Staios, Andlauer reunite with dream to build Senators into championship organization

Another week, another major development for the Ottawa Senators organization.

“Who knows what we will announce next Friday,” cracked Michael Andlauer, himself welcomed as the new owner of the franchise just last Friday.

Andlauer was here to introduce the new president of hockey operations, the longtime right arm on the hockey side of his life, Steve Staios.

Together they pledge to bring to Ottawa what they built in Hamilton with the OHL Bulldogs – a championship team and a “culture of caring.” Translation: every single person in the organization matters, whether you are the No. 1 centre or a part-time ticket salesperson.

 

“Same principles, different scale,” Staios says about importing the Bulldogs style to Ottawa.

Andlauer says he used to fantasize about a future in the NHL with Staios. A pact, you might say.

“Steve and I used to joke around in the press box watching the Bulldogs games and enjoying the ‘Mastercard moment’ of winning and saying, ‘imagine this at the NHL level?’ The dream was always there.”

Oh, the irony of Hamilton, the Steeltown city, first losing out on a 1990 NHL expansion bid to underdog Ottawa and 33 years later watching its former OHL Bulldog titans flock to the Nation’s Capital vowing to bring Lord Stanley’s mug back to Ottawa.

Andlauer in the middle, flanked by Staios on his left, sat together at the press conference table next to a relative stranger – seven-year Senators GM Pierre Dorion. Staios and Dorion have had recent conversations about wants and needs and operational structure, but Staios admits he barely knows Dorion.

“I think we met at a U18 event, in passing,” Staios says.

Andlauer says he felt the current hockey operations side wasn’t “robust” enough. Enter Staios, whose arrival on the scene was as inevitable as cooler September nights and fading daylight.

“In this role, Steve will be focusing on the long term strategy and big picture for the team,” Andlauer said. “Make no mistake, Pierre is the general manager and will deal with the day-to-day building of this team. That has not changed. I know he and Steve will collaborate a lot going forward.”

Andlauer, a former minority partner with the Montreal Canadiens, says he likes the idea of a head of hockey ops/GM structure as the Habs have with Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes.

No doubt Dorion will get input and support from Staios, but Staios IS the new boss, usurping Dorion’s long hold – a stronghold – on everything to do with hockey operations. Dorion hasn’t had someone over his shoulder since he looked up to his mentor, the late Bryan Murray. Dorion was groomed by Murray. This new relationship will be quite different. Although on Day 1 there were sunny skies outside the media conference room of Gate 3.

“Pierre and I have had some great conversations already, I’m here to support him on the day-to-day (operations),” Staios said. “I’m looking at all areas of our operation and where we can become best in class. The only thing that’s changed for Pierre is that he has more support and can collaborate with me on ideas.

“We have a lot to be excited about. But there’s a tremendous amount of work to do.”

Dorion said he was “excited” about the arrival of Staios as a positive move for the organization.

“It’s no secret in the past decade I’ve asked for help and getting someone with his acumen, his experience . . . it only bodes well for us to have more success.”

It was a solid effort at sounding enthused to move from top dog to a lesser role under a guy he doesn’t know. Let’s see how this plays out. Accountability is a word Andlauer and Staios live by.

One of the worst-kept secrets in town this summer was that franchise co-founder Cyril Leeder would rejoin the Ottawa Senators as president and CEO.

Perhaps the second worst “secret” was that Staios would ride in from Edmonton to become the new boss of the Senators hockey operations staff.

That shoe dropped on Friday morning with a one-two punch. The Edmonton Oilers announced that Staios had resigned from his position as special advisor to hockey operations to “pursue another opportunity.”

And then, just in case there was a shred of doubt as to what that opportunity was, the Senators announced that Staios would be moving to Ottawa as prez of hockey ops, reporting to Andlauer.

Both Andlauer and Staios thanked the Oilers profusely for allowing Staios the freedom to leave for this opportunity.

How the two met could be the scene from a Netflix movie. It was during the NHL lockout of 2004. Andlauer was the owner of the Bulldogs, but in the AHL at the time, not the OHL. Staios, a Hamilton native and resident, gave Staios a call.

“I thought he was reaching out to look for a chance to skate, to stay in shape during the lockout,” Andlauer says. “I was wrong. He wanted to buy a season suite from me. Not for himself, or his family, but to serve underprivileged kids.”

From that day forward, they forged a friendship. Their families became close.

In 2015, Andlauer approached Staios about running the OHL Bulldogs, but by that time, Staios had been retired for three seasons and was an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs, after two years in player development.

Staios asked some hockey people he trusted about jumping back to junior to run a team.

“They all thought I was crazy to leave the NHL and go back to the OHL,” Staios says. “And the more I thought about it …  it being my hometown, and the opportunity to do more than player development – with Michael’s support I was able to run the entire program as president of the team and I got to learn a lot.

“And the mandate was ‘best in class.’”

Get used to that phrase. You are going to hear it a lot. They plan to apply the same philosophy to Ottawa.

“I’m certainly glad I made that decision back then,” Staios says. “It has led to a couple of OHL championships and hopefully more now.

“We share the same values,” Staios said. “You’ve got to meet Michael. He’s an incredible man. Family man. Great family. His guiding principles, the way he treats people, the real care for his players. It’s not lip service. This guy really cares. We’re aligned that way. I wouldn’t want to work for anybody else when you have that type of support and commitment – and a serious level of accountability as well.”

Staios was linked to Andlauer and the Senators as quickly as Andlauer became a frontrunner to buy the team. Staios was the Bulldogs hockey boss from 2016-2022.

Along with the two OHL titles, Staios was named OHL GM of the Year in 2021-22.

As a player, Staios spent 16 years as an NHL defenceman with Boston, Vancouver, Atlanta, Edmonton (573 games), Calgary and the New York Islanders, appearing in 1,001 career games.

Key stats: 220 points and 1,322 penalty minutes.

He has won world championship medals with Canada as a player and director of player development. In 2017, Staios managed the 2019 world junior team.

Staios, 50, and his wife, Susannah have two children. Nathan, 22, is a Florida Panthers defence prospect and Ella, 20, is a student at Western University in London.

While waiting to sort out a blessing from Edmonton, Staios wasn’t Andlauer’s first hockey move as owner. That was the hiring of Sean Tierney as director of hockey analytics. And yes, Tierney used to work for Staios in Hamilton.

Depth in hockey operations is just one of many big changes in the Senators organization. For years Ottawa has been known for running a bare-bones operation, taking pride in getting the job done with thinner scouting and operations staff than most NHL clubs.

Now, you will see Andlauer and Staios examine every area of the franchise, from hockey to business, and work toward making things championship-calibre. Top to bottom.

“The future is bright for Ottawa,” Andlauer said. “And today it just got a lot brighter.”