Guy Boucher had his turn with the media on Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, both Eugene Melnyk and Pierre Dorion faced the music, taking questions from season ticket holders in three separate town hall sessions.
And today, Pierre Dorion went head to head with the Ottawa media in his season-ending press conference. He followed that up with a rare appearance on TSN 1200.
A trend throughout the three town hall sessions was the idea that the media in this city hasn’t always been fair when it comes to their coverage of the team. Not surprisingly, this was the first question posed by Ian Mendes. Dorion seemed to specifically take issue with some of the rumours surrounding the team leading up to the deadline were exaggerated.
This would have been a great time for a follow up question to ask if Dorion had any specific examples. Also, if the GM feels like the stories about the team are inaccurate, he has at least some responsibility to correct those inaccuracies. Pierre from Orleans certainly had no issue doing that when the guys on 1200 suggested the team didn’t play great during the games in Sweden.
Another item near the top of the GM’s off-season To Do list is the future of the coaching staff in Ottawa.
Dorion confirmed that there is a full evaluation underway but that the timelines for that process are up in the air. A decision isn’t expected before the end of the month.
With that said, Dorion was pretty direct in his criticism of his current Head Coach, suggesting that they need to do a better job of implementing young players into the line up and at one point saying that “If I hear the term rest is a weapon one more time, I’ll go crazy”.
Much like the town hall sessions, a lot of the conversation surrounded the three difficult contract negotiations the organization is faced with this summer, including Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Matt Duchene.
Specific to Stone and Duchene, Dorion reiterated that based on what he heard at the exit interviews, both players want to be with the team long term. Dorion confirmed that he met with Stone’s agent on Monday of this week. They will sit down again in May or June and try to hammer something out then.
When it comes to Erik Karlsson, Dorion was a little more careful with his words, suggesting that he received a warning from the league about discussing the details of contract negotiations before July 1st. Presumably this has to do with his Town Hall comment about offering an eight year deal.
On buyouts, Dorion mentioned that he had conversations with multiple players during the exit interviews about that possibility. Safe to assume that Alex Burrows and Marian Gaborik are two players they are considering on that front. Also, despite the commitment to player development and scouting outlined by Eugene Melnyk in #TheLetter, there are no plans to add to the Front Office or scouting staff.
Not sure if there was any lingering doubt but Dorion also confirmed that he plans to keep the top five selection in this year’s draft. Dorion put it at 99.9%. Oh and they open to drafting Russian players.
His 36 minute appearance on TSN 1200 is here.
-One of the nice things to come out of the Town Hall sessions and outlined again today is the news that the organization will honour Jonathan Pitre by naming an award after him. Beginning next season, the award for the hardest working prospect in Development Camp will be named after the incredibly brave and courageous boy that left such a strong impression on the organization and on the city.
-A few more World Championship related items. Cody Ceci was approached by Team Canada but because he doesn’t have a contract for next year, he is unlikely to go. Both Filip Gustavsson (Sweden) and Filip Chlapik (Czech Republic) will try out for their National teams.
