Senators GM has work to do after acquiring Linus Ullmark

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Steve Staios has ticked off one large box on his “to do” list.

Determined to improve the goaltending before the start of next season, the Ottawa Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager was able to achieve that task in a big way by acquiring goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins on Monday night.

Not only were the Senators able to acquire a goalie who won the Vezina Trophy with the Bruins two years ago, the club was able to escape the four years and $16 million U.S. remaining on Joonas Korpisalo’s deal by trading him to Boston, with only 25 per cent salary retained.

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The Senators also gave Boston back its No. 25 overall pick in Friday’s first round of the National Hockey League draft in Las Vegas, and also got centre Mark Kastelic’s contract off the books.

All in all, a tidy piece of business, which should give newly hired head coach Travis Green and his staff the opportunity to have confidence in the newly minted No. 1 goalie.

“It was a priority,” Staios said an interview on TSN 1200 Tuesday. “If you could do it, you wanted to do it. This is the deal that I was looking at the longest and the hardest from the perspective of improving our group. It’s nice to have this one done and look at other areas to improve.”

Of course, just because Staios came out a winner in the deal with the Bruins, that doesn’t mean he can rest on his laurels. The Senators have missed the playoffs for seven straight years and he has more changes to make if they are indeed going to make the next step.

Staios wants to build this team around the likes of captain Brady Tkachuk, along with Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot and centre Josh Norris, who has had a difficult time staying healthy the last two seasons.

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Everybody knows the clock is ticking for this group to have success, which is why Staios has his work cut out for him to find the right pieces.

“I do feel like with this group that we have a talented core, and when I say young core I would say that they’re not that young anymore,” Staios said. “They’re hungry to get better, they’re well intended, we have good group and with the change with the coaching staff there’s going to be a step of improvement as well.

“This is all part of the process. I know some people want to get there today and sometimes it’s just piece by piece.”

The Senators were ranked No. 31 overall in the league in save percentage last season with Korpisalo and backup Anton Forsberg, which is why it was paramount for Staios to make a change.

But that’s not the only change we’re going to see for this roster because Staios has a finger in a lot of pots. He wants to upgrade the club’s defence and also see if he can help Ottawa’s depth up front.

Postmedia has reported the Senators are trying to move speedy winger Mathieu Joseph in advance of the draft this weekend. The club is also trying to determine what the market looks like for defenceman Jakob Chychrun, who has one year left at $4.6 million.

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League executives say the Senators are seeking a first- and second-round pick or a high-end prospect in exchange for Chychrun. Staios is keeping his options open on the trade front and is exploring every opportunity he has to make the organization better.

The indications are the Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks are among the teams that have shown interest in Chychrun.

Decisions also have to be made on the future of defenceman Erik Brannstrom, a restricted free agent who may not get a qualifying offer at the June 30 deadline.

“Certainly after getting Linus done, we’re now moving forward to see what areas we can improve on,” Staios said. “I will continue to look at every angle that we can add to our group to continue to improve.”

But having better goaltending should go a long way in helping this roster have success. Staios confirmed a Postmedia report that he started the talks with the Bruins about Ullmark at the March trade deadline, but the timing wasn’t right to get a trade in place.

“As timing would have it, that deal wasn’t ready for them or us at that point in time,” Staios said. “You could say timing was an issue.”

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Yes, the Senators held serious discussions with the Calgary Flames about Jacob Markstrom in the last month and kicked the tires on Nashville’s Juuse Saros, but Ullmark was always the one they wanted to bring in here.

The next step is to have serious discussions regarding an extension for Ullmark because he’s headed into the final year of a deal that will pay him $5 million next season, including a $1-million bonus on July 1.

“(Talks) will be part of the process,” Staios said. “The next steps will be further on down the line to focus on having Linus here long-term for us. Those conversations will certainly be a priority and we’ll continue to work towards that.”

BGarrioch@postmedia.com

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