Ottawa Senators bolster Belleville front office, add former NHLer Sam Gagner
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Steve Staios, the club's president of hockey operations and general manager, continued to put his stamp on the Senators by naming former Ontario Hockey League executive Matt Turek as the GM of the club's American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville.
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Turek, who was Staios' box during the playoffs, will take on the role left vacant by the departure of associate GM Ryan Bowness from the club last week.
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As Postmedia reported 10 days ago, the two sides mutually agreed to part ways at the end of the season, and mentioned then that Turek was a name to watch.
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Turek was hired by Staios when he ran the Brantford Bulldogs franchise owned by Senators owner Michael Andlauer.
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Andlauer sold the franchise to Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman and his family, but the Bulldogs announced last month that the club wasn't able to get a deal done with Turek. He played a role on Staios' staff when the Bulldogs won the 2021-22 J. Ross Robertson Cup as the OHL champions.
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Andlauer has stated publicly that the organization needs to spend more time working on the market in Belleville. Turek also worked as an OHL scout for the Montreal Canadiens. Bowness had split his duties between work with Belleville and Ottawa.
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'Matt has managed a successful Ontario Hockey League team, and he has gained critical management skills and experience at that level,' Staios said. 'In addition to his experience, Matt will bring passion and leadership to our organization.'
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What the decision will mean for the future of Belleville head coach David Bell remains to be seen. He has one year left on his deal, and Turek will likely have the green light to make whatever changes he feels are necessary.
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By all accounts, Bell has done a standout job in Belleville, especially with the injuries in Ottawa which left the AHL team with little depth. Belleville missed the AHL playoffs this spring.
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Gagner, 35, is an interesting hire and has a lot of work ahead of him.
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He wrapped up his National Hockey League career after suiting up for nearly 17 seasons with Edmonton, Arizona, Philadelphia, Columbus, Vancouver, Detroit and Winnipeg. Gagner was selected No. 7 overall by the Oilers in the 2007 NHL draft.
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