Senators hire Steve Staios as president of hockey operations
Steve Staios #SteveStaios
OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators have appointed Steve Staios as their new president of hockey operations.
Staios joined the Senators on Friday after resigning from his post as special adviser on the Edmonton Oilers’ hockey operations staff.
Pierre Dorion remains general manager heading into the 2023-24 National Hockey League season.
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Peter Horachek, centre, talks to assistants Steve Spott, left, and Steve Staios during the first period of the Leafs’ NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, in San Jose, Calif. The Ottawa Senators have appointed Staios as their new president of hockey operations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Staios, a Hamilton native, previously served the president and general manager of the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs from 2016-22, including a stint solely being president in 2015.
The Bulldogs franchise is owned by Ottawa’s new majority owner Michael Andlauer.
“I am so excited that Steve is joining me in Ottawa to lead our hockey operations,” Andlauer said in a release. “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.”
Staios was named player development adviser of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012 and two years later, became the manager of player development before moving to the bench to support the interim coaching staff in 2015.
He also managed Team Canada at the 2019 world juniors and 2017 world under-17 hockey challenge. In addition, he served as director of player development with Canada at the 2014 world championship.
The 50-year-old Staios’s work in development and management followed a 16-year NHL career as a defenceman that saw him appear in 1,001 games with Boston, Vancouver, Atlanta, Edmonton, Calgary and the New York Islanders.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2023.