Steve Staios turned 53 on Tuesday, and the Senators GM has already handed Ottawa fans a few presents worth remembering.
Since taking over in November 2023, Staios has built a track record on the trade front that looks especially sharp when you stack the deals side by side. A young defenseman for next to nothing.
A center who can actually hold up over a full season. And a massive return in a situation where the market was working against him from the start.
The cleanest win may be the Jordan Spence deal. Ottawa first slid back two spots in the first round on draft day last year in a trade with the Nashville Predators, and Nashville sent the Senators a third-round pick as part of the swap.
Staios then used that pick, plus Ottawa’s 2026 sixth-round pick, to bring in Spence from the Los Angeles Kings. One year later, Spence had carved out a top-four role in Ottawa, and Staios has since locked him in on a four-year, $20-million contract.
That’s a strong return for moving back two draft positions and giving up a sixth-rounder.
Then there’s Dylan Cozens, the kind of move that looks even better the more you watch it play out. In March of 2025, Staios sent Josh Norris to Buffalo, with health concerns driving the decision.
Ottawa needed a second-line center who could survive the grind, and Staios brought in Cozens, along with Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round pick, for Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker. Norris managed only three games in Buffalo before a season-ending injury, and this past season he was productive when available but appeared in just 44 games.
Cozens, meanwhile, has not missed a game in Ottawa and has put up 75 points in 103 games.
The biggest swing came with Brady Tkachuk. Staios’ first trade as GM was a tough one involving Vladimir Tarasenko, who had a no-movement clause and would only waive it for the Florida Panthers. Tarasenko was four months from UFA status, so Staios worked with what little leverage he had and landed a 2024 fourth-round pick that became a 2026 third-round pick, plus a 2025 third-round pick.
The Tkachuk situation was even more complicated. His captain wanted to go to Florida to play with his brother, and he still had two full years left on his deal.
Even with other teams mentioned, the market was clearly narrow. Still, Staios pulled a huge package out of the Panthers: a 2026 first-round pick at No. 9, which he turned into William Eklund and two prospects; another 2026 first-round pick, Jonas Lagerberg Hoen; a conditional 2029 first-round pick; and a 2027 second-round pick.
Unless the conversation starts and ends with Connor McDavid, getting three first-round picks and a second for any player is a strong return. Given the pressure Staios was under, it looks even better.
So on his birthday, the Senators GM has three transactions that have already felt like gifts to the fan base.
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Bathersons next deal is expected to require a significant raise, which only adds pressure to a process that has not moved quickly. For a Senators team trying to keep its roster on the same timeline, the unresolved talks are another reminder that the offseason work around the edges can matter just as much as the bigger names getting the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]