What McGuire hire means for Dorion

New VP has spent the past two decades talking hockey for TV and radio audiences

It's an interesting dynamic, the Pierre and Pierre show that Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has now put in charge of the front office.

General manager Pierre

Dorion insists he's still the boss, embracing the experience and background that comes with the addition of Pierre McGuire, who has spent the past two decades talking hockey for TV and radio audiences.

If the chain of command is clear, the voice of a new senior vice-president of player development should be welcome. The Senators have been mighty thin in the management ranks and Dorion has been overextended in taking on too much too often.

McGuire, who hasn't been in the coaching or management ranks since being with the Senators way back in 1995-96, confidently sells himself as having stayed “inside the glass” due to his relationships with coaches, scouts and players.

He also says he brings a fresh, “unbiased eye” to the evaluation process after so many years as an objective observer of the game.

McGuire has never been afraid to express his ideas about building a team the proper way. He's old school in the sense that he steers clear of Twitter and relies far more on the eye test of scouting in person than the newer wave of analytics.

Now that he's turning all that talk into action — for the record, McGuire offered up positives and negatives in discussing the Senators play during his daily appearances on TSN 1200 during the 2020-21 season — how will it work in practice?

McGuire will be everywhere in helping scout the pro and amateur ranks and as a voice of experience that Dorion can lean on before making personnel decisions.

What's also intriguing, though, is that he'll be out front in selling the message to the fans.

The media-savvy McGuire will be tasked with talking publicly for an organization that often struggles with positive messaging. In that regard, his hiring deflects some attention away from the abrupt resignation of Chris Phillips as executive director of the Senators Community Foundation three weeks ago.

“There's no question, it is part of the role, and it's something

Mr. Melnyk talked about when we met, maybe the first two or three times in phone conversations,” McGuire said during his Zoom availability Monday. “Yes, it's definitely part of it and I appreciate that and it's something that I am comfortable with. I've made my living doing that for the last 20 years.”

McGuire says he got his start in broadcasting with CJAD in Montreal because radio executives liked the way he had answered questions when he was a coach.

Being back in management, though, he's returning to what he loves doing best.

“Ever since Mr. Melnyk told me I had the position and I've been talking with Pierre Dorion, every day has been like a Game 7 for me,” he said. “I'm just so excited about it. It's going to be a ton of fun. I know there are going to be ups and downs. There always is in the NHL.”

There are often power struggles, too, and contract situations to contemplate.

McGuire was given a threeyear contract, while both Dorion and coach D.J. Smith are headed into the final season of their deals.

That gives rise to speculation that McGuire could be a GM-in-waiting if the Senators struggle next season.

Dorion says he's not worried about that possibility.

“Not at all, not at all,” he said. “I think and I hope to be here for the long term and I hope that Pierre McGuire is a part of my team for the long term. We all want ambitious people and people who are driven to work with us, and there's no denying the fact that Pierre is ambitious and driven, and I think that only makes us a better team and only makes me a better general manager.”

Dorion says he's not thinking about his contract situation, believing that the club's rebuild has gone largely according to the big-picture blueprint.

“If you start worrying about your contract and the decisions you are going to make, then you're not helping the organization,” he said.

The precise details of McGuire's responsibilities haven't been spelled out, but Dorion says he's quite comfortable if the new guy ends up taking on some of the media responsibilities that used to fall in his lap.

“Roles need to be defined; he's in his first day,” Dorion said. “Pierre will be able to do a lot of things here, and obviously he's a great speaker, so having him … sometimes, hearing from me is not always a thing (the media) want all the time, so having him speak will probably be something he will also do.”

The bigger summer signings of Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson are yet to come, but Monday certainly offered up a splash of pre-draft attention for the Senators organization.