Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion is out after team is docked first-round pick

The NHL experienced a major shakeup in its management on Wednesday as Pierre Dorion, the general manager of the Ottawa Senators, announced his resignation.

Following Dorion’s departure, Steve Staios, the president of hockey operations, will serve as the interim GM while the team searches for a replacement.

Dorion had been under immense pressure to deliver results this season due to the team’s long playoff drought and new ownership under Michael Andlauer. However, his resignation came shortly after it was revealed that the Senators would have to forfeit their first-round pick as a consequence of a botched trade.

Earlier in the season, the Senators also faced adversity when forward Shane Pinto was suspended for 41 games for violating the league’s gambling rules.

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The Senators reportedly failed to inform the Vegas Golden Knights about Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade list when they traded him to the team in 2021. This led to the Golden Knights attempting to trade Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks, who were on the no-trade list, resulting in the trade being invalidated.

“Our duty of care was ignored, which set off events that embarrassed the league and angered two other NHL clubs,” Andlauer stated during the news conference held on Wednesday.

The Senators will now have to forfeit their first-round pick in either 2024, 2025, or 2026, as announced after the draft lottery.

Pierre Dorion’s Legacy as Senators GM

Dorion took on the role of general manager in 2016 and achieved success in his first season when the Senators reached the conference finals. However, the team has not made it back to the playoffs since then.

Dorion made notable moves, including selecting top talent in the first round such as Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Jake Sanderson. He also made impactful trades for players like Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat, Jacob Chychrun, and Vladimir Tarasenko.

However, DeBrincat had to be dealt after just one season due to his unwillingness to re-sign. Additionally, Dorion’s trade for goalie Cam Talbot before the previous season did not pan out as expected, with the traded Filip Gustavsson performing well in Minnesota while Talbot faced injuries in Ottawa and eventually left in free agency.

The Senators currently have a 4-4 record to start the season.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pierre Dorion out as Senators GM after forfeited first-round pick