Five Thoughts for Friday: Front Office Adds, The Next Step, Giroux Rumours, and more!

Here are some scattered thoughts for Friday:

Front Office Changes

After AGM Ryan Bowness was let go, we knew that the Senators would be making moves with the front office. It was announced yesterday that they hired former Brantford Bulldogs GM (and Staios' former coworker) Matt Turek to be the Belleville Senators General Manager. It's interesting that Turek is only the GM of Belleville and not an AGM of Ottawa like Bowness was, so I'm curious to see if there is a new hiring coming or if Rob DiMaio gets promoted to that spot. If it's DiMaio that gets promoted, that'd leave a spot open for a Director of Player Personnel/Professional Scouting, as the Senators have never had a robust front office to begin with.

Ottawa also hired recently retired NHLer Sam Gagner as the Director of Player Development, which is always a bit more mysterious of a role, but it's great to see nonetheless. I have no idea how good Gagner will be in that role, but they must've loved his insight in Belleville while playing the final 19 games of his hockey career. I always like making additions to the front office, but this is also on the heels of Bowness leaving, so I'd still like to see more hirings, especially for amateur and professional scouts. They've always relied on a small number of scouts, and they desperately need a stronger farm system if they want to take the next step.

Still a Long Way to go

Speaking of the next step...although Ottawa made the playoffs, which is a fantastic achievement considering the path over the last eight years, it's only the first step towards winning the Stanley Cup. There are a countless number of teams that make the playoffs almost every year but haven't won in recent memory: Toronto, Edmonton, Dallas, Winnipeg, Carolina, Los Angeles are always in contention but haven't been able to get over the hump, plus a team in the past like Washington took 13 years in the Alex Ovechkin era to get the job done. Getting to the dance doesn't guarantee you anything, and it's a daunting challenge getting 16 playoff wins.

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't been eliminated by the Florida Panthers just yet, but seeing the Panthers completely take over the series over the past three games is a great reminder of how challenging it is to beat proven winners. The Panthers looked dead in the water after the first two games, but have rallied back and look like their 2024 selves again. I desperately hope that the Senators recognize how much better they'll need to be if they want to have any shot at winning the Cup in this window of contention, because sometimes your window closes before you even realize it. Ottawa needs more high-end talent, which is difficult to acquire outside of the draft. Sometimes you can luck your way into good deals and draft picks, and Staios will need luck and excellent planning in order to not only become a contender, but win as well. 2024-25 is hopefully the beginning of something special.

Don't Overpay Giroux

Claude Giroux is a pending UFA this summer, and he's coming off a sub-par season where he had 50 points in 81 games. The 37-year-old's point totals have dropped from 79 to 64 to 50 over the past three seasons, and it's clear he can't be relied upon as a top-six force anymore. However, that doesn't mean he brings no value, as his experience is sorely needed, plus he's one of the smartest players on the ice, and they should take any goal scoring they can get.

He was making $6.5M per season over the past three seasons, but if he wants to stay in Ottawa, he'll need to take a significant pay cut. Bruce Garrioch reported yesterday that the Senators have begun contract negotiations with Giroux, which is a good sign that the two sides can get something done. In his talks with league executives around the league, Garrioch says that a one-year deal between $3-4M should be able to get it done, which is a sweet spot for me.

When a player reaches his late 30s, things should be taken one year at a time, and $3-4M is perfectly fair for both sides. If a deal has more than one year or $4-5M per season, that's where the Senators could run into some issues. Remember, although Giroux could've been worth that this season, there's a chance he continues to show signs of aging, and they need every dollar they can get for upgrading their roster this off-season. Bring Claude back, but overpaying would be a mistake.

Keeping the Pick is Smart

We essentially knew this all along, but the Senators are officially keeping their 2025 1st round draft pick instead of giving it up due to their punishment from the NHL with the Evgenii Dadonov fiasco. I'm not going to re-litigate the punishment, because we all know how ridiculous it is. I saw a good chunk of the fanbase criticizing the decision to keep this pick instead of the 2026 one, but it's the right call in my mind.

Scouts seem to think that the 2026 draft is better than the 2025 one, but so much can change over the course of a year, and picks in the latter half of the first round aren't going to be much different from year to year anyway. With all else being equal, I'd rather have a prospect from the 2026 pool, but I don't think it's much of a difference, if at all. In addition, if they want to stay in contention, it's better to get a player into their system sooner rather than later, so a 2025 pick has a year's head start on the 2026 pick.

The Senators will be picking 21st in 2025, which is definitely lower in the order, hence why some were advocating for giving it up in case they regress next season. Giving up your pick this year in expectation that you will be worse next season is the worst loser's mentality I've ever seen though, and that would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Go make the team better in the off-season and try to pick even later in the first round.

Lastly, we've already seen the NHL ease their punishment before when they initially took away a 1st and a 3rd round pick from the New Jersey Devils in 2011, but then gave them a 1st rounder back at 30th overall. Michael Andlauer has been honest about wanting a similar situation to happen, so perhaps the Senators have to only forfeit a 2nd round pick or they have to pick 32nd in 2026. Who knows if that'll actually happen, because it's not as if the NHL has been kind to the Senators the last few years. It's a good gamble to make, even if they end up having to forfeit their top 2026 selection.

Daugavins is The Man

Lastly, I wanted to end on a heartwarming note. Kaspars Daugavins and Senators team photographer André Ringuette formed a special bond over the years, including their time together at the many IIHF World Championships. Daugavins came out of retirement for one final World Championships this year, which was a fantastic surprise for Ringuette. Not only did Daugavins show up, he brought Ringuette a great gift:

It's one of those stories that makes you hopeful for humanity. I didn't even know who Ringuette was before yesterday, and now I feel emotional about his bond with Daugavins that spanned almost 20 years. It's a small thing, but it's nice to highlight the people behind the scenes sometimes.