Senators GM Staios talks growth of young team in Q&A with NHL.com

It has been more than a year since the NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the Ottawa Senators to Michael Andlauer, and he and general manager Steve Staios have the team trending in the right direction.

Andlauer took control Sept. 21, 2023 and hired Staios as president of hockey operations. Staios assumed the role of general manager a month later, replacing Pierre Dorion.

Staios played 16 seasons in the NHL as a defenseman with the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Atlanta Thrashers, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders. He had 220 points (56 goals, 164 assists) in 1,001 games and six points (one goal, five assists) in 33 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making it to Game 7 of the Final with the Oilers in 2006.

After retiring as a player following the 2011-12 season, Staios started his path toward NHL management when he was hired as a player development adviser with Toronto Maple Leafs in July 2012. He left Toronto in 2015 to become president and general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League.

Under his management, Hamilton won the OHL championship in 2018 and 2022. Staios returned to the NHL in October 2022 as an adviser with Edmonton and left to join Ottawa after Andlauer bought the team from the family of the late Eugene Melnyk.

Going into the Christmas break, the Senators (18-14-2) held the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They were on a six-game winning streak before losing 3-1 at the Oilers on Sunday.

In their first game back from the break, the Senators travel to face the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN360, CITY, SNW).

Ottawa has not qualified for the playoffs since 2017. Staios is working on making the Senators a Stanley Cup contender and with a good young core, led by captain Brady Tkachuk, has the pillars in place to build a strong team.

NHL.com talked with Staios about his time with the Senators and his plans for the team going forward.

How would you assess your first year as general manager of the Senators?

"I think we’ve taken a step, we’ve made lots of changes, some more evident and some more subtle. Just in the process and the things that we’ve done, we feel like we’re starting to build a foundation, but it’s just one step and it’s a long way to go."

When you took over with Michael Andlauer, did you have a vision for the team and a plan on how to get to where you wanted to be?

"Absolutely. You have your initial assessment and then you have to watch it. We got a sense of what it was going to look like and how we somehow had to have patience and steps to building this. We feel like this is the first step.

"We have a strong, young core. They’re not as young anymore, but relative to becoming contenders and a playoff team, there are still experiences that they need to go through. The positive as we’re getting to the halfway point of this season, we’ve played some good hockey against some very good teams. We hit a streak of adversity and we’ve bounced back and those are the types of things that the group as a whole needs to go through."

You made some good moves this summer. How important was it to bring Travis Green in as coach?

"It was a really good process to go through for me and the entire organization. Every gentleman I spoke to and interviewed at length, they can all coach. What I focused in on was who the best person was for this job for this team at this time. Certainly, I think Travis’ experience with Vancouver with the age of that group, the dynamics of that group and how he was able to improve that group in general, but also each individual got better. He’s got a track record of that, dating back to his days in the American Hockey League. I feel with the impressionable group that we have here, the players are high-character guys, and they want the coaching. I think Travis has really enjoyed that and that process of getting Travis in here was an interesting one. You’re looking at a few different candidates that you get intrigued by, but we certainly dug in on a number of areas and Travis far and away became the right guy for us."

For a lot of teams it starts in goal, and you were able to get Linus Ullmark. How important was that for your team?

"Initially it was months in the making before we got to a deal, but to me it was a matter of, how many opportunities do you get to get a goaltender of this caliber at this stage in his career, where he’s established himself and he still has some runway for sure to continue to go. That was a priority. We had three priorities going into the offseason and one was goaltending, balancing out the defense was the second and the third, certainly this core deserved it, was to bring in some veteran players to wrap around them to help them continue grow and develop as well. They’ve earned that support.

"Unfortunately, David Perron, who has a real positive impact with this group, has dealt with some injuries, so we’re looking forward to his return. Nick Jensen was another player, and he probably brought in a little bit more than what we even thought. From a playing perspective we’re really happy with what he’s done, but also from a leadership perspective."

Do you feel like the team has turned a corner, currently in a playoff spot?

"You can’t look too far ahead in this league. I just think that it’s another good step for us to come from a losing streak to be able to string some consistent hockey together for a long stretch. That’s important to note. The thing with our team is that if we have two or three players that aren’t playing up to their best ability, we’re going to have a hard time winning. We’re not established enough yet to be able to win games without them. The good news though is that when everybody is going, we’re a good team."

Your core is not yet in their prime, so is it important to have those pillars on your team and have them to build around?

"That’s the plan, to surround them with some veteran guys that have been there and done that before and are going to continue to be a good influence and also good players on the ice obviously. I talked to this group about internal growth and with Travis’ help as coach, holding the players accountable and coaching them properly, there has been a great deal of internal growth. If you look at each individual of our core group of players and their game, they’ve certainly gotten better. I could go through every single one of them and they’re all grown and that’s the exciting part, as those guys continue to grow."

Brady Tkachuk is becoming a really good player and leader in the League. How have you seen his development?

"The competitive is real on a nightly basis and consistent basis. That’s the one thing about his leadership quality that he brings it every single night. I think for him to be able to continue to grow as a leader, and you can see the maturity in his game. We thrive on his emotional levels. He’s learning on when and when not to be emotional and that’s all part of the maturation process of the individuals and also of the entire group."

Because of the 2025 World Juniors, you have nine consecutive road games. How does that help with a young group when you’re together all the time on the road?

"We have a good character group, and they enjoy being around each other. It’s a little different for us because of the World Juniors, but it’s an opportunity for the team to bond and to be together. We have a few days off for Christmas and then we’re right back at it."

Personally, how have you grown in that position after taking on the general manager role?

"For me personally, this part of my post-playing career happened authentically. I kind of went into my role with the Toronto Maple Leafs as player development and the management team there had me in and around in important times and situations. I learned very quickly on that job at that time on some of the processes and it certainly shaped an idea of how I would do things differently and some of the things that I liked how they were done. My leap of faith, to leave the NHL and go back to the Ontario Hockey League, was the best decision I made. A lot of people were trying to talk me out of it and thought I was crazy at that point, but the experience of being able to run the entire organization was very valuable. In junior in that position, you’re actually hiring the strength coach and the medical people and you’re looking at the schedule and you’re organizing the busing and the billets situation. So you get a real sense of all areas of it. That experience helped me get more comfortable. To do it at this level is basically the same principles but on a different scale."