Ottawa Citizen

DORION TO GUIDE SENATORS INTO FUTURE

Sens’ general manager signs three-year extension as team embarks on rebuilding roster

- BRUCE GARRIOCH bgarrioch@postmedia.com Twitter.com/sungarrioc­h

Pierre Dorion has been given the green light to lead the Ottawa Senators to the National Hockey League’s promised land.

That could mean big changes on the ice in the coming months because it doesn’t sound like the Senators are going to sit still with the current roster, which means players will be moved while also bulking up through the NHL draft to get this team back on track.

The Senators have signed Dorion, who took over the role in April 2016, to a three-year contract extension through 2021-22, and he’s charged with getting this team back to respectabi­lity.

As the Senators prepare to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night in the Battle of Ontario at the Air Canada Centre, they are sitting 11 points out of a playoff spot. The chances of returning to the post-season this spring are slim to none.

The Senators advanced to the Eastern Conference final last spring against the Pittsburgh Penguins and lost in overtime of Game 7.

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk believes Dorion can help guide this team to the next level.

“The goal is to win the Stanley Cup,” Melnyk said in a statement Friday evening. “Having come within one goal of last season’s Stanley Cup Final, we were hopeful entering this season. Obviously, our results have challenged those expectatio­ns. What remains unchanged is the dedication that goes into evaluating every aspect of this organizati­on.”

Melnyk said Dorion’s focus would be on getting the team headed in the right direction, and it sounded Friday like that could mean either a retool or rebuild with the NHL trade deadline coming up on Feb. 26.

Melnyk indicated the Senators might have to take a step back to take a step forward, but he indicated he would increase the organizati­on’s commitment to scouting so they could get homegrown young talent.

“Today ’s announceme­nt reflects a renewed commitment to scouting, drafting, and developmen­t,” Melnyk said. “It may require changes to our lineup. Rest assured, we will only tolerate pain with an end game in mind: Building an organizati­on that wins — at all levels — year in and year out.”

Dorion, who had one year left on his deal before he re-signed Friday, went to Barbados on Monday to meet with Melnyk for two days, and he laid out a plan intended to make the Senators into Stanley Cup contenders.

After returning from organizati­onal scouting meetings in Florida last month, Dorion indicated he had “multiple plans” in place depending on how the season unfolded. It’s almost a certainty the Senators won’t be in the playoffs in 2018, which means it’s time to put the plan into action.

The Senators haven’t been the least bit pleased with their results this season, and Dorion will study all his options before the trade deadline. They have plenty of assets they can trade and are gauging NHL interest on virtually every roster player.

It’s believed the only untouchabl­es are captain Erik Karlsson, winger Mark Stone and defenceman Thomas Chabot. It’s also unlikely the Senators will move centre Matt Duchene, especially after they made a huge trade to get him from Colorado in November.

While Stone can become a restricted free agent on July 1, the Senators already know he’s going to be back next season because he has rights to salary arbitratio­n. The key to all of this is Karlsson because, if the two sides can’t work out an extension over the summer, then Dorion will have to consider dealing him.

It’s believed the Tampa Bay Lightning have shown interest in Karlsson, but the Senators aren’t willing to go that route because they need to have a conversati­on with their franchise player and see if he wants to stay.

There has been interest in forwards Mike Hoffman, Jean- Gabriel Pageau, Zack Smith and Derick Brassard and defenceman Cody Ceci. There’s also mild interest in blueliner Dion Phaneuf from the Los Angeles Kings.

At this point, pretty much everything is on the table.

Dorion wasn’t available to speak to the media Friday night because he had gone to a junior game to scout prospects for this year’s draft immediatel­y after the Senators landed in Toronto.

 ?? TONY CALDWELL ?? With his team all but out of the playoffs, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion could be a busy man as the NHL trade deadline draws closer.
TONY CALDWELL With his team all but out of the playoffs, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion could be a busy man as the NHL trade deadline draws closer.

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