By Canadian Press

Senators GM Staios says the team is improving, but not yet playing consistent hockey

Nov 20, 2024 | 3:12 PM

OTTAWA — After watching the Ottawa Senators play their first 18 games of the 2024-25 NHL campaign, general manager Steve Staios gave his assessment of the season so far.

In short, there have been flashes of promise but a lack of consistency, which is reflected in the Senators’ 8-9-1 record.

While emphasizing that the team has often performed better than the numbers suggest, he told reporters Wednesday “they keep score for a reason.”

He said the inconsistency has been a central point of internal discussions.

“You know, I think for us to figure out, as a group, why that’s our record is what we’re trying to unlock.”

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Staios believes the Senators have at times looked like a playoff-calibre team, competing and excelling against tough opponents. But too often those games have been followed by inconsistent efforts, often triggered by adversity.

Staios says the players need to develop the mental resilience to weather that adversity. He explained that tough situations — bad officiating, unexpected goals or other challenges — require a better response.

“That’s where it’s up to the individuals, and it’s not one individual,” Staios said. “I know how this goes, and you’re going to go and grab a player or two and try and figure out, it’s each individual in that room that needs to step up in that regard.”

Staios believes he has surrounded his core group of players with the veteran leadership needed to teach them how to withstand tough situations that will arise throughout a game or a season.

The general manager commended new head coach Travis Green and his staff for instilling a stronger defensive foundation, which has shown improvement from last season, but added there is additional work to be done in that regard.

“We have created an identity of being fast, hard-working, physical (team)” Staios said. “I think it’s a good start.”

Staios was candid in his assessment of Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg, acknowledging that the goaltending could be better.

“It gets magnified when you’re playing goal, but it shouldn’t be an excuse if it’s not quite up to standard,” he said, but expressed confidence in their ability to rebound.

Staios acknowledged ebbs and flows are part of any NHL season. But it’s the players willingness to improve that will be key.

“The good news is like we have high character individuals, well intended individuals that want to be coached,” Staios said. “Now you’ve heard Travis speak to that, and it’s true, like they want to get better, so identifying this area for them, and they have to go through these experiences and, and learn how to deal with them.”

Staios admitted that the team’s record is below what he expected and both he and the coaching staff are having “an honest assessment of ourselves,” and holding one another accountable.

Staios realizes preaching patience in this market could be growing old, but he does see believes there has been progress.

“I think there’s been growth from a team perspective and team play, especially on the defensive side,” shared Staios. “I think that there’s been growth with our identity of a team. It’s a process, and it doesn’t happen overnight, but there’s certainly encouraging signs with this group, and that’s really my message.

“There are encouraging signs, but certainly we there’s, there’s areas that we need to improve in and, and we’re addressing that.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press