GM Dorion looking to add quality supporting players to Senators' core

OTTAWA — General manager Pierre Dorion has great faith in the Ottawa Senators but isn't making any bold predictions regarding their potential next season.

It’s likely because Dorion has learned from past mistakes.

Earlier this season, Dorion declared "the rebuild is done" and "now we're stepping into another zone," only to watch his team drop to the bottom of the standings and well out of playoff contention.

Dorion felt the Senators took steps forward and learned valuable lessons along the way.

"Obviously, we and myself felt that we took a big step this year," said Dorion. "Obviously we didn't have the start that we wanted to have.

"But the most important thing in a young team is our young core. Now we feel can play against pretty much any core in the league."

Ottawa was 4-15-1 in its first 20 games and had just one win in the month of November. Then again, the Senators were hit hard by COVID-19 that month.

However, Dorion had significant praise for a number of players, including Anton Forsberg, who he called the team's MVP this season. Forsberg finished with a 22-17-4 record and provided a solid presence in goal for Ottawa.

Not surprising, Dorion also noted the play of Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot , Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle. He also added Erik Brannstrom was the team’s most improved defenceman.

While the core group is impressive, there’s no denying the need to add quality, supporting players. That's something which has eluded Dorion to this point.

The additions of Evgeni Dadonov, Michael Del Zotto and Matt Murray didn't reap the expected rewards. Dadonov was traded to Vegas this past summer, Del Zotto was placed on waivers as was Murray, who was also assigned to AHL Belleville before being recalled