Steve Staios has no regrets.
The Ottawa Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager stood by struggling goaltender Linus Ullmark on Saturday and is confident he can help his club have success.
Speaking to TSN’s Claire Hanna in a pre-game interview aired during the first intermission of the visit by the Anaheim Ducks to the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday, Staios stated he hasn’t lost any confidence in Ullmark.
The Senators went into the visit by the Ducks with the National Hockey League’s worst save percentage at .871. Ullmark has three years left on a deal that pays him $8.25 million U.S. per-season and is under the microscope because his play has been less than average.
“The goaltending position is a bit volatile,” Staios said. “You see top-rated goaltenders that go through certain stretches, and I think if you asked Linus, he hasn’t played to his expectations. I went out and got a top-class goaltender for this group because I believe in this group.
“And, I believe, during our tenure here with Linis under contract, he gives us the best chance of getting to that level of contending calibre. It’s very hard to find goaltenders like this. I can understand when a goaltender goes through a stretch where they’re not playing well, it gets scrutinized because of the position.
“But, certainly, I wouldn’t change a thing. We love having Linus Ullmark here. We believe in him, and we believe he’s going to turn it around.”
On the trade deadline
Sitting five points out of the playoffs as they prepared to face the Ducks, the Senators opted to make only one deal at the March 6 trade deadline by acquiring winger Warren Foegele from the Los Angeles Kings.
Staios said he wanted to be a buyer because he still believes that the Senators can make the playoffs.
“My approach going into the deadline was that we were in it,” said Staios. “We’re not in a playoff spot as it is, but to watch our team play on a nightly basis, to see the commitment, consistency and effort, I approached it aggressively, like we’re in it, trying to help the team.
“I think we did, getting Warren Foegele, who plays our style of game, who’s got speed and has some variability to his game, where he can move up and down the lineup and play in all different situations. We added to our depth. I look at where we were a couple of years ago and how we’ve been able to continue to pick away at this roster. It could lead to a very interesting off-season; there just wasn’t a lot that shook loose at the deadline.”
Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators makes a glove save against the Montreal Canadiens in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre on March 11, 2026.
On the priority for the off-season
Staios is headed to the annual general managers’ meetings in Florida on Sunday, where he’ll get a chance to spend time with the NHL’s other 31 decision makers.
The Ottawa Citizen has reported that Staios chased virtually every right-shot defenceman available at the deadline and wasn’t able to get a trade across the finish line.
The top target was Calgary Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar, an Ottawa native who landed with the Utah Mammoth.
The Senators also kicked tires on several other options, and Staios stated he will certainly study the options on defence in the off-season. He also didn’t rule out Carter Yakemchuk, the club’s top pick in the 2024 NHL draft at No. 7 overall, being an option.
“With the strong returning group that we have and the up-and-comers, we talked about Carter Yakemchuk, the position on defence, and we’re going to continue looking at that area. It may just be internally,” Staios said.
With Nick Jensen day-to-day with an undisclosed lower-body injury, the Senators recalled defenceman Lassi Thomson from Belleville on Saturday.
On getting a first-round pick back
The NHL announced on Thursday morning that the Senators will receive the No. 32 overall selection in June’s draft instead of having to forfeit their first-round pick completely.
Commissioner Gary Bettman penalized the Senators a first-round draft choice in either 2024, 2025 or 2026 because of a botched deal with the Vegas Golden Knights involving winger Evgenii Dadonov.
Staios, who isn’t allowed to trade the selection, praised the work done by owner Michael Andlauer behind the scenes to convince the league’s head office to give the club a reprieve.
“It’s important. It’s valuable to the team and to the organization, and just very grateful for Michael Andaluer and his passion. This was his work, and also grateful to the league and to Gary Bettman for reconsidering.
“They understood at the end of the day that it wasn’t done under our watch. And I hope it’s a sign of respect as well. We continue to try to do things right here in Ottawa.”
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