Thoughts in Bold: Pierre Dorion Speaks Ahead of the Draft on TSN 1200

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion joined Graham Creech and Dean Brown on TSN 1200 this morning ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft to discuss the recent developments with his team.

The entire interview only ran for about 13 minutes, but there was some pretty good substance to it. To listen to the full interview, you can access it here.

For those unaware, the format of the thoughts in bold pieces is pretty straightforward. I have transcribed the interview below, but after each of Dorion’s responses, I have included thoughts of my own which are highlighted in bold.

Enjoy.

On what the odds are that the Senators will retain their seventh overall pick…

“I would put it at about 50/50 right now to pick seven. We’ve got a few irons in the fire. We’ll see what comes about it tomorrow. I don’t think you can expect anything probably until tomorrow closer to the draft. There’s always a chance of moving up, moving down, trading the pick for someone we feel could have an impact in the lineup, so that’s what we’re looking at.”

Well, this news is equal parts exciting and terrifying. Given some of the names being thrown around in the rumour mill, it might be difficult for the Senators to acquire the kind of term and cost-controlled talent they would be looking for in exchange for the seventh overall pick, but with Dorion mentioning the possibility that the team could use that pick to move up or down in the draft, it sounds like the organization is exhausting its options and can get creative here.

I still believe the best option for the team’s long-term window of competitiveness is one in which it addresses a need via free agency while retaining its top pick, but if Dorion pulls the trigger on a deal, he (and the organization) cannot afford to lose it.

On the club’s decision to buy out Colin White and how that process played out…

“First of all, we thank Colin for his services in Ottawa and for his play. It just came up, the possibility there for the buyout period at his age was advantageous to us from a salary cap relief point of view. At the same time, we had players like a Shane Pinto… we always thought of Colin White as a centre… so you have players like Shane Pinto, Mark Kastelic and Ridly Greig knocking on the door to play at the centre position. We’ve always seen Colin as a centre. Obviously, I think injuries were a factor in this and at the same time, injuries were a factor in this. And at the same time, performance, I think Colin expected more out of himself and we expected more out of Colin. We want to wish him the best of luck.”

I did not have time to write about yesterday’s news, but buying out Colin White before he turned 26 years old was the right decision. This offseason represented the last opportunity to do so and by doing it now, it means that White’s buyout will only cost the team one-third of the money owed to him rather than the normal two-thirds.

Despite the first-round pedigree and a 40-point freshman campaign, White failed to live up to the expectations of his contract. I feel for the player because his contract was created out of circumstances beyond his control. White spent the bulk of his rookie season playing on a line with Brady Tkachuk and Mark Stone - who is one of the best play-driving wingers in hockey. Between trading Stone and recognizing that projecting forward, the likelihood of more talented offensive centres surpassing White on the depth chart as they were drafted and developed, White probably was never going to be long for the top of the lineup. Injuries, as Dorion correctly pointed out, hurt, but regression was going to come his way.

The spin of this being advantageous from a cap point of view or a story of developmental success because of the presence of a few young centres is a little rich. It’s not that these opinions are wrong, they just kind of gloss over the fact that the organization erred in rewarding this player with a long-term deal. Despite the well-documented and obvious reasons for a bridge deal, one of the biggest reasons for White’s long-term contract was so it could be used as a PR tool to show its fans that players actually wanted to remain in Ottawa. Of course, smart fans recognized that there is a significant difference between extending an RFA with little leverage and an impending UFA who has enjoyed a lot of personal success.

On the reported trade interest in Colin White at the deadline and whether it was disappointing to have to buy him out now…

“Well, when you look at it, you always look at your options at that point in time. We knew when the trade deadline came, if it wasn’t a deal that was going to work for us, we had possibly this option. We talked about it internally. You’re just not going to make a deal to make a deal. Whatever you bring on board, is that going to help the Ottawa Senators immediately? Down the road? What do those deals look like compared to what do we get if we buy him out? We waited internally and we just felt that there was no deal that was beneficial to the Ottawa Senators. So, we went another way and we just went in this direction which we felt was the best thing for the organization.”

That the Senators chose to buy White out than move him for another team’s undesirable contract(s) is the smart decision. White’s buyout will cost the Senators $875,000 per season over the next six years, but saves them $10.5 million in real dollars. If the Senators want to stretch their limited budget, it makes sense to move on from a redundant player and reallocate the money owed to White to more talented alternatives or to players who address greater positions of need.

On how difficult the conversations are in the buyout process with the player involved and to get sign-off by the employer…

“I’m not sure I follow you. The conversations are very difficult with the player. There’s no doubt about that when you’re… Colin White was someone we drafted and had a lot of faith in. We signed him to a longer-term deal after a pretty productive season. As a rookie, I think he was fifth in rookie scoring. For us, it wasn’t easy. As far as approval, I laid out my plan to the board. Obviously, both Olivia and Anna (Melnyk) are aware of it and we just go about our business.”

Pierre sounded a little defensive about whether it was hard to convince ownership to sign off on the deal, but if it was as straightforward as he made it seem, it sounds like he still has the confidence and trust of the Senators’ decision-makers.

On what his opinions are of taking Russian-born players heading into this draft given the current situation playing out overseas…

“First and foremost, and I think I said this in my press conference, my thoughts and prayers are with the people in the Ukraine. You have to think about it, in 2022, with this stuff like this just happening, it’s not a pleasant experience. On our side of things, we’ve talked internally about it. For us, it’s tricky in a complex situation because we don’t know what the future holds. If anyone can predict the future when it comes to stuff like this, well, good for them, but not many people can. Because it’s such a difficult situation, every time a Russian player on our list and it’s around the pick we’re going to make, we’re going to weigh it out and see what’s best for the organization and make a decision.”

When it comes to the Senators drafting European talent, one trend has stood out. Outside of the Swedish leagues, the Senators have demonstrated a tendency to only select European players who are already playing in North America. In the last 15 years, the Senators have only drafted four Europeans (Tim Stützle, Roby Jarventie, Leevi Merilainen and Markus Nurmi) who were not playing in North America or Sweden at the time. Obviously, with the selection of the first three players listed, they were all taken recently in the 2020 NHL Draft. Hopefully, that is an encouraging sign that demonstrates that Ottawa’s coverage is better and more thorough across the various regions where they don’t have to worry about focusing on North American players who are more easily accessible to their (and every other organization’s) scouts.

When it comes to Russian-born players, however. The Senators simply have not dabbled there at all since the John Muckler era ended. Some hypotheses could point to some combination of Muckler’s poor draft record, the formation of the KHL, spending less money on European scouting or maybe even Eugene Melnyk’s Ukrainian heritage, but what is undeniable is how long it has been since the Senators drafted a Russian.

The amount of time that has elapsed is pretty significant and makes it hard to believe that it is just a mere coincidence.

The last Russian to be drafted by the organization was Ruslan Bashkirov in 2007, but he was drafted out of the QMJHL. To find the last Russian to be selected out of the Russian leagues, you would have to go back further to find Dmitry Megalinsky, a defenceman who was drafted out of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the sixth round of the 2005 NHL Draft. (Note: the last eastern European to be drafted out of that region was Kaspars Daugavins in 2006.)

On the addition of the two new assistant general managers and whether more front-office hires could be made…

“Obviously, I’ll answer the second part. We’re still looking at adding within our hockey operations staff. We’re small. We’re not going to dispute that. Sometimes small is good. You talk to the teams that have a lot of people, no one feels at times that they’ve got a voice. So, there’s always finding the right middle ground here for us here. So, yes we might be looking to add to our hockey operations (department). It’s something… one thing about the way we like to operate or I like to operate, you want as many good opinions as possible and that’s something we look upon. We’ll evaluate that as the summer goes on. As far as the hiring of Ryan Bowness, after the interview, I remember going back to the office that day and just saying, ‘How could we not hire this person?’ He’s bright and obviously he’s very articulate. He knows the game of hockey. He’s got a great background that I was looking for. He obviously was more of a hockey guy than a contract guy. He knows the NHL in and out. He’s run a staff and he knows how to deal with people because part of the assistant GM job – because the GM is always extremely busy – is managing staffs. I just feel his addition with his knowledge of the pro scouting side of things on top of the pro scouts we have, his being involved with a team that won a Cup as far as culture, it’s just something great for us. It’s a bonus (hey-o!), that his dad was the first coach of the Ottawa Senators. He’s got a lot of relationships in Ottawa. He’ll be moving to Ottawa, obviously. Having him be the GM of Belleville, I can’t put out enough qualities about Ryan Bowness because I’m elated that he has joined our organization. Trent Mann has done an unbelievable job of running our amateur staff. Trent will also be moving to Ottawa. Trent will be in charge of development, which I feel, is something that we can always improve on and the amateur scouting staff. But at the same time, it’s not like he’s not going to do contracts at time or do other work. It’s not like Ryan won’t go see an amateur game or won’t be involved in development discussions. The three of us are going to work really tightly together, you know with Tim Pattyson and Sean McCaulay. That’s our hockey management group. Everyone’s got their role and in Trent, we’ve got someone who’s got great hockey knowledge and is a tremendous evaluator. It’s going to be good for his experience to be around the team a bit more. But, at the same time, he’s still going to continue his functions to run the draft. He won’t be as involved in having a big say in the fifth, sixth or seventh round, but he’s still going to have a big say in the first part of the draft.”

Whenever the organization talks about the size of its front office or eventually spending towards the cap, they always emphasize adding the right person at some undisclosed point in the future when the time is right.

The problem is that the goal posts shift all the time and it is an easy way to deflect on an issue and move it down the road without really upsetting the fans. The problem is that while the Senators have added to their front office, the size of the front office has not grown following the dismissal of Pierre McGuire and the resignation of Peter MacTavish.

Although I agree with Dorion’s point about the benefits of a smaller decision-making circle, I staunchly believe that this organization could certainly insulate these individuals better and help them make the most informed decisions they could if it had its own analytics department and bolstered its scouting and player development staffs.

On Josh Norris contract talks…

“We’ve had talks progressing.”

On Mathieu Joseph’s contract talks…

“Progressing. It has to get quick or cause if not, we go to arb(itration).”

On Alex Formenton’s contract talks…

“I’ve just had initial talks.”

On Erik Brannstrom’s contract negotiations…

“Progressing. The same agent as Norris. What’s that expression? Two things at once there, pardon. That’s where we are on that one.”

I’m going to come back to these contract negotiation answers shortly.

On Matt Murray’s health situation…

“Matt Murray worked extremely hard at the end of the year to try and come back and play for us. We made the decision to hold him out. He had a concussion. We just felt, ‘What’s the point?’ He’s been at the rink and I’ve been there for the last month or so. (He’s) working out every day. He’s working out hard. He has not been on the ice. The plan is to go on the ice next week. He’s got new equipment to try it out. He’s feeling well. So, before you get onto the next question, yes. If we need to have three goalies next year, that’s what we’re going to go with. I talked to D.J. (Smith) and Zac Bierk about it.”

If the general manager could dump Matt Murray right now, he would probably relish the opportunity. That he speaks openly about his willingness to carry three goaltenders is fine, but it reflects a necessity because of Murray’s contract than it does Dorion’s desire.

Talking to the coaches about the possibility of using three goaltenders is fine, but it would be interesting to get the players’ perspectives here as well. If anyone can recall the Guy Boucher era that frequently relied on using a lineup featuring 11 forwards and seven defencemen, the defencemen hated it. Players want and need to play consistently for them to be at their best.

For Filip Gustavsson’s development alone, it was stunted last year because he could not get into the lineups regularly, but if the Senators are serious about determining whether he can be a long-term option for the team in net, they can ill afford to have him rot on the bench.

On Connor Brown…

“He’s a very good player for the Ottawa Senators.”

It was nice knowing you, Connor Brown.

On the 2018 World Juniors and Hockey Canada schedule and how two players from that roster are on the Ottawa Senators and how he and the organization have dealt with it…

“The NHL is investigating and until there’s more, I can’t really comment on it.”

This was a pretty weak answer. The organization and others around the league were advised by Bettman and the league’s legal representatives not to address the investigation directly. But, after the organization took a massive PR hit following The Athletic’s in-depth look at Eugene Melnyk’s stewardship of the franchise, I am surprised to see the general manager not use the opportunity to condemn sexual assault or show compassion to the victim.

Considering the organization does have two players on its roster in Drake Batherson and Alex Formenton who were on that 2018 gold medal-winning team, Dorion did not disclose whether the organization was conducting an investigation of its own.

On the other hand, it is interesting to note that when he was asked specifically about the contract negotiation status for each of the team’s individual restricted free agents, every negotiation was “progressing” with the sole exception being Alex Formenton. Whether that was just an oversight on Dorion’s part or purely coincidence, it’s not going to stop some from reading into it.

It is one of the aspects of this scandal. Until the investigation concludes and the responsible parties are held accountable, people are going to speculate on who was directly involved. Another troubling aspect of that is that even for those not directly involved, how do they prove that they were not complicit in the cover-up? In a culture where teenagers regularly talk with their teammates about girls and sex, it will be impossible to accurately figure out who knew and did not know about what transpired during the night in question.

And for an organization that preaches character and is counting so heavily upon its young core, you can hope like hell that players like Batherson and Formenton weren’t involved.