills is the stuff you dream on once he gets a little more experience. The underlying metrics were relatively strong. Using <a href=\"http:\/\/naturalstattrick.com\/playerreport.php?season=20172018&amp;playerid=8478469&amp;sit=5v5&amp;stype=2&amp;stdoi=oi&amp;rate=n&amp;v=t\">NaturalStatTrick.com<\/a>\u2019s \u2018With or Without You\u2019 data, it\u2019s obvious that Chabot\u2019s teammates tend to play better when they\u2019re on the ice with Chabot rather than when he\u2019s off of it. None the seven players who posted positive CF% rates when they were not playing with Chabot were regulars this season \u2013 Ben Sexton, Nick Paul, Mike Blunden, Patrick Sieloff, Nick Shore, Christian Wolanin and Chris Wideman. At least with the latter two however, they were competent puck movers who played on separate pairings. The others simply benefited from smaller sample sizes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In Ben Harpur\u2019s case, he strikes me as a player who is given bigger minutes and more responsibility simply because he\u2019s a big defenceman who fits the archetypal defensive defenceman mould.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The results definitely did not warrant a bigger role, but Harpur was frequently called upon to play alongside Cody Ceci in a shutdown role once Dion Phaneuf was dealt.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Harpur\u2019s \u2018With or Without You\u2019 numbers this season were <a href=\"http:\/\/naturalstattrick.com\/playerreport.php?season=20172018&amp;stype=2&amp;sit=5v5&amp;stdoi=oi&amp;rate=n&amp;v=t&amp;playerid=8477433\">diametrically opposed<\/a> to Chabot\u2019s. When teammates were on the ice playing alongside Harpur, they spent a disproportionate amount of time within their own end defending.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Harpur earned praise for surprising in his small sample size of games last season, but it could have been a function of the team\u2019s success last year in the playoffs. Maybe that\u2019s unfair because it\u2019s not like he played poorly, it\u2019s just that when the team was rolling and playing at its highest level, it\u2019s hard to assess these nine games as a true valuation for what Harpur can reasonably be expected to bring to the table on a consistent basis moving forward.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On giving Guy autonomy as a head coach but pointing out a few things here or there\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, it wasn\u2019t like we went into the office and said, \u2018You\u2019ve got to practice more.\u2019 It was more, \u2018Guy, you\u2019re the coach. You do what you need to do for this team to have as much success as possible.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>I don\u2019t understand this philosophy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether he has is guilty of listening to the coach on needing a particular player or two\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, but at the same time, one thing that I\u2019ve learned from all my years in the NHL is, especially with third or fourth line guys or role defencemen, if you impose someone on them, they\u2019ll never play and they\u2019ll never develop. So you have to work with your coaches even more on those guys. People think you\u2019ve got to work with your coach on first line players, it\u2019s the furthest thing from the truth. When it comes to role guys, that\u2019s where you have to work with your coach the most. And did we give Guy a bit too much leniency? Maybe, but in the end, it was our call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>It seems like Boucher had a preference for redundant veteran players who he was familiar with, but at least the organization recognizes the error of its ways and stop bringing redundant players into the fold simply because of their experience playing under Boucher. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On going with less expensive players as role players and reconciling it with the fact that these players are often younger with less experience\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we alluded to it earlier, but it\u2019s a case-by-case scenario. It depends where we see the ceiling for certain guys. One guy I didn\u2019t mention before was Jack Rodewald \u2013 had a really good first half and not as good a second half. We hope he can become some sort of role player. It depends. You can\u2019t go with 20 young guys in your lineup or else you\u2019re going to be 31<sup>st<\/sup> without a doubt. You do need a good mix. You need a core of solid veterans, but at the same time I think you can implement younger guys. Whatever role they\u2019ll continue to develop in. We\u2019ve said it all along, we didn\u2019t want Colin White playing seven minutes. It was not going to happen and we didn\u2019t want Thomas Chabot playing under 10 minutes. It wouldn\u2019t be the right thing for his development. There comes a time where a guy like Harpur, he can play those minutes and he had done enough in the American (Hockey) League and he\u2019s old enough that it was right. So we\u2019ve got to fill out your lineup\u2026 and how we allocated money by lines probably has to be done better, but that onus is on me. We need to make sure we do that better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Senators love them some role players.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether the impressions left on him by fans at these town halls had an impact on him\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, the one thing about the town halls which we found is great is that our fans are passionate. They care, they are educated about the team and they care about the team. The one day when a gentleman brought up having a little maple leaf on the sweater to represent that we\u2019re Canada\u2019s capital, we thought that was a great idea. The suggestion about (honouring) Jonathan Pitre, right away we talked with Randy (Lee) and the most distinguished award at our development is the hardest worker. Jonathan spoke at our development camp and he was outstanding, so we\u2019re going to rename the hardest worker (award) as the Jonathan Pitre Award. I wish we could have thought about it, but one of our fans thought about it. Obviously our fans are talking about our in-game experience and they were vocal about it. Our fans want to know the plan, but we want to give them direction on where we\u2019re headed. Obviously we\u2019re going to be younger. We hope to be faster. We want to be a team that is entertaining to watch, but if you gave our fans (the option) of entertaining to watch or win and be boring, for the most part, they\u2019d say win, but just a bit entertaining. So we have got to find the right balance. I think we\u2019re in a results-oriented business, but we\u2019re in the entertainment business also. If we can win as much as we can and still provide a (good bang for their buck), I think everyone comes out a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The town halls were an interesting exercise for the Senators because I really believed they were going to use them to filter the message and deliver more PR-driven messages. To my pleasant surprise, the opened up the microphones to field questions that they couldn\u2019t entirely prepare themselves for. I\u2019m hoping to get a town hall blog up in the next 24 hours to provide my own insights from the first town hall session. Keep an eye out for that. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On what the timeline is for making a determination on the future of the coaching staff\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, the first thing is Barrie tonight. Belleville over the weekend, maybe Owen Sound or Sarnia on Sunday. Next week review and sit down probably over the next two weeks. (Then) the (NHL Draft) lottery, so early May is probably when we\u2019ll (make a decision). Whatever the decision (is), there might be no announcement, there might be an announcement, but that would probably be the timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dorion\u2019s been pretty outspoken about what he hasn\u2019t liked about the coaching staff this season, but he never really articulated what he did like. It\u2019s a stark contrast from an interview during the 2016-17 season when he referred to hiring Boucher as his best decision. If I had to guess, either Boucher is done or at least one of his assistants is gone to pay the price for this disappointing season. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On whether he\u2019s attending the draft lottery and what his lucky charm will be\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I\u2019ll probably wear the one tie that I wore\u2026 I always wear red ties. My kids gave me a tie and I wore it to my first press conference as GM, so I\u2019ll probably wear that tie. Maybe we should ask our fans. Come by and drop off your lucky items and I\u2019ll bring the box. Maybe that\u2019s something that we should look at.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Plaid jacket, Pierre. Go with your trademark plaid jacket. <\/strong><\/p>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-812984-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/cloud.autopod.ca\/podcasts\/chum\/179\/62945\/pierre%20dorion%20itb.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/cloud.autopod.ca\/podcasts\/chum\/179\/62945\/pierre%20dorion%20itb.mp3\">http:\/\/cloud.autopod.ca\/podcasts\/chum\/179\/62945\/pierre%20dorion%20itb.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After conducting his end of the year media availability last week, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion jumped on TSN 1200\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[543776247,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.2 (Yoast SEO v22.2) - 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