September is nearly upon us.
This morning, there was a undeniable chill in the air. A hint of Fall perhaps. Rookie camp in a few weeks. Preseason shortly after that. And in just 43 days, the start of the regular season.
Not long now, folks.
And even as the off-season draws to a close and the stream of summer transactions seemingly dries up, we continue to hear that Ottawa Senators’ General Manager Pierre Dorion is still looking to improve his team. He’s still searching the trade market and what’s left of the free agent pool looking for an upgrade to his current roster.
That’s not speculation either. That’s from the man himself.
“I don’t think we’re done,” he said. “There is still maybe a move or two to be done. Whether it’s through trade, free agency, or waivers after (training) camps start, I still feel we can improve our team and build upon what we did last year.”
This isn’t the first time Dorion has suggested he’s still shopping either. He said something very similar during his last appearance on TSN 1200 back in late-July.
While it would be pretty easy for Dorion to lower expectations and suggest this is likely the roster they’ll head into next season with, he continues to strongly suggest otherwise.
On TSN 1200 (starts at 11:00), the question was clearly leading him in that direction and intentionally pushed back against the idea. In both the quote above and in the 1200 interview, he suggested he’d like to do one or two more moves. And it certainly sounded like he had something specific in mind.
The quotes from the GM seem to mesh with the lingering rumours that the Senators may have one more move up their sleeve before the season starts.
Late-August isn’t usually an active time around the National Hockey League. Most teams have their rosters set by this point and are waiting for the start of Camp.
Not in Ottawa, seemingly. Pierre Dorion is still in that check-out line apparently and isn’t ruling out a couple last minute purchases.
