General rundown of the presser:
- Staois starts the presser by thanking Brady & Emma Tkachuk
- Bruce asks him what changed since Steve called the idea of trading Tkachuk "nonesense"; Steve says, "a trade request".
- Staois says he has no intention of taking a step back this coming year
- Slight paraphrasing in quotations: "if you're alluding to the fact that people don't want to play in Ottawa, I don't think that's the case. This was a unique situation. If you look at where he was transacted to, there's a connection."
- "Not overly surprised" "Brady was a bit of a different player throughout this past year" "Wish we could have found a way forward, but we move on"
- Doesn't feel that this situation had a negative impact on the room or how the team played this season; sees "an elevation in leadership for individuals who are already in the room... full confidence" in those guys
- Staois says that due to the NTC "it was clearly pointed towards one team in the end"
- "Would you like to get an impact player back in a deal like this? There are different ways you can get there in the end, and this draft capital may be able to help us get there in the end"
- re: the "player empowerment phenomena": "players negotiate NTCs into contracts, and as a manager you have to honour that... I'm not concerned about that for us in Ottawa... we have a very committed group."
- Bruce: "how much interest do you have in 9 and 25 right now?", as Steve is about to answer the question, his phone rings. He follows: "I have no intention of this team taking a step back. We're active, and we're open".
- "9 is in play, for sure." "If you see the transaction, see the picks taking back, you may wonder what direction the team is going in. I want to be clear, I don't intend on this team taking any steps back."
- re: how we can trade a star player for only picks and not take a step back "Draft picks for now... the timing of this transaction, moving into this week, the interest in those picks... we'll have an opportunity to add to our group with those picks"
- Spoke to a number of players about the trade before it came public
- Says no players spoke to him about Brady being a distraction in the room or raised him as an issue
- Says that there's a slight chance of keeping the pick or moving up, but that its not likely
- Hasnt given Captaincy much thought, will discuss with Green, feels we have many good in-house options
- Has been fully engaged on this for the last 3-4 weeks
- American factor is "something to consider" but wouldn't keep him away from a player
- Discussions with Giroux and Cousins are ongoing. G is working out downstairs currently.
- Ongoing discussions with Spence
- Reiterates that he has no plans on taking a step back, plans to add to the group via trade and FA
- re whether he anticipates extension talks with Zub & Batherson leading up to July 1st, he gives a 1yr answer: "Yes."
- "In the end, there was only one team... There was a list that provided and I engaged with all of those teams, but when all was said and done it became very clear that there was only one team."
- "Ottawa is a destination for many players for many reasons"
- Asked how much the NTC hamstrings the process: "A lot. If the player was offered to 31 teams, what does the return look like? ... But we did the best we could within the circumstances"
That's pretty much it.
I wish someone had asked him about Samoskevich. Doubt he would have answered, but still.