From the moment Michael Andlauer was handed the keys in Ottawa, the writing was on the wall.
Even in a world where Pierre Dorion had a spotless record as General Manager, his hold on that position would be tenuous at best. Owners like to bring in their people and surround themselves with people they trust, so this was always sort of an inevitability.
The hiring of Steve Staios as President of Hockey Operation confirmed where this was all headed. And today, the team made it official.
Pierre Dorion has been relieved of his duties as General Manager of the Ottawa Senators.
The team will comment on the move at a press conference scheduled for 3:15 PM today.
The news comes on the same day that we learned the NHL’s ruling in the Evgeni Dadonov situation and really, it gives Ownership an excuse to pull the trigger on a move they had already been considering.
A lot will be said and written about Pierre Dorion’s time in Ottawa over the coming days. The fact is, when you look on his time as GM objectively, there’s a healthy mix of good and bad. He ultimately loses his job at a time when the franchise is in a good spot and well positioned for future success. And he played a huge part in that, rebuilding this thing from the ground up. But as is often the case when you hold a GM job for as long as he did, the missteps started to add up.
Michael Andlauer has announced that Steve Staios will take over as GM in an interim capacity.
