The Senators announced that they have signed general manager Pierre Dorion to a three-year contract extension, one that keeps him under contract through the 2021-22 season. Dorion is in his second season at the helm of the Sens after taking over for the late Bryan Murray back in April of 2016 but he has been with the team since 2007 in several different roles, including chief amateur scout and director of player personnel.
While Dorion’s first season as GM went quite well with Ottawa making a run to the Eastern Conference Final, 2017-18 hasn’t been anywhere near as successful. The Senators currently sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with just 47 points and are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline. Owner Eugene Melnyk clearly believes Dorion can bring them back to contention but in the press release, he hinted at some short-term pain to come:
“Today’s announcement reflects a renewed commitment to scouting, drafting and development. It may require changes to our lineup. Rest assured, we will only tolerate pain with an endgame in mind: building an organization that wins – at all levels – year in and year out.”
Additionally, the team announced that team president/CEO Tom Anselmi has left the organization after just one year with the Sens. No reason was given for his departure.
Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch was first to report (Twitter link) that an extension for Dorion was to be announced while TSN’s Darren Dreger first reported (via Twitter) that Anselmi would be leaving the team.
Idk if this is a good decision.. I say he is fired before this extension ends