Management UPDATE: Steve Staios GM and POHO, Dave Poulin Senior VP of Hockey Operations

[Erik Alfredsson]

Starting to think this dude is just too nice to be a top tier manager.

Dorion should have been fired and replaced immediately after Staios took over as President, yet it took a 1st round pick penalty for the Dadonov fiasco to finally get that clown out of the organization.

DJ should have been fired well prior to 26 games into the season, but something something stability.

And now it's September and there's been zero changes to our underperforming undermanned over-the-hill scouting staff.

His off-season personnel moves have been fine, but I'll consider the off-season a failure if we go into next season with the same scouting staff that is about 30-40 years behind the times as far as how they evaluate prospects.

Why would he fire the scouts? Maybe he likes the draft they just had, Greig just had a good rookie season, and there's players in the AHL that are trending to surpass their draft positions (Kleven is looking good, Halliday looks like he could be a great pick. Guenette looks good for a 7th round pick. They just got value out of Kastelic who is the 5th round pick from the 2019 draft to earn a full time NHL spot so far).

There's a lot of logical explanations as to why he isn't going scorched earth with the scouting staff other than "he's too nice". You think Steve Staios is afraid to fire people or something?

 

[LiseL]

The only move I thought was a legit upgrade without losing too much is the Ullmark acquisition. Being able to unload Korpse to a division rival while getting a vezina calibre rental is a win-win, even if Ullmark leaves.

I think we're a more balanced team in terms of positions, but its not the type of hockey I enjoy. I'd have:
-kept Joseph
-drafted Parekh + get rid of our dinosaur scouts
-traded Chychren for futures instead of Jensen
-Try to sign/overpay for Tanev, Pesce, Roy,
-Stayed away from guys like Perron or Cousins because we're relying on Green being able to reign in their dirty antics.
-Focused on signing skill based guys (heck would've brought back Tarasenko over Perron).

Obviously we couldn't have had everything on that list, a lot of it depends on guys being willing to play in Ottawa, but it just feels like Staios went with the "rip the bandaid off" type moves to build a team that on paper seems tough and gritty. It seems superficial because we're not exactly more difficult to play against considering we have 3 forwards that are really easy to bait into stupid penalties.

I think we're more balanced with additions like Jensen, but we are hoping that this balance translates on ice without much draft capital/assets outside of Yakemchuk.

Chychrun for futures

 

[bert]

Dorion should have been fired immediately. One of the worst GMs of all time and it was obvious to everyone here.

DJ being an awful coach was also no surprise. I don't blame Staios for firing him late in the summer, but most would agree he took too long to fire him after yet another classic slow start by DJ.

The scouting staff is a problem and that also should have been recognized quickly into his tenure. They've gone full Burke and our franchise is going to suffer immensely if we don't get some fresh blood in the scouting room.

Lol just have no transition into the organization. Go in completely blind. Obviously he wasn't good at his job it was inevitable but to simply start firing everyone before doing any evaluation. No one does this in any business.

For the scouting staff, he didn't have a single draft with them yet. You want them to have no scouts?... Everyone had their jobs. There's only so much work one human can do. He had to overhaul an entire NHL organization mid season. Do you understand major business on any level?.... This isn't NHL 2024 on Playstation.

 

[Icelevel]

Starting to think this dude is just too nice to be a top tier manager.

Dorion should have been fired and replaced immediately after Staios took over as President, yet it took a 1st round pick penalty for the Dadonov fiasco to finally get that clown out of the organization.

DJ should have been fired well prior to 26 games into the season, but something something stability.

And now it's September and there's been zero changes to our underperforming undermanned over-the-hill scouting staff.

His off-season personnel moves have been fine, but I'll consider the off-season a failure if we go into next season with the same scouting staff that is about 30-40 years behind the times as far as how they evaluate prospects.

He had a huge amount of work to do. More than I think many realize. the organization was a mess pretty much top to bottom.
You can’t just replace everyone at once if you want to build a proper new foundation. Steady Stevie staios is going about it the right way from what I can see. Steady and calculated.
We finally have a plan and a team to execute it. The scouts will be dealt with soon enough.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

There isn't any real evidence that they are too soft to get rid of guys. They slowly transitioned out most of the guys who were there before and brought in their own guys. I don't think not firing Dorion had anything to do with "being nice". I highly doubt Dorion would have been the one making the moves that summer had they taken over before the offseason like they should have.

I was going to say that I don't think you end up becoming as rich as Andlauer without being competent enough to run a hockey team, but then I remembered that Melnyk was competent enough to at one point become a self-made billionaire, and his idea of good PR was to force Mark Borowiecki to become a talk show host.

 

[Cosmix]

Lol just have no transition into the organization. Go in completely blind. Obviously he wasn't good at his job it was inevitable but to simply start firing everyone before doing any evaluation. No one does this in any business.

For the scouting staff, he didn't have a single draft with them yet. You want them to have no scouts?... Everyone had their jobs. There's only so much work one human can do. He had to overhaul an entire NHL organization mid season. Do you understand major business on any level?.... This isn't NHL 2024 on Playstation.

"Completely blind" is an overstatement.

Yes, new ownership comes in and cleans house quickly, firing top managers. Evaluations can be done prior to taking over ownership.

 

[Cosmix]

"Completely blind" is an overstatement.

Yes, new ownership comes in and cleans house quickly, firing top managers. Evaluations can be done prior to taking over ownership.

New ownership does not have to be slow and deliberate; many new owners have made immediate changes at the top of the org chart. They are not "completely blind".

 

[aragorn]

I'm neither for or against Staois, he's only just started & most GMs want 5 yrs for their changes & drafting to come to fruition. He is clearly building a team that he hopes will have a reputation of being very difficult to play against. It's not that far off from the Panthers who just won a cup with the most penalized team in hockey. Vegus won a cup with the biggest defence in the NHL.

It seems to me that he wants this team to get bigger, tougher & much harder to play against. Green seems to want a team that can reduce the goals against which requires guys to block more shots. IMO this team is going to be harder to play against & play much better team defence which should reduce their goals against. They will need their offensive players to continue to produce offensively & that will take some of their key players to stay healthy & injury free as much as possible. These things could be the key to increase in wins, 10 more wins is 20 more points & we all know they need to be better defensively for this team to move up the standings.

 

[DrEasy]

"Completely blind" is an overstatement.

Yes, new ownership comes in and cleans house quickly, firing top managers. Evaluations can be done prior to taking over ownership.

Exactly, either new ownership they didn't do their due diligence about the personnel they would inherit (gasp!) or they liked them (gasp!) or are too slow to replace them (gasp!).

 

[BankStreetParade]

"Completely blind" is an overstatement.

Yes, new ownership comes in and cleans house quickly, firing top managers. Evaluations can be done prior to taking over ownership.

That's exactly what I said and some people treated it like it was a ludicrous statement.

Companies of much larger and more significant economics make changes at the top all the time. How do they interview or recruit new CEOs to take over the business? And do the potential executives sit around waiting to start their job before they have the outline of an action plan in place?

Andlauer has plenty of resources. If Steve was the guy from the day he started the bidding process, he could have tapped him to resign when the bid was secured and go to work immediately assessing the organization. It could have been structured into the agreement in place with the Melnyk sisters to give Steve access to anyone and anything to help him do this vital work so they could hit the ground running.

It's just so weird how so many of the most outspoken posters went from "I can't wait another second for success" to "give the guy time! he just got here! so what if I have to wait?"

 

[bert]

That's exactly what I said and some people treated it like it was a ludicrous statement.

Companies of much larger and more significant economics make changes at the top all the time. How do they interview or recruit new CEOs to take over the business? And do the potential executives sit around waiting to start their job before they have the outline of an action plan in place?

Andlauer has plenty of resources. If Steve was the guy from the day he started the bidding process, he could have tapped him to resign when the bid was secured and go to work immediately assessing the organization. It could have been structured into the agreement in place with the Melnyk sisters to give Steve access to anyone and anything to help him do this vital work so they could hit the ground running.

It's just so weird how so many of the most outspoken posters went from "I can't wait another second for success" to "give the guy time! he just got here! so what if I have to wait?"

Defended previous management to no end but now new management didnt fire them fast enough and thats a negative. Unreal.

Exactly, either new ownership they didn't do their due diligence about the personnel they would inherit (gasp!) or they liked them (gasp!) or are too slow to replace them (gasp!).

Fired them within 3 months of taking over haha. There needs to be some sort of continuity with a billion dollar organization. They took over in pre season. This narrative is insane and hilarious all at the same time. That type of instability for the players on the ice just walking in mid training camp and firing everyone. Anyone that thinks thats a good idea lol I have no words. They did not have the opportunity to be around these people, see how they work, understand their character, habits, relationships etc.

 

[Cosmix]

Defended previous management to no end but now new management didnt fire them fast enough and thats a negative. Unreal.


Fired them within 3 months of taking over haha. There needs to be some sort of continuity with a billion dollar organization. They took over in pre season. This narrative is insane and hilarious all at the same time. That type of instability for the players on the ice just walking in mid training camp and firing everyone. Anyone that thinks thats a good idea lol I have no words. They did not have the opportunity to be around these people, see how they work, understand their character, habits, relationships etc.

Another overstatement "firing everyone"!

 

[bert]

Another overstatement "firing everyone"!

Is it? I am reading the same thread as you arent I? All the amateur scouts, the GM and all the coachs before getting acclimated to the organization, its personnel and how its run. Its insane to think that's how these types of organizations are run its been absolute chaos here for years and you guys lament them for not continuing it.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I think a lot of people wanted SS to try to save the season with a coach firing sooner. That's the only legitimate criticism imo as I would have put him out of his misery sooner, but even then, I don't think it would have changed anything to fire DJ sooner, and I don't think SS actually believed in the team PD had built to do much more than they did. They weren't going anywhere with Korpisalo as their starting goaltender.

 

[Cosmix]

I think a lot of people wanted SS to try to save the season with a coach firing sooner. That's the only legitimate criticism imo as I would have put him out of his misery sooner, but even then, I don't think it would have changed anything to fire DJ sooner, and I don't think SS actually believed in the team PD had built to do much more than they did. They weren't going anywhere with Korpisalo as their starting goaltender.

I felt that the changes had to be made at the top of the org before making them at lower levels.

The new owner did bring in a POHO above Dorion so credit is due for that; however, I wanted Dorion gone much sooner than when he was let go. He has been the worst GM and should have been an immediate firing when Andlauer took over.

Smith was also kept around too long; Dorion should not have extended him. Smith should have been let go sooner too; but Dorion needed to go ASAP.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I felt that the changes had to be made at the top of the org before making them at lower levels.

The new owner did bring in a POHO above Dorion so credit is due for that; however, I wanted Dorion gone much sooner than when he was let go. He has been the worst GM and should have been an immediate firing when Andlauer took over.

Smith was also kept around too long; Dorion should not have extended him. Smith should have been let go sooner too; but Dorion needed to go ASAP.

I can relate to that a bit because Dorion really was an atrocious GM that was past his expiry date and handed out the worst UFA contract ever in Ottawa that summer, but I think the damage had been done with Dorion with the summer over already at that point they got ownership. He was a glorified recaller/demoter basically from the time he could have been fired to the time he was actually fired, so there was no real damage done by keeping him. It also allowed SS more time to ease in to the role after deciding it would be him. I get it, but I just don't think it mattered much because of the timeline.

I do think DJ could have and should have been let go sooner, but that's the only real legit criticism imo and again, don't think it would have made much of a difference beyond the slight bump seen under Martin.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Another overstatement "firing everyone"!

He can't help but argue like a child and strawman every argument he comes up against.

Embarrassing really.

 

[bert]

I felt that the changes had to be made at the top of the org before making them at lower levels.

The new owner did bring in a POHO above Dorion so credit is due for that; however, I wanted Dorion gone much sooner than when he was let go. He has been the worst GM and should have been an immediate firing when Andlauer took over.

Smith was also kept around too long; Dorion should not have extended him. Smith should have been let go sooner too; but Dorion needed to go ASAP.

With impeccable timing Andlauer was on tsn 1200 this morning talking about the take over and how he got no early lee way and hpw chaotic it was. Everyone that is questioning how fast this should have happened should listen to the interview.

He can't help but argue like a child and strawman every argument he comes up against.

Embarrassing really.

Take a look in the mirror. You're incorrect far more than you're right but ride a train arrogance from thread to thread. Constantly either not reading before arguing and consistently talking down about real professionals decisions and performance.

 

[Golden_Jet]

With impeccable timing Andlauer was on tsn 1200 this morning talking about the take over and how he got no early lee way and hpw chaotic it was. Everyone that is questioning how fast this should have happened should listen to the interview.


Take a look in the mirror. You're incorrect far more than you're right but ride a train arrogance from thread to thread. Constantly either not reading before arguing and consistently talking down about real professionals decisions and performance.

EA sports hockey , “be a GM mode.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Take a look in the mirror. You're incorrect far more than you're right but ride a train arrogance from thread to thread. Constantly either not reading before arguing and consistently talking down about real professionals decisions and performance.

Ad hominem attacks and appeal to authority fallacy on display, what's new.

As much as it seems to upset you to your very core, disagreeing with you is not arrogance.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Ad hominem attacks and appeal to authority fallacy on display, what's new.

Seems like you’re also good at it.

He can't help but argue like a child and strawman every argument he comes up against.

Embarrassing really.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Ad hominem attacks and appeal to authority fallacy on display, what's new.

As much as it seems to upset you to your very core, disagreeing with you is not arrogance.

He has no self-awareness and it's like a parody account, at this point. Like 10 posts up he says "everything was chaos" and then makes the ridiculous argument that taking your time to assess the organization is preferable to firing everyone immediately. Usually when someone describes something as chaos the next words aren't "we need to take our time bringing things to order".

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Can anyone name consequences for keeping Dorion on as long as he did? The summer moves were all done, so there really wasn't much for the GM to do at that point other than very minor roster shuffling for a team beyond capped out.

And does anyone think the season was salvageable in hindsight with a sooner DJ firing? Korpisalo was still their starter plus the injuries and roster question marks. The season was over.

 

[Loach]

Can anyone name consequences for keeping Dorion on as long as he did? The summer moves were all done, so there really wasn't much for the GM to do at that point other than very minor roster shuffling for a team beyond capped out.

And does anyone think the season was salvageable in hindsight with a sooner DJ firing? Korpisalo was still their starter plus the injuries and roster question marks. The season was over.

I'm curious who would have been hired in September if they did "fire everybody". Also the one poster loves the Dorion era and I am surprised that now his critique is that Dorion and DJ weren't fired fast enough. Almost like it's bs.

 

[bert]

He has no self-awareness and it's like a parody account, at this point. Like 10 posts up he says "everything was chaos" and then makes the ridiculous argument that taking your time to assess the organization is preferable to firing everyone immediately. Usually when someone describes something as chaos the next words aren't "we need to take our time bringing things to order".

The irony.

You think matching chaos with more chaotic uncalculated moves is smart then thats your own hill to die on.

I'm curious who would have been hired in September if they did "fire everybody". Also the one poster loves the Dorion era and I am surprised that now his critique is that Dorion and DJ weren't fired fast enough. Almost like it's bs.

Its an incredible phenomenon. But I am the one who lacks self awareness I guess.

Ad hominem attacks and appeal to authority fallacy on display, what's new.

As much as it seems to upset you to your very core, disagreeing with you is not arrogance.

You aren't disagreeing with me here you are disagreeing with Andlauer and his management group. Did you take the time to listen to the Billionaire who has built his wealth through several business ventures interview.... Or do you know better? At this rate you could be Owner, President and GM with flawless execution.