In September 2023, Steve Staios joined the Ottawa Senators as President of Hockey Operations with the incoming ownership of Michael Andlauer. He then took over the role of general manager on Dec. 31, 2023, from then-GM Pierre Dorion after the NHL penalized the Senators for its part in the Evgenii Dadonov trade bungle. There wasn't a world where Dorion was kept around, and the NHL's penalty made it easier to move on from him. From then on, Staios has been in the driver's seat, making all roster decisions for the team. So how well has Staios performed? Let's look at his tenure on a season-by-season basis, broken down through the season, draft, and off-season, with a rating at the end.
2023-24
Season
The first move Staios had to make when he took over was signing Shane Pinto to a contract after the centre was suspended for 41 games due to "gambling." This season was significant because the Senators were facing serious cap issues with the impending Pinto contract, and as a result of the suspension, Pinto signed for the league minimum and fit into the Senators' cap structure.
Unfortunately, the Senators weren't in a position to compete by the trade deadline, and the only move of significance was trading Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers for two third-round picks. As mentioned regarding the NHL penalty, the Senators had to forfeit a first-round pick in one of the next three upcoming drafts.
The Draft
This wouldn't be the draft they chose to do it for, though, as the Senators were selecting seventh overall and selected Carter Yakemchuk, who profiles to be an excellent offensive defenceman. Most of the draft class is still unproven, with highlights also being Blake Montgomery and Javon Moore.
With that said, the Senators used a high second-round pick on defenceman Gabriel Eliasson. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler characterized him by saying, "I'm not sure I've ever watched a more undisciplined, immature player than Eliasson." The Senators have a type: big players that hit and grind. Typically, the Senators aren't the swing-for-the-fences type in the draft. Hindsight is 20/20, but some players taken after Eliasson are already in the league and contributing.
The Off-season
This was one of the most pivotal off-seasons in recent history for the Senators. Their season was sunk by bad goaltending only a year after signing Jonas Korpisalo to be their starter.
Out of nowhere, the Senators made a trade for Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a first-round pick (from Detroit), Mark Kastelic, and Jonas Korpisalo (with $1 million retained per season). In the blink of an eye, the Senators had upgraded their goaltending massively while moving out a terrible contract. It will most likely go down as Staios' best trade in his tenure.
On the day of free agency, Staios traded defenceman Jakob Chychrun to the Washington Capitals for Nick Jensen and a third-round pick. Many Sens fans will point to this trade as a loss; however, Chychrun was a square peg in a round hole in Ottawa. His offense was good, but his defense left so much to be desired. He never played well enough to unseat either Thomas Chabot or Jake Sanderson, so he either played on his off side or played third-pairing minutes. Ultimately, Chychrun became a pivotal part of the Capitals' core and signed an eight-year, $72 million contract, which he never would have here because of the fit.
In free agency, the Senators signed three players of significance: David Perron, a journeyman NHLer who they hoped would inject bottom-six offense into the lineup; Michael Amadio, who became a staple in the bottom six with his excellent defensive prowess; and finally, dark horse signing Adam Gaudette, who ended up providing the Senators with 19 goals in a bottom-six role. The head coaching search finally came to a close as well with the hiring of Travis Green.
2024-25
Season
The first full season as the Senators' GM, Steve Staios did not disappoint. The team had a new look, with several new players making up the bulk of the roster. Jensen brought stability to the back end with Thomas Chabot, who looked similar to when he was paired with Dylan DeMelo. Jake Sanderson took another step into the upper echelon of defencemen in the NHL with Artem Zub as his partner.
Ullmark was exactly what he needed to be for the Senators, with a .909 save percentage and 25 wins in 44 games. When Ullmark and Anton Forsberg were hurt, rookie Leevi Meriläinen was thrust into the starter's role and won eight of 11 games with a .925 save percentage. The Senators' defensive system under Travis Green became incredibly tight and hard to play against.
The Senators' forwards Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson improved their offensive outputs from the previous season, while others like Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux took steps back. Centre Josh Norris was experiencing one of the healthiest seasons he'd had in recent years, and Staios recognized that. Shockingly, Norris was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Dylan Cozens, which came as a surprise to many, showing Staios wasn't averse to shaking up his core when necessary.
Norris was unfortunately injured for the rest of the year after playing three games for the Sabres, and Cozens was productive down the stretch. That same day, the Senators acquired Fabian Zetterlund from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Zach Ostapchuk, Noah Gregor, and a second-round pick.
The Senators made a hard push and finally made the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17, where they faced the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Senators ultimately fell in six games, but it was a great start for the up-and-coming team.
The Draft
The Senators went into the draft with the 21st overall pick, and after a pick swap with theNashville Predators, selected 23rd. They selected right-shot defenceman Logan Hensler, filling out their defensive pipeline yet again. Notable picks also included goaltender Lucas Beckman, who shows incredible promise.
The Senators also drafted two Russians (out of Russia) for the first time in almost 20 years. Overall, this was a much more interesting draft class than the last because it had smaller, high-upside players within it.
The Off-season
The Senators started it off strong by acquiring right-shot defenceman Jordan Spence from the Los Angeles Kings for a third- and sixth-round pick. The deal was widely celebrated for the savvy pickup that Spence was, an analytical darling on a Kings team that was putting worse defencemen ahead of him in the lineup.
The Senators were mostly comfortable with the team they had going into the 2025-26 season but added a strong fourth-line centre option in Lars Eller and a potential reclamation project in Arthur Kaliyev. One issue with this off-season, however, was that the Senators were going into the season with Meriläinen as their backup goalie, which on paper looked like a good plan. Still, having a veteran stopgap would have helped if and when injuries or performance issues arose.
2025-26
Season
If the Senators had erred on the side of caution when it came to goaltending, this season would have been much less stressful by the end of it. The storyline from this season was that the Senators' team save percentage was .878 by the end, even with strong performances by Ullmark at the end. In late December, Ullmark announced he was taking a leave of absence from the team. Staios also signed veteran goalie James Reimer to help right the ship, and for the most part it worked out. What was so frustrating for fans was watching the Senators play excellent games and be sunk by bad goaltending.
Overall, the team itself played extremely well all season. The Senators lost Tkachuk for two months at the start of the season, and that created gaps in the lineup. Newly acquired Spence had trouble getting into the lineup, but once he did, it became very apparent he was an upgrade. Stützle, Batherson, and Sanderson all had great seasons, but it was obvious another top-six forward needed to be added to the lineup. Shane Pinto was signed to a four-year deal worth $7.5 million annually.
The Senators clawed and scratched their way into a playoff spot after being last in the Atlantic in early January, going 20-6-4 over their last 30 games. The Senators were battered and beaten going into the playoffs with key injuries to Sanderson, Chabot, and Zub. They were unfortunately swept in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes but were widely considered the best matchup against them.
The Off-season
Starting with the off-season portion first here because it was a potentially franchise-altering one, with Tkachuk requesting a trade and being moved to the Florida Panthers. That move was followed by a deal with the San Jose Sharks for William Eklund. The Senators also acquired Andre Burakovsky from the Chicago Blackhawks and Samuel Ersson from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Staios also signed Jordan Spence to a four-year deal worth $5 million annually.
We've covered much of this off-season so far, and you can find more on all of those moves here.
The Draft
The Senators had a draft that deviated from every standard they had set in previous years. Before the end of the year, it was announced by the NHL that the Senators would be able to have a first-round pick in this year's draft, altering their previous decision. Their goal was to go for high-upside players, drafting Jonas Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover in the first round, Adam Nemec and Oscar Holmertz in the third round, and taking many more swings in the later rounds.
It felt like an organizational shift in the right direction, and it went noticed. For a good review of the Senators' 2026 draft class, check out the video below.
Overall
The Steve Staios years with the Ottawa Senators have provided more playoff appearances than misses so far. Staios has had to navigate multiple unfortunate situations like the Pinto gambling suspension, the Linus Ullmark leave of absence, and finally the Tkachuk trade request.
Staios has been able to make excellent deals happen out of thin air that have improved the team, signed beneficial contracts, and drafted fairly well. Though it may feel right now that the team didn't do enough to improve with the departure of Brady, the team performed well without him last year.
The Senators have their eyes on another playoff appearance this year, and that's thanks in part to every move Staios has made up to this point. Overall, Staios has been a B+ general manager for the Senators, with lots of room to grow.
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