GM Steve Staios looking for “veteran help” to assist the Senators core

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Steve Staios wants to give the kids a helping hand.

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The Ottawa Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager confirmed Friday he’d like to add at least one veteran player to the roster if he can find the right fit before the National Hockey League’s March 8 trade deadline.

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As Postmedia reported earlier this week, the Senators would like to find a good fit for their third line, someone who could play a big role and help support alternate captain Claude Giroux by acting as a leader for the young players.

Speaking to The Jason Gregor Show on Sports 1440 in Edmonton on Friday night, Staios was asked about the value of bringing in more veteran players. He agreed that could be helpful, especially with a young group like the Senators.

He noted he’d like to add “a veteran player if we could” to the current group.

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“The market often dictates things in certain areas to be able to move this thing in the right direction,” Staios said as the Senators prepared to face the Oilers at Rogers Place Arena on Saturday night. “We’ll be out (looking) and we’re being aggressive to try to identify those areas.

“Regardless of where you think your team is, I think (the deadline) is an important time to try to take advantage of certain situations, if they’re there. To try to force something into your team or to try something rash is never been what we’ve set out to do here.

“We’ve taken a process-driven approach. It’s not patience because we work at it every day, and, if there are opportunities, we’ll take advantage of it. Certainly, it’s going to have to make sense. Time will tell on what the opportunities might become as we get closer to the deadline.”

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Staios said he felt the expectations for the current group had been too high coming into the season because the Senators didn’t have the necessary experience to figure out a way forward when they weren’t playing well.

“These young players are eager and they never cheat me on effort,” Staios said. “This core group works every night. Claude Giroux has been perfect for this group because he’s lived it, seen it and been a captain.

“The other element is that in a Canadian market and some of the bold statements that were made about this group prior to me coming on. They raised the expectations and when you have high character players like I feel we do, you almost extend yourself even further.

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“That’s a good problem to have but I think that’s the growth phase that we’re in as an organization.”

The Senators will make one addition, with Shane Pinto set to return Jan. 21 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Staios said he expected to Pinto, who has nearly finished his 41-game NHL suspension, to suit up for that game, and he would be allowed to resume skating with the club next Wednesday.

The belief is the Senators will sign Pinto, a restricted free agent, to a one-year deal close to the $800,000 qualifying offer he received last summer, but the talk in league circles is the club has had some talks regarding a long-term extension with his New York-based agent, Lewis Gross.

That’s unlikely to be the case, but it has been discussed.

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“He’s skating now and will officially rejoin our team on Jan. 10 and he’ll start practising with our group leading into coming back to play for us,” Staios said.

Though the decision to bring back veteran coach Jacques Martin and former captain Daniel Alfredsson as an assistant coach hasn’t had the desired effect, with the Senators remaining in last place in the Eastern Conference, Staios has seen progress.

Staios praised the approach Martin had brought, but didn’t commit to bringing him back next season. The expectation is he’ll finish out the season with Alfredsson and then Martin will return to a senior advisory role within the organization.

“Jacques brings an incredible amount of professionalism, detail and discipline to the game and he’s instilling that,” Staios said. “It takes time for a new coaching staff to be able to do that. The amount of respect that Daniel Alfredsson, with his experience and competitiveness, I feel that’s a good combination to be able to continue to nurture this group and what they’ll need to continue to work on as individuals and as a team.

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“It’s a longer evaluation. We studied the championship team and, as far as timing of it, if you look at when the Tampa Bays of the world drafted their core players, there was quite a bit of time before they got to championship form. That needs to be understood.

“I believe this is the right group with Jacques, Alfie and, of course, Jack Capuano, who has been a head coach in this league, to really dig on those details it’s going to take. Unfortunately, it will take time. We’re all competitive people and we want to win every night and our players believe they can win every night.

“We’re balancing that with making sure this build is done properly and we are ready to go when this team is truly ready.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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