Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios stood pat on Friday, just the sixth time in franchise history that no trades were made on the day of the deadline. However, Staios did make two deals on Thursday in the 24 hours leading up to Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline.
He first traded a second-round pick and third-round pick swap to Los Angeles in exchange for Warren Foegele and then received a conditional fourth-round pick from Detroit in exchange for David Perron.
On Friday afternoon, he met local media shortly after the deadline.
On the overall approach at the deadline for the Senators
“Plenty of conversations, I think we took the approach with this deadline, that it was an opportunity, like always, to try and make our team better. So we looked at just about everything.
“You know, at the end of the day, we feel very good about our team, and the direction that it's moving, the way we've been playing more recently in particular, and we made the deal yesterday for Warren Foegele. Add[s] a little more speed to our lineup. There's some variability with this player of where he can play in a line and what he can bring to a team, but overall, we're pleased with our group and the depth of our group.”
Why speed was an important element at the deadline
“I think if you look at the way that we play, we're a team that likes to get to the forecheck and get in quick. And certainly, I think if you ask our coaches, you hear about pace all the time and sprinting. And I think that's what makes us a difficult team to play against when we’re on our game. And certainly Warren brings that, along with the rest of our group.”
On the right side of the defence corps
“We looked at everything… we really did. It wasn't like we approached this deadline with caution, we were aggressively looking for areas or ways to be able to improve our team. At the end of the day, whether the players weren't available to us, or what it might have been, we felt comfortable with our group. Some of the players that we looked at certainly weren't an upgrade to what we had here.
“And the depth of our group, I mean, I know a lot's been made of the right shot defence. You've asked me this before, but we do have an Olympian that's not in the lineup right now. So when you ask about depth and variability as well, with Matinpalo, when he is in the lineup, he can play on the left side.”
On the lack of a first- or second-round draft pick this June and if that held the team back on deadline day
“Always mindful of the future. But it didn't hold us back from anything. It wasn't like I was in on anything… where I thought, I wouldn't do that if it wasn't going to improve the team. So there just weren't those type of deals out there today.”
On trading David Perron to Detroit
“Well, again, I touched on the speed with Warren Foegele. He's a big body who can skate. He’s had back-to-back 20 goal seasons. We like that makeup of player.
“You know, David was a good player for us. Brought a little bit of what we needed at the time… with his experience and competitiveness. At a time where this group was continuing to grow — we've certainly taken that next step as a group — we felt like getting a guy like Warren into the lineup that could play the right and left side and get in on the forecheck, gets to the front of the net, big body, fits our style of play. “
On the belief that Foegele can regain the form he’s shown over the past few seasons
“Well, I think if he was on a 20-goal pace this year, he wouldn’t have been available. So sometimes you have to take a look at what the makeup of the player is, and was the fit right? What's the timing of it?
“There's always a bit of a question when a good player like that is available, but we feel like just because the makeup of the player, that player in particular, the way he plays the game and our style of play, and the way our coaches like to play, we feel like it's a good opportunity for him to get back to his game and for us to get a very good player.”
On keeping the window of competitiveness open while trying to improve the roster
“Certainly different, I think, than other teams. Everybody's in different phases, but we don't have the benefit of those draft picks accumulated over time, so we have to be strategic on how we continue to build the team.
“And I think we've done a good job. My scouting staff's here, you know, they bust their tails all year to be able to give me the information to be able to make some decisions. And we've been mindful of the picks that we put out and where we put them out. But I'm not saying if we were in on something, that we wouldn't look at that as well. So there's certainly some strategy to it, looking for value players and at the right time of their career, and the fit with us as well.”
On if the recent stretch of games (points in nine of 10 games) impacted deadline plans
“Not really, honestly, like even before we went on this stretch, I still had belief in the team. Yeah, I don't think that we're all pleased with where we are in the standings. We feel like we're a better team than last year.
“I was approaching it as an opportunity to make the team better, and I think we took a small step there. But I mean, certainly I think we have the confidence when we watch our team play — in particular, the 10-game stretch that we've been on — going on the break and then coming back and being able to play consistently like that is encouraging for this group.”
With Foegele having another year left on his contract (at $3.5 million per year), was that the type of add the Sens were looking for?
“We like that. You know, we like that we have him next year. I mean, if you look at our roster going into next season, this team continues to stay solid and grow, we'll have some decisions to make and time will tell. I mean, on the fit, but not just Foegele, but the group and how they continue to grow and ascend.
“But I think we can all agree that we're a better team this year than we were last year, and the belief is, if we can play this way, we're going to give ourselves a good chance to get in.”
On Stephen Halliday’s healthy scratch on Thursday night in Calgary
“We really needed a win, so we put Kurtis MacDermid in, and I think we just went off the record with Dermy in the lineup [laughs].
“No, it's coach's decision on the lineup and the roster, but we, I think the group last night in talking to the coaching staff, we talked about everything. Like, Calgary coming off a loss at home, they're a physical team. They certainly don't cheat you on effort, and they showed in the 60 minutes. We won the game, but full credit to that group, because they continue to work. And when you go into games like that, Dermy can be a deterrent, and that was the reason.”
On how the team can keep momentum going down the stretch
“I think we've been very consistent with our approach, and it's a process-driven approach. I think there's great confidence within that locker room on how good of a team that we could be. They push each other every day. I mean, they come to work, and I think we're all proud of that.
“They haven't been disheartened by — they're not pleased with — but I know they're not disheartened with or lost any belief in the team because of where we are in the standings. It's just, it's a really tough division, as you can see, and it looks like our group is up to the challenge.”
On the deadline being the starting part to begin trade discussions for the offseason
“I would say, yeah, there's certainly a lot [of discussions]. I don't know what the number was, but I think it was a light year for trades. I didn't really go back and recap at all, but it seems like it was light.
And there's certainly, when you have these conversations on a possible transaction, and you don't get there — a lot of times those conversations do pick up in the offseason.
On the Zetterlund buzzer-beating trade at the deadline last year and the difference this year
“Totally different today in the room… it was eerily quiet at times on deadline day. It was a little bit surprising, to be quite honest. And we probably looked at [the clock at] about 2:30, we still had about a half hour left and recalled what we were doing last year at that time, had a couple of things on the go, and it was completely different this year.
“And I've talked to you guys about that, like on the inside, when you're in there, different years bring different opportunities — or not — and I think it's important for our group when we look at things not to force things, be very honest about where we are with our team, and not look to make trades just to make trades.”
On why the deadline was quieter league-wide
I haven't given it a lot of thought, but I would assume that so many teams feel like they're in it or pleased with their team, and maybe looked at a little bit like us, where there's a player that we could look to possibly acquire, and then we look at the player that we have, or how it would affect [us], and it just didn’t have a great deal of effect.
“And I think a lot of teams probably went through that process the way we did, and we hammered away at it, because there was nothing, I think we even got into even in more detail; trying to get creative, to see what might be available, what might fit. And it was a good day. I was proud of the process. These guys again, they work extremely hard.”
On conversations with the players about the approach at the deadline
“Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I have open lines of communication with the players, mostly the veteran players, where I don't go into detail, I don't think that they really want to know, but they know my approach.”
On if there were ever conversations about trading other veterans with expiring contracts
“Not really. I think when you look at it, like, if our team was four points better or eight points better or in and around [that], you’d probably be looking for players that I have now on our team that are expiring to be able to play these minutes and play these games and play in these situations down the stretch, so I was comfortable getting through the deadline without making any moves there.”
