SENS GM SEES HELPING HAND, NOT A THREAT
Dorion makes it clear McGuire wasn't hired to be his replacement
Pierre Dorion is happy to have another voice at the table.
And it's even better when you bring someone with Pierre McGuire's experience.
Speaking to the media Monday after the Ottawa Senators confirmed the hiring of McGuire as their senior vice-president of player development, Dorion welcomed the former NBC colour analyst to the club's hockey operations department.
Publicly, there was a lot of excitement with the decision by the organization to bring in the 59-year-old McGuire. The conspiracy theorists and the people who don't like his take on analytics aside, McGuire is a hockey lifer who should be able to help this team. The Senators have been studying the possibility for a long time and Dorion even spoke to McGuire in mid-May about this role.
“Pierre brings a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge,” Dorion said. “He's going to be involved in a lot of things in our hockey department. Having worked in TV for the last years, as far as watching NHL games, he's definitely going to be able to have a lot of input as far as player movement transactions.
“At the same time, he's done some scouting, he's been at a lot of world juniors and he's seen a lot of college hockey over the last year, so I think he can have a lot input in a lot of areas.”
McGuire last worked in the NHL as an assistant coach with the Senators in 1995-96. He spent 10 years as a colour analyst at TSN before joining
NBC Sports in 2006. McGuire has broadcast more than 2,000 games in his career and that's why he can help Dorion when it comes to player evaluation.
McGuire will play a big role when free agency rolls around on July 28 and will also be part of any last-minute discussions about the expansion list set for Saturday. Some observers are trying to play Dorion and McGuire against each other, but Senators owner Eugene Melnyk made it clear to the Citizen on Sunday that Dorion has the final say.
“The chain of command is
(the same). Pierre reports to me,” Dorion said. “But if you know anything about how Pierre Dorion operates, I communicate with everyone and everyone knows what's going on, whether it's the coaching staff or scouting staff. Pierre will be in Ottawa, he'll be very present in everything we do as far as hockey.
“But it was made very clear to
me that he reports to me.”
Dorion totally discounted a question that McGuire would someday be GM of this team. Those who know the team's inner workings understand he was brought aboard to be another voice, a sounding board for Dorion, and McGuire is going to help with his knowledge.
Trying to pit them against each other is nonsense; it's about trying to do what's best for the team.
“We are excited to add Pierre to our hockey management group,” Melnyk said in a statement. “His experience will be instrumental as we continue to build an elite team. Pierre's knowledge of the game and its players is highly regarded and I am confident that he will positively assist our team as it progresses to the next level.”
While it is true that Dorion is headed into the final year of his contract, he has never worried about his job or getting an extension,
and why should he? That would be the wrong approach to take.
Anyone will tell you Dorion has done an admirable job. The deal that sent Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks in September 2018 may turn out to be one of the best ever made in the history of this organization. Among the key pieces the Senators received in return were centre Josh Norris, who showed last season it's possible he could play a top-two centre role with this team, and a first-round pick in 2020 that turned out to be Tim Stuetzle at No. 3 overall.
The focus has to be on the ice, and that's why Dorion will be working with McGuire, along with the rest of the hockey operations staff, to try to help improve this team. The next few weeks will be pivotal as the Senators try to add another centre through trade or free agency, along with a defensive defenceman.
McGuire has the benefit of having seen every player in the league in his role as a broadcaster. He and Dorion met face to face Saturday at Mont Tremblant and spoke for another four hours on Sunday. McGuire had to be brought up to speed on where the organization is at.
Dorion has a lot of respect for McGuire's knowledge and connections. Those will be valuable when it's decision time.
“With his TV experience, you go there and you're unbiased on all the teams,” Dorion said. “He comes in here and he's unbiased. As much as, at times, we like to say we're not biased, we do have favourite players, whether it's the coaches, players or managers, or the scouts.
“Him coming in here with his unbiased view is going to be really helpful for us making proper decisions. He will be someone that has a lot of input on the decisions we make moving forward.”