Ottawa Senators: One Year With General Manager Pierre Dorion
It’s been a little over a year since Pierre Dorion was named the newest General Manager for the Ottawa Senators. Since then he’s been very active, let’s review how the year’s gone for him.
Following the resignation of long time GM Bryan Murray, Dorion was brought in as the new GM. It didn’t take long before he started making moves as he quickly fired Dave Cameron as well as three of his assistant coaches. Following a disastrous season in 2016 a change was needed. Early in May he brought in Guy Boucher as the Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators and hired Marc Crawford as an associate coach. An under the radar coaching signing turned out to be the best hiring the Sens could have asked for.
Early Aggressiveness
In his first off-season Dorion did not sit on his hands and only make the minimal moves. He made sure to get Mike Hoffman signed to an extension and a great price. However, his big move was the trade that sent Mika Zibanejad to the New York Rangers. In return the Sens got Derick Brassard. Although the picks exchanged in this deal made it a little difficult to swallow it was a good trade for what the Sens need. Being in win now mode, the Sens needed better players for right now and Brassard provides that.
Building A Contender
It was during the season that Dorion truly left his mark. Starting off with what could be his best move as GM thus far he acquired Mike Condon when Anderson had to leave the team for personal reasons. This move saved the Sens season. Without Condon there’s a very good chance the Sens wouldn’t have made the playoffs, let alone the Eastern Conference Final.
Other important transactions took place throughout the year as Zach Smith was re-signed to a four year contract in January. However, it was the deadline where Dorion made the push to make Ottawa a contender. It started with a depth acquisition of Tommy Wingels in late January. However, the small moves stopped there as he made trades for Alex Burrows and Viktor Stalberg. The price for Burrows may have been a little high but he was re-signed so he was not simply a rental. He was also able to get more value out of Curtis Lazar than many expected.
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Final Thoughts
In the last year Dorion has been very active. Although this summer he has been somewhat lacking in the big moves department he’s been playing it smart. I believe he’s already proving to be a better GM than Bryan Murray. He’s showing a willingness to improve the team and although not every move can be a success, he’s come out on top more than not. Murray was too passive as a GM. The Ottawa Senators needed someone like Pierre Dorion.