Ullmark will begin the final year of a four-year, $20MM contract signed with the Bruins in 2021. He’s emerged as a star goaltender on the deal, so far recording 88 wins and a collective .924 save percentage in 130 games on the contract. That stat line includes his Vezina-winning performance in 2023, when Ullmark posted 40 wins and a .938 save percentage in 49 games. The dazzling year not only earned him the Vezina – and he and Jeremy Swayman the William Jennings Trophy – but also ranked Ullmark tenth in Hart Trophy voting.

The 2022-23 season elevated Ullmark into the conversation with goaltenders like Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Naturally, it took a significant amount of time for the Senators to work out a deal for that caliber of player, with Ullmark trade-talks starting at the 2024 Trade Deadline, shares Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia Hockey (Twitter link). Ullmark was a very popular name at the Deadline, using his no-movement clause to reject a move to the Los Angeles Kings and even ending up in discussions of a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes. Boston wasn’t able to find a move that worked, though, and now settles for what many argue is a meager return from the aggressive Senators.

Per Staios, that aggression on the market isn’t set to end any time soon. The team will continue to look at all of their trade options leading up to the draft, including continuing to shop around the seventh-overall pick, shares Scanlan (Twitter link). Ottawa is also poised to test the free agent market after July 1st, with Staios sharing that the team is looking to add pieces to build around their strong core (Twitter link). Staios didn’t specify who these core pieces were, though he did express a lot of hope in their ability to take the next step under new head coach Travis Green. Ottawa has each of Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Jake Sanderson, and Thomas Chabot signed through at least the next three seasons. With extensions to Ullmark and Shane Pinto, the Senators would solidify a young cohort of talent that stretches through the bottom of their lineup.

Staios’ faith in his lineup was apparent through his interview, with the rookie GM even heaping praise onto the depth of his coaching staff, which features Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Yeo, Nolan Baumgartner, and Ben Sexton behind Green. The Senators are entering the summer with a measly $11.3MM in cap space – and will need to be smart spenders as they prepare for a hefty Ullmark extension. But it seems the eagerness to build a contender is there – giving Senators fans plenty to be excited about after a year of major turnover.

The Senators have been without a long-term head coach since D.J. Smith’s firing on December 18th. Jaques Martin stepped in as interim head coach, leading the Senators to a measly 26-26-4 record and a spot well outside of the playoffs. Staios mentioned that Martin would continue with the team in a consulting role, but isn’t in the race for the vacant head coaching role. Neither is Senators legend Daniel Alfredsson, who Staios says wanted more time before pursuing the coaching path. That likely leaves the Senators looking externally, where they’ll find plenty of strong candidates.

Other notes from Staios’ press conference:

• Staios added that the team isn’t planning on utilizing any buyouts this off-season, per Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan (Twitter link). That’s despite weaker performances from costlier names, like Joonas Korpisalo and Travis Hamonic. Ottawa is projected to have $12.8MM in cap space this off-season, per CapFriendly and an $87.5MM salary cap. With no support from buyouts, that will be all they have to re-sign their six pending free-agents, including Erik Brannstrom, Dominik Kubalik, and Shane Pinto.
• Staios also shared that forward Joshua Norris is expecting to be ready for the start of next season, shares Garrioch. Norris was limited to just 50 games this season, and hasn’t played since late February, once again dealing with nagging shoulder injuries. Norris was limited to just eight games last season because of shoulder issues, and underwent the third shoulder surgery of his four-year NHL career in March. He’ll look to recover once again, and hope for healthier fortune next season.

Other Senators trade notes:

• Garrioch also reports that Ottawa continued to try and find a trade for winger Dominik Kubalik, who the team has been shopping around since December. Garrioch adds that Kubalik will likely be out the door when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. The 28-year-old winger has 10 goals and 14 points in 58 games this season, netting double digit goals for the fifth-straight season, despite a down-year in overall production. Kubalik has managed 92 goals and 175 points across 341 career NHL games.
• Tarasenko’s move opened up space on the Senators lineup that the team hopes to fill creatively. While they did claim bottom-six staple Boris Katchouk off of waivers, Senators general manager Steve Staios shared that the team could give top Belleville Senators prospects – including Tyler Kleven, Zack Ostapchuk, and Oskar Pettersson – a chance at the majors as well. He told Garrioch, “All of those players have progressed nicely. They’re worthy of an opportunity to play.” Ottawa currently sits second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, with just 25 wins on the season. With a quiet deadline not providing much change, they could be well-poised to try out their top young names.

The news isn’t that surprising given that the Senators don’t possess many players who have been part of a winning culture in the NHL. Outside of a couple of players, most of the Senators currently lineup have never played an NHL playoff game.

Staios’ desire to add complete players is also not surprising given that Ottawa has struggled to play a structured game over the past few seasons. While the offensive skill on the Senators is obvious, they don’t have a lot of defensively skilled forwards or defensemen and it’s been a glaring hole throughout their lineup for a few years now.

Staios mentioned that he would like to be active before the deadline but given most teams cap situation it is unlikely that the Senators will make many moves before the summer.

In other Ottawa notes:

• Staios added that the Senators’ plan behind the bench is to have interim head coach Jacques Martin finish out the season. Martin hasn’t had a great start to his second run in Ottawa but did receive praise from Staios who said that Martin has laid a foundation for this group. Martin who has long been a good defensive coach, was seemingly brought into Ottawa to help the team find a defensive identity going forward. While the team didn’t see immediate improvement, they have shown signs of it lately with points in five of their last six games.
• Staios also addressed the status of pending unrestricted free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko. Staios said that he has not talked to the 32-year-old about a move, but he has been impressed with the former Stanley Cup winner. Tarasenko was signed last summer to a one-year $5MM contract and has been as advertised with 12 goals and 19 assists in 41 games. While he is no longer a perennial 30-goal scorer, he is still providing offense at five-on-five and is on pace for 24 goals.

Staios joined Ottawa earlier this season following Michael Andlauer’s purchase of the team being made official.  He originally came over as their President of Hockey Operations but after the Sens lost a first-round pick for failing to disclose Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause to Vegas when they traded him there (later nixing a trade the Golden Knights made with Anaheim), Dorion was relieved of his duties with Staios adding interim GM duties to his responsibilities at the beginning of November.

During his time in that role, Staios brought in Jacques Martin as a consultant but later elevated him to interim head coach when D.J. Smith was fired.  At the time, the logic made sense in that saddling a new GM with a more permanent coaching hire might not be the best course of action but now that Staios will be the chief decision maker, he can now start to assess options for who will get that opportunity down the road.  The expectation is that the 71-year-old Martin will be behind the bench for the remainder of the regular season.

Bowness joined the Sens a little less than a year and a half ago after working in Pittsburgh as their Director of Professional Scouting.  He is also GM of Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Belleville, something that is likely to remain the case even as he takes on other responsibilities with his elevated title.

As for Poulin, he last worked in a front office nearly a decade ago.  He had a five-year stint as Vice President of Hockey Operations from 2009 through 2014 while also being their AHL GM for two of those seasons.  Since then, the long-time NHL forward has worked in the media.

TSN’s Darren Dreger notes (Twitter link) that Andlauer had sought to replicate the managerial structure that Montreal has; Andlauer had been a minority owner of the Canadiens before purchasing the Sens.  While this front office isn’t now shaped exactly the same way as Montreal’s, it now has been augmented with the addition of Poulin and Bowness taking on expanded duties.

According to the team announcement, Staios will report directly to new owner Michael Andlauer, and “will preside over the Senators’ hockey department.” A statement on the hire was given by Andlauer, which reads:

I am so excited that Steve is joining me in Ottawa to lead our hockey operations. I have worked with Steve for many years and know first-hand that he will strengthen our team with his hockey acumen, attention to detail, commitment to excellence and enthusiasm for the game and its players. In hockey you can never accumulate too much talent. Having Steve and Pierre leading our hockey department gives us a formidable team.

This move isn’t one that comes as a complete surprise, in large part due to the deep existing ties between Andlauer and Staios. Before he became a special assistant to the GM for the Edmonton Oilers, Staios served as President and General Manager for the Hamilton Bulldogs (Andaluer’s OHL franchise) starting in 2015-16.

Staios’ NHL experience extends beyond his year in Edmonton, as he also worked in player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and does bring 1,001 NHL games of experience from his playing days.

What this addition means for the Senators is that it’s a first look at how an Andlauer-managed hockey operations department could differ from how the Senators’ hockey operations have been organized for many years. For years, GM Pierre Dorion has been at the top of Senators hockey operations, the unequivocal leader of that department.

Now, there’s another voice of importance there, and one that reports directly to ownership rather than Dorion. While it’s unclear whether this change will materialize into any concrete hockey operations decisions in the near future, this is a hire with significant long-term implications for the Senators franchise.

In a sitdown piece with The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Oilers general manager Ken Holland said discussions have begun on a new deal for Bouchard, but the team will be “challenged” to get it done. Holland referenced last season’s one-year agreement with Ryan McLeod, and a similar one could make sense for Edmonton and Bouchard. By the time the salary cap returns to its normal year-to-year jump, Bouchard will still be under team control as a restricted free agent.

Holland also mentioned he doesn’t feel pressure to get a deal done with Bouchard by the time unrestricted free agency opens on July 1.

More from Holland on the state of the Oilers:

• As soon as Michael Andlauer entered into a purchase agreement for the Ottawa Senators yesterday, rumors began swirling about the Oilers’ current special assistant to the GM, Steve Staios, being brought in for a higher-ranking position in the Sens’ front office. Staios and Andlauer worked together for many years during their time with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Holland said he hasn’t thought about it yet, but said “it’s hard to hold them back” when rising front office stars get better opportunities elsewhere. Holland didn’t seem particularly interested in putting up a fight to keep Staios, saying he prefers to keep their current assistant GMs in place.
• Holland said he hopes to avoid a buyout this offseason when asked about the possibility but didn’t rule it out. The two most likely candidates would be wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Warren Foegele, who both have one year remaining on their contracts but carry slightly overpriced cap hits for the offense and consistency they provide. Per CapFriendly, buying out Yamamoto would save Edmonton $2.67MM next season and cost them $533,334 in 2024-25. A Foegele buyout doesn’t make as much sense, saving them less than Yamamoto in 2023-24 ($2.167MM) and costing them more in 2024-25 ($1.083MM). The NHL’s first buyout window commences tomorrow, 48 hours after the end of the Stanley Cup Final, and closes June 30 at 4 p.m. CT.
• Lastly, Holland confirmed he would qualify all of Edmonton’s remaining RFAs, save for one: Noah Philp, who Holland revealed has decided to retire after what was a tough year for him personally. Philp, 24, had his first full pro season last year, registering 37 points in 70 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. The University of Alberta product expressed a desire to stay closer to home in Calgary and be with his family.