Senators GM confident brighter days coming soon

Pierre Dorion was tight-lipped when it came to discussing off-season changes during a Zoom call with local media Thursday afternoon.

But the Ottawa Senators general manager is confident that, with the right injection of youth, veterans on a short-term basis and a strong performance at the draft table, there will be better days ahead.

While the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators didn’t have the benefit of a long playoff run this spring for the Calder Cup, the likes of Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Alex Formenton, Vitaly Abramov, Logan Brown and Erik Brannstrom should be able to push for spots in camp in advance of the 2020-21 campaign — whether it gets under way in November or December.

“As part of the plan we want to continue growing,” Dorion said. “We want to field a very competitive team in Ottawa and Belleville. We want to see the growth in our players. We’ve got to start moving up in the standings. A lot of the work we’ve done in the last two years, I think our fans will start seeing and we’re really excited about the upcoming season.”

It starts with the draft lottery that will be held June 26. Though the Senators can select no worse than No. 5 and No. 6 with their own pick and one obtained from the San Jose Sharks, they could also win the lottery or draft in the top three, and that could allow them to add a player or two who may step in next season.

Dorion stated several times this rebuild has to be done right and they won’t rush “the plan” just for the sake of a few more wins. But if Ottawa is able to get the likes of Alexis Lafreniere of the Rimouski Oceanic or forward Tim Stuetzle of Germany or Quinton Byfield of the Sudbury Wolves, they’ve all got an opportunity to make an impact.

They’re not the only ones. The top end of this draft is strong and the Senators also have the New York Islanders’ first-rounder, which they can use get a prospect they want or possibly to deal for somebody who can help them right away.

“The plan (owner) Eugene (Melnyk) and I put in place in February 2018 is starting to come together and we know with this upcoming draft it’s going to look really good,” Dorion said.

He does have roster decisions to make with restricted and unrestricted free agents.

While little-used Mikkel Boedker has already signed with HC Lugano in Switzerland, decisions have to be made on Craig Anderson, Mark Borowiecki, Ron Hainsey, Matthew Peca and Scott Sabourin. The biggest decisions are Anderson, Borowiecki and Hainsey because they all play big roles.

It would appear the time has come for Anderson, who has been with the organization for a decade, to pass the torch to Anders Nilsson and Marcus Hogberg in the net. There have been suggestions the Senators may sign another veteran goaltender, but Dorion has lots of time and nothing will be finalized until the organization holds its exit meetings midway through next month.

The Senators will try to sign Borowiecki and have expressed an interest in keeping Hainsey. However, it could be nine months before the Senators play their next game and that break may not be good for a 38-yearold.

On the restricted free-agent front, Chris Tierney, Connor Brown, Anthony Duclair, Jayce Hawryluk, Rudolfs Balcers, Nick Paul and Andreas Englund all have to be dealt with over the course of the summer.

The cases of Tierney, Brown and Duclair will be interesting. All played big roles last year and deals will be done with all three one way or another because they have rights to arbitration, but what kind of term will they get? You could see Tierney being moved if the organization wants to make room for its young players.

There has been talk in the past few days about signing Brown to a long-term deal because he’s a year away from being a UFA, but that may not fit into the Senators’ plans. If they can get Brown signed to a contract in the three-year range, that would work because as this rebuild goes on, he’s the kind of player that’s going to get pushed down the lineup as the young players emerge.

The plan (owner) Eugene (Melnyk) and I put in place in February 2018 is starting to come together and we know with this upcoming draft it’s going to look really good.

As for Duclair, his production fell off at the end of the season, but he’s got great speed, he works hard and he’s got the chance to play a big role here.

Dorion will continue to hold talks quietly to try to get deals done with the players the organization wants to return next season.

“We made a rule, I learned from my first year as GM, that it’s probably best to not talk about any of these discussions,” Dorion said. “We know what we need to do from now until the season starts and we’ll make sure that we get it done.”

Dorion is confident coach D.J. Smith is the right person to take this team to the next level.

“D.J. has done a tremendous job,” he said. “First, and foremost, he makes it a pleasure for all of us to go to the rink every day. I don’t think I have a met a person with more positive energy than D.J. Smith. As a coach, he brings great structure, he’s a tremendous communicator, he knows how to talk to the older players and the young players and how to get the maximum out of them.

“And if we can give him the right pieces here, we know he’s going to bring this team to a championship calibre team in a very short span.” bgarrioch@postmedia.com