Management GM Pierre Dorion/Front Office Thread - Part IX [Mod Warning in post 1)

[StoicSensFan]

Dorion and Reynolds making us feel like the main characters of the NHL this season.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Pierre Dorion will be the Ottawa Senators GM at the beginning of the next season…. No matter who the ownership group includes.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Not going to lie... I am starting to like Pierre.

 

[senswon]

Dorion put the uni on for the presser; He should get his own clothing line



He's getting enough skin there to start a new face

Dude needs to just shave his head. That looks terrible

 

[Golden_Jet]

You have no idea about this. Multiple potential ownership groups have met with him. He met with city council.

That was the annual city luncheon. It wasn’t just Alfie . It was business leaders etc

 

[swiftwin]

Not going to lie... I am starting to like Pierre.

Join the club

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Getting Chychrun is a significant get.

We needed a top 4, he got us a young top pair guy who wants to be here.

Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Chychrun
Brannstrom-Hamonic

is a completely different ballgame defense.

Ecstatic. If he can add size over Brannstrom, look out.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

Pierre... Oui Pierre

Dorion’s trade for Chychrun isn’t just a home run for the Senators — it’s a grand slam – Sportsnet.ca

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

That was the annual city luncheon. It wasn’t just Alfie . It was business leaders etc

He has the key to the city! He can show up anytime

 

[JD1]

There's been a lot of chatter about Dorion being immediately let go. If you've got 800m to 1B to throw around you've probably made some analytical decisions along the way.

If you're coming in, what's the first question you might ask?

Has this team been effectively rebuilt? I think the answer to that question is yes.

Sure new people often have their own people and I understand that. And those new people are watching. IMO PD just pulled off an incredible trade. We're looking like we're on a playoff run here. If we make it, there might well be a lot of PD votes for GM of the year

Idk, I do not see PD being shown the door as an automatic.

 

[Micklebot]

There's been a lot of chatter about Dorion being immediately let go. If you've got 800m to 1B to throw around you've probably made some analytical decisions along the way.

If you're coming in, what's the first question you might ask?

Has this team been effectively rebuilt? I think the answer to that question is yes.

Sure new people often have their own people and I understand that. And those new people are watching. IMO PD just pulled off an incredible trade. We're looking like we're on a playoff run here. If we make it, there might well be a lot of PD votes for GM of the year

Idk, I do not see PD being shown the door as an automatic.

It would have been a lot easier to move on from Dorion right away had the team folded back in January and we were offloading guys like Talbot and Watson for 5th round picks right now.

But it looks much different now that the team has met it's target of meaningful games in March, filled in the holes in the roster, and is playing great hockey.

I've been pretty critical of Dorion in the past, while still trying to recognize he's had some handicaps other GM's might not under the Melnyk regime, but since this summer, he's been really good, taken some big risks, but still coming out on top in most of his decisions

if I had to nitpick, I'd say I didn't like the Talbot trade particularly when taken in conjunction with extending Forsberg earlier, but even then I think it was entirely understandable.

i still think we need a coaching upgrade, but DJ has earned some breathing room too, we still need to clean up a bit more in the DZ and cut down on the too many men penalties, maybe get Brannstrom back in the lineup over Holden, but we're seeing progress

 

[JD1]

It would have been a lot easier to move on from Dorion right away had the team folded back in January and we were offloading guys like Talbot and Watson for 5th round picks right now.

But it looks much different now that the team has met it's target of meaningful games in March, filled in the holes in the roster, and is playing great hockey.

I've been pretty critical of Dorion in the past, while still trying to recognize he's had some handicaps other GM's might not under the Melnyk regime, but since this summer, he's been really good, taken some big risks, but still coming out on top in most of his decisions

if I had to nitpick, I'd say I didn't like the Talbot trade particularly when taken in conjunction with extending Forsberg earlier, but even then I think it was entirely understandable.

i still think we need a coaching upgrade, but DJ has earned some breathing room too, we still need to clean up a bit more in the DZ and cut down on the too many men penalties, maybe get Brannstrom back in the lineup over Holden, but we're seeing progress

You remember me talking about Forsberg batting pucks back into play?

Well I discovered this week there's a stat for that. Who would have thunk that?

28 less puck freezes than expected. That's 28 times he's batted a puck back into play. He's appeared in 28 games. Once a game he's batting a puck back into play that he otherwise should have frozen. And the guys are gassed and can't chase. That causes a lot of running around in our end and on a few occasions has led to a goal against.

But yes, things are looking tidy lately

 

[Micklebot]

You remember me talking about Forsberg batting pucks back into play?

Well I discovered this week there's a stat for that. Who would have thunk that?

28 less puck freezes than expected. That's 28 times he's batted a puck back into play. He's appeared in 28 games. Once a game he's batting a puck back into play that he otherwise should have frozen. And the guys are gassed and can't chase. That causes a lot of running around in our end and on a few occasions has led to a goal against.

But yes, things are looking tidy lately

Idk if you can automatically assume not freezing the puck is bad, situationally there are times where keeping it in play is actually a positive, particularly with teams that aren't as strong on the draw as we are, but if nothing else, it's a stylistic difference that teams need to be aware of, and depending on when he's doing certainly could be bad.

Btw, where did you find that stat?

 

[Wondercarrot]

When the stakes are high Dorion only hits dingers.
He came through on all the fanstasy off-season dreams I had lol
He should wear a cape to the next game.

 

[ksens]

There's been a lot of chatter about Dorion being immediately let go. If you've got 800m to 1B to throw around you've probably made some analytical decisions along the way.

If you're coming in, what's the first question you might ask?

Has this team been effectively rebuilt? I think the answer to that question is yes.

Sure new people often have their own people and I understand that. And those new people are watching. IMO PD just pulled off an incredible trade. We're looking like we're on a playoff run here. If we make it, there might well be a lot of PD votes for GM of the year

Idk, I do not see PD being shown the door as an automatic.

I know this isn't the time anyone wants to hear a reality check (three big wins in a row, finally adding a D, etc.) but this is a results based business. The team hasn't been "effectively rebuilt" until they're contending in the playoffs, and right now we're blowing all of our draft capital hoping for a Hamburglar run just to try and get to the last wildcard spot.

We heard the same song and dance least year where we blew out Detroit in back to backs and everyone made fun of them being behind us in their rebuild, and we played well down the stretch and everyone talked about how it was going to translate into this year. Except it didn't.

Mendes did a piece a while ago in The Athletic about how long new owners typically take to replace management. The answer is it varies, but it is almost never right away. But it is likely going to happen - you don't buy an NHL team (especially one that has not been competitive for years) and then leave the previous management in place. PD being shown the door is pretty close to automatic.

I hope I'm wrong and we go on a run and make the playoffs and that translates into next year and it buys management time with new ownership. But that is not the most likely outcome.

 

[PlayOn]

Considering we don’t have a POHO, I think a fairly easy move they can make is to add one and keep Pierre in seat and assess him further, especially if we do make the playoffs.

Pierre gets fairly and unfairly criticized sometimes, but if we’re in or really close to the playoffs I don’t think it makes much sense to fire him. Especially considering the fact that a new GM would come in here and change very little next year with no real cap space or bad contracts left to move.

I think he needs some support with communication and how the org is run but that’s where a POHO can take the weight off him.

 

[Masked]

I know this isn't the time anyone wants to hear a reality check (three big wins in a row, finally adding a D, etc.) but this is a results based business. The team hasn't been "effectively rebuilt" until they're contending in the playoffs, and right now we're blowing all of our draft capital hoping for a Hamburglar run just to try and get to the last wildcard spot.

They're not blowing draft capital for a short term run. They've dealt picks for long term solutions on the wing and defence. We're hoping for a run to the playoffs this year, yes, but the trades have been made for not just this season but next season as well and hopefully many seasons after that.

The top six up front looks set going forward for many years with the current six plus Pinto and Greig as options down the road. The top 4 on D is set with Chychrun the only one not locked down for more than two more seasons but he seems overjoyed to be coming to Ottawa.

Assen na yo!

 

[bicboi64]

I don't want Dorion in charge after new ownership. If he's kept on in an advisory role or something sure, but his pro evaluation is his biggest weakness and that's a liability for team looking to add spare pieces to contend

 

[DrEasy]

I don't want Dorion in charge after new ownership. If he's kept on in an advisory role or something sure, but his pro evaluation is his biggest weakness and that's a liability for team looking to add spare pieces to contend

If we're keeping him he should be surrounded with a much bigger and more competent team of hockey people, especially in scouting and analytics. I think all the blunders and working under heavy meddling have taught him some valuable lessons, and he's been much better as a result of late. I wonder how much we should credit Bowness as well.

 

[Micklebot]

I know this isn't the time anyone wants to hear a reality check (three big wins in a row, finally adding a D, etc.) but this is a results based business. The team hasn't been "effectively rebuilt" until they're contending in the playoffs, and right now we're blowing all of our draft capital hoping for a Hamburglar run just to try and get to the last wildcard spot.

So, we are blowing draft picks for a hamburglar run for a couple reasons.

1. The picks we traded were for long term solutions, Chychrun is 24 not 34.

2. We're already the 8th most likely Eastern Conference team to make the playoffs according to moneypuck at 36%, so enjoy it,

NHL Playoff Odds -MoneyPuck 2025 Playoff & Cup Odds

NHL Playoff Odds updated many times a day. Stanley Cup Odds, Playoff seeding, and Draft Lottery Odds

www.moneypuck.com

 

[Micklebot]

I don't want Dorion in charge after new ownership. If he's kept on in an advisory role or something sure, but his pro evaluation is his biggest weakness and that's a liability for team looking to add spare pieces to contend

I was willing to give him a shot once unshackled from Melnyk, I think he's mostly been good since, I still have my reservations about him, but the future looks promising, so....

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I think he'll get an audition with the new ownership group at this point. It's obvious that Melnyk was the main issue for the organization even if Dorion has had his own ups and downs. One thing I do really like is that he hasn't been shy about cleaning up some of his own mistakes. I'm not sure every GM has it in them to admit that and move on so aggressively from guys like Murray, Dadonov, Zaitsev, etc.

 

[BankStreetParade]

I was willing to give him a shot once unshackled from Melnyk, I think he's mostly been good since, I still have my reservations about him, but the future looks promising, so....

Any reasonable view would say there's a huge difference post-Melnyk. I think it's also worth mentioning that he's still working with a budget - across the organization, too - and we're starting to see his vision come together.

 

[Icelevel]

How do you trade for gustavsson, Ian cole and pick used to select kandre miller and turn it into nothing when all 3 of those pieces are big holes in the organization?

Man this guy is infuriating despite making a few nice moves. The good trades are the exception is the problem.
He takes a step forward and two backwards.
So yes we are looking good now but could have been soooooooo much further along without much of the pain in the meantime.

 

[Icelevel]

If we're keeping him he should be surrounded with a much bigger and more competent team of hockey people, especially in scouting and analytics. I think all the blunders and working under heavy meddling have taught him some valuable lessons, and he's been much better as a result of late. I wonder how much we should credit Bowness as well.

Yes was going to post this. And love what I’ve seen of bowness so it would be interesting to know how much influence he’s had.

Dude needs to just shave his head. That looks terrible

It suits him. He’s a clown. Look the part.