Steve Staios held a state-of-the-union address at the Canadian Tire Centre before heading to Toronto for the annual general managers meeting on Tuesday after the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The Ottawa Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager touched on several topics with the local media, including the future of centre Shane Pinto, possible upgrades to the roster, and a couple of the club’s restricted free agents.

The Senators will reach the 20-game mark next Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks to begin a 15-day, seven-game road trip.

Pinto Talks on Deck

The Senators will continue talks with centre Shane Pinto’s New York-based agent, Lewis Gross, to see if they can get a contract extension in place.

“We’ve been continuing good dialogue,” Staios said. “We’re going to meet again this week, and we’re hoping to come with a positive outcome.”

A restricted free agent on July 1 with the right to file for arbitration, Pinto’s hot start with eight goals and 14 points in 16 games has left everybody wondering what kind of raise he’s going to get after making $3.75 million US this season in the final year of an extension he signed in July 2024.

Postmedia reported on Oct. 31st that the Senators tabled an eight-year, $52 million extension to Pinto’s camp last month. That would have paid him an average of $6.5 million per season, but it wasn’t enough to get a deal done, and we also reported that he may not want to commit to eight years.

Pinto may want a shorter-term deal to see how the franchise progresses.

Shane is an important player for us. We’ve been there for him along the way and watched him develop within the group,” Staios said. “I do feel comfortable we’ll get something done.”

This will be intriguing to watch.

Trade Talk Will Heat Up

Staios will spend most of Tuesday with his 31 counterparts around the league, so that should help stir up the trade market.

He has been aggressively working the phones and would love to bring in another impact player, but that’s easier said than done. The quarter mark of the season is a place where teams evaluate to see where they stand and determine what they might need.

“We’re always looking at opportunities to improve our team. Anything specifically? I wouldn’t say that,” Staios said. “The timing is, as we’ve seen, sometimes it’s not at the trade deadline or July 1st. You continue to have discussions and see if there’s a fit.

“This group continues to grow and continues to improve in certain areas. We’ve got a lot of work to do. You look at the standings every day, but it’s probably not a good exercise to go through right now, because if you win two games or lose two games, it’s so tight, not just in our division, but in the Eastern Conference.”

The parity in the standings doesn’t make it easy to make deals.

“It’ll be interesting to have discussions, because I think everybody is trying to do the same thing, improve their team, yet everybody is so close, it makes it challenging,” said Staios.

Clock is Ticking

A decision has to be made on the future of restricted free agent defenceman Max Guenette and winger Alex Formenton before Dec. 1, or they won’t be able to play in the NHL this season.

The Senators are trying to deal the rights to Formeneton elsewhere after he was among five players on the 2018 Canadian world junior team found guilty of sexual assault in July in London, Ont.

Formenton signed a deal with HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss league, which will run through to the Christmas break in December because he’s hopeful the Senators will trade his rights.

Sources say teams have reached out to the Senators about Formenton, but the interest has been limited.

There has been talk that the Senators could renounce Formenton’s rights and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent, but they’d need to get special permission from the NHL’s head office for that to happen.

Otherwise, they’ll hold his rights until July 1, 2027.

As for Guenette, there is a good chance he’ll be moved before Dec. 1.

His camp turned down an offer and asked for a trade when the Senators signed Lassi Thomson in the summer. The 24-year-old Guenette has been skating near his home in Quebec City, while waiting for the club to get a trade done to give him an opportunity elsewhere.

“I’m hoping there is a resolution here soon,” Staios said.

The belief is that the Senators want a draft pick in return, and most teams want the club to take a contract back. All Guenette can do is wait.