Pierre Dorion's season closing thoughts
Pierre Dorion shared his thoughts on how this season played out and it can be summed up very quickly. He's very happy with the progress. Not just the progress of the team who set out to play meaningful games deep into the season and ended up fighting for a playoff spot for 79 games, but also for the progress and development of their young core.
To get to where the team is now has been a process and Dorion was adamant that he never wanted to have band aid solutions.
"Through this process we wanted a team that every year when we dropped the puck, that at some point in time we're going to contend and be a really good team in this league,"said Dorion about building this roster."This year we did that."
This season gave us the first taste of just how far this group can go with a very young core. While Dorion wasn't stating any goals for next season just yet he was clear that this group will be expected to take another step next season.
Dorion was asked early in his media session about the future coaching situation in the nation's capital, a question he gave some thought to. When it comes to the coaching staff, every year it's his job to re-evaluate everything.
"The first three years D.J. was tasked with developing the young players. He did that unbelievable," said Dorion of what he's tasked D.J. Smith with in his tenure as head coach. "This year the mission shifted to winning more and we won more, and the team made it over 0.500% for the first time in years. What we've asked of him he's delivered on."
After that he made very clear that his young stars, Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle think the world of Smith and spoke on his behalf in their own season ending media. However, Dorion mentioned that as he does every season he will contemplate everything internally for a few weeks.
In regards to shaping the roster for the future, Dorion touched on the goaltending situation, looming free agents and adjustments to the bottom six forwards.
When it came to the goaltending situation Dorion did not beat around the bush. The team ran into injuries and save percentage was not where they thought it would be. Heading into next season Anton Forsberg will be one of the goaltenders, while the other will be either be Mads Søgaard or added to the team via trade or free agency.
With that, Cam Talbot will not be back with the Senators next season as the two sides were not able to reach an agreement back in January and decided to pursue other options as the season wound down. Along with Talbot, Nick Holden will not be back next season. The Senators have a deep defensive prospect pool and will look to give the likes of Jacob Bernard-Docker a chance, who Dorion stated it's his job to lose come training camp.
Front of mind for just about everyone in Ottawa's is the future of Alex DeBrincat. Dorion mentioned that DeBrincat will be qualified for next season as they work towards a long-term deal. If it becomes clear that a deal won't be reached he will deal with that then. Suffice it to say, DeBrincat will be a Senator next season as far as things stand.
Additionally, Erik Brannstrom will be signed through arbitration to come back next season.
Derick Brassard the door is open to to come into camp on a professional tryout to try to make the team. After sustaining such a major injury nothing is a guarantee but his impact this season certainly earned him the right to try.
For Austin Watson the door isn't closed, possibly a one-year deal. Watson fought through a broken foot, a bad knee and more and showed his character every day he came to the rink.
For Travis Hamonic the door is open to come back on a one-year deal.
For Patrick Brown there is a possibility of coming back depending on what the roster looks like and what openings there are.
Looking to improve the bottom six, Dorion will certainly look to add some goal scoring but knows that there is an added importance on slotting in the right role players. The goal scoring in the bottom six will undoubtedly be aided by the strides Shane Pinto made this year with Josh Norris back next season to play top six centre minutes.
Lastly, Dorion was asked about which players, outside the top six forwards, that exceeded his expectations this season. First to his mind was Jake Sanderson, for obvious reasons as by the midway mark of the season you would be hard pressed to believe he was a rookie. Additionally, he named Erik Brannstrom, Travis Hamonic and Shane Pinto. Lastly, Dorion paused and couldn't help but mention Claude Giroux, who came in and served what ever role was asked of him and still managed to set a career high with 35 goals this season.
Dorion covered a lot in his season ending press conference but provided a lot of clarity on where the organization stands at this point in time and his vision for the future.
Watch below to take in Pierre Dorion's full season ending press conference:
