Most impactful transactions by former Senators GM Pierre Dorion

The Ottawa Senators announced the departure of general manager Pierre Dorion on Wednesday, in the wake of the NHL’s punishment for the team’s role in the invalidated 2022 trade involving Evgenii Dadonov.

Dorion was the league’s seventh longest-tenured GM, having taken over the team in April 2016. And it’s safe to say, considering how drastically different today’s roster is compared to the one he took over more than seven years ago, he was also one of the busiest.

Although Dorion’s time at the helm certainly included its share of implosions, big misses in free agency and regrettable trades that set the Senators back, it also brought a full restock of the development system with sustainable success in mind.

Take a little scroll through CapFriendly and you’ll see that what was once a promising group of first-round picks and acquired prospects is now a young nucleus locked up long-term on contracts aging remarkably well.

Thomas Chabot, Josh Norris, Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson are all secured on maximum-term deals, and the captaincy is in the capable hands of Brady Tkachuk, who is signed through 2028. All but three players on the entire roster are under team control beyond this season.

Here’s a look back at the most impactful transactions and formative moments from Dorion’s time as GM of the Senators, and how they helped shape the team we see today.

Nov. 7, 2017: Senators buy high on Matt Duchene in three-team blockbuster

The Senators went all the way to double overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in Dorion’s first season at the helm, but that post-season run turned out to be the exception, not the norm, and it quickly became clear that the roster had run its course — though, not before Dorion took another swing at contention.

Colorado to Ottawa: Matt Duchene

Ottawa to Colorado: Andrew Hammond, Shane Bowers, 2019 first-round pick (Bowen Byram), 2019 third-round pick (Matthew Stienburg)

Ottawa to Nashville: Kyle Turris

Nashville to Colorado: Vladislav Kamenev, Samuel Girard, 2018 second-round pick (Filip Hallander)

Although hindsight isn’t kind to this transaction — Duchene stayed parts of just two seasons, both of which saw the Senators finish near the bottom of the standings — Dorion was able to recoup valuable assets on the other end. The GM flipped the forward to the all-in Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2019 deadline in exchange for a package that included two first-round picks.

The other key here? Ottawa reserved the right to defer the first-round pick sent to Colorado from the 2018 class to 2019, and the decision to keep the 2018 pick ultimately led to one of the team’s most transformational selections: forward and future captain Tkachuk.

Sept. 13, 2018: Karlsson’s departure ushers in massive teardown

No trade had a bigger impact during Dorion’s tenure than the deal that sent captain and all-time great Senator Erik Karlsson to San Jose. The trade had emotions running high and promised more pain to come, but while the teardown was only just beginning, Dorion was able to secure two incredibly valuable pieces in the deal that the club would rebuild around.

Ottawa to San Jose: Erik Karlsson, Francis Perron

San Jose to Ottawa: Dylan DeMelo, Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers, Joshua Norris, 2020 first-round pick (Stützle), 2021 second-round pick (Zack Ostapchuk), 2019 second-round pick (Jamieson Rees)

In a single trade, the Senators landed their top two franchise centres in Sharks 2017 first-rounder Norris and Ottawa’s eventual 2020 first-round selection, Stützle, two years after this trade call went down. Stützle landed in Ottawa’s lap thanks to an assist from the hockey gods — the Sharks were supposed to contend in 2019-20 but instead were a lottery team, which meant the Senators selected third overall.

Feb. 25, 2019: Stone to Vegas brings in Brannstrom, capping busy deadline sales

Although no single transaction had a bigger overall impact on the Senators than the Karlsson trade, no week was more monumental — and, at the time, devastating — than the one leading up to the 2019 trade deadline.

One day after completing that aforementioned Duchene deal with Columbus, Dorion brought in a strong return for Ryan Dzingel in yet another deal with the Blue Jackets. But the biggest blockbuster came four days later:

Ottawa to Vegas: Mark Stone, Tobias Lindberg

Vegas to Ottawa: Oscar Lindberg, Erik Brannstrom, 2020 second-round pick (Egor Sokolov)

This one might still be a little painful, considering all Stone has done since this deal was sign an eight-year extension, don the captain’s C and lead Vegas on a handful of runs before claiming the Stanley Cup last spring. Criticism still comes in the form of, How did Dorion not get more? It wasn’t the smoothest of situations, after all, with the Senators deciding in the 2018 off-season to sign Stone to a one-year deal in arbitration that would bridge him to UFA status rather than trading him that summer with that extra year of team control in hand. But although the return was underwhelming at the time, the presence of Brannstrom on the blue line, another significant piece of today’s foundation, ought to soften that.

Oct. 6, 2020: Senators hit home run at draft with three first-round picks

If you’re looking for the turning point of this rebuild, look at the first round of the 2020 draft. Ottawa had two top-five picks (San Jose’s third overall and its own fifth) as well as the 28th-overall selection, acquired from the New York Islanders in the trade that saw forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau sent to Long Island at that year’s deadline.

Those three picks turned into centre Stutzle, defenceman Sanderson and forward Ridly Greig. While Stutzle and Sanderson are already stars in their own right, Greig made the jump to the NHL in the second half of last season and has started strong this year with seven points in eight games.

July 2022: Senators bring in DeBrincat, Giroux to usher in next chapter of rebuild

Although hindsight tells us the union between Alex DeBrincat and the Senators didn’t pan out as expected, Dorion successfully shifted everyone’s expectations of the Senators at the 2022 NHL Draft, not via actual picks but with a draft-floor trade that saw the rebuild enter a new chapter.

Chicago to Ottawa: Alex DeBrincat

Ottawa to Chicago: 2022 first-round pick (Kevin Korchinkski), 2022 second-round pick (Paul Ludwinski), 2024 third-round pick

Tabbed as a young veteran to help lead the youthful squad out of its rebuild and into a new era of contention — an era further introduced a week later with the signing of then-UFA Claude Giroux — Dorion earned rave reviews for the move to bring DeBrincat to Ottawa.

His signing of Giroux on the free agent market six days later to a three-year, $19.5-million deal was met with equal enthusiasm. The former Flyers captain has brought a strong leadership presence to this group as it learns how to contend.

On July 9, almost exactly a year after acquiring DeBrincat, Dorion flipped the unsigned RFA to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a package that includes a 2024 first-round pick, recouping some of the assets spent to acquire him.

March 1, 2023: Senators land much-desired veteran blue-liner Jakob Chychrun

The Senators’ search for the final piece of their blue line ended when Dorion won the Jakob Chychrun sweepstakes. This one really does feel like a big win, considering the gap between Arizona’s sky-high asking price and what Dorion actually paid.

Arizona to Ottawa: Jakob Chychrun

Ottawa to Arizona: 2023 first-round pick (Daniil But), 2024 second-round pick, 2026 second-round pick

Ottawa was toeing the line between making and missing the playoffs in a hotly contested Atlantic Division last spring but ultimately landed outside the playoff window. But Dorion’s trade for Chychrun — a rare non-rental available at the deadline — sets Ottawa up for long-term success going forward thanks to the top-pair rearguard on a team-friendly deal that sees the Senators now boast one of the finest blue lines in the league.

July 1, 2023: Seven-year search for a true No. 1 concludes with signing of Korpisalo

Over the course of Dorion’s tenure in Ottawa, the crease was always one giant question mark. The GM’s first big swing in net took place in October 2020, when he traded for the rights to then-RFA Matt Murray from the Penguins and locked him up with a four-year, $25-million deal, a true No. 1 netminder at last. But when that didn’t work out — and, yes, that one still warrants criticism today — Ottawa turned once again to the goalie carousel before off-loading most of Murray’s contract to the Maple Leafs.

Now, the crease belongs to Joonas Korpisalo, who honed his craft with the Blue Jackets before joining L.A. at the deadline and then signing a five-year, $20-million pact with Ottawa on the opening day of free agency.

July 27, 2023: Tarasenko signing brings the final piece to puzzle?

A late wave of free agency this summer saw Dorion pick up what would be his final piece to the Senators’ puzzle. Whether it’s the final piece that pushes Ottawa into contention will be a decision for the next GM. Bringing in skilled goal-scorer Vladimir Tarasenko on a one-year deal worth $5 million is looking really good early on — the winger has already got three goals and nine points through his first eight games.