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Bowness' Reported Departure Marks Big Shift In Staios' Vision For Ottawa's Front Office

Five days after the Ottawa Senators were eliminated from the postseason, significant changes are already on the horizon for the organization's hockey operations department. Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios speaks at 2024-25 season-end media availability (Senators on YouTube). According to a report by Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, the Senators have mutually parted ways with their associate general manager, Ryan Bowness. As part of an organizational restructuring that included Trent Mann's promotion to assistant general manager, former general manager Pierre Dorion also hired Bowness on June 30, 2022, to be the organization's second assistant general manager. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement In his assistant general manager role, Bowness assumed the general manager duties for the Belleville Senators. Belleville failed to reach the postseason in two of these three seasons, including the 2024-25 season. In the lone season (2023-24) in which the team reached the playoffs, they bowed out in the first round. Bowness was promoted to associate general manager last season when the organization announced that Steve Staios would assume the general manager's responsibilities on December 31, 2023. Bowness arrived in Ottawa from Pittsburgh, where he spent three seasons as a professional scout before becoming the organization's director of professional scouting for another three years. Interestingly, during his end-of-season address and media availability yesterday, Staios discussed the possibility of change to the hockey operations department. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement "Possibly, we're always looking to improve," the general manager explained. "We're looking. We will always look at areas to improve. As far as taking that next step for the group on the ice, it's for us as a staff as well. "We've taken a step. We can get better. There are lots of areas for improvement, and if we don't continue to push for that, we're not doing our jobs. So, there are certainly areas throughout the organization that will continue to be addressed." Garrioch added that there is an expectation that Rob DiMaio will be promoted from his director of player personnel and professional scouting position. DiMaio joined the organization from Anaheim last May, where he was the assistant general manager for the Ducks. Bowness' departure is intriguing because Staios spent considerable time pumping his tires last year. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement During an episode of the 'Got Yer Back' podcast in February, 2024, Staios shed light on the general manager hiring process and why he ultimately decided to take the role himself rather than pursue an outside hire like Eric Tulsky. "Yeah, it was a unique process. Obviously, Michael (Andlauer) is the man in charge and making the decisions. So, as everyone knows, we had a lot of things that were thrown at us here in Ottawa early on - including a half-year suspension, injuries and then obviously the (Evgenii) Dadonov situation. Michael had made the decision that he wanted to make a change. At that point in time, we looked at it from all angles. We had a lot of names and structure that I had presented to Michael. At the end of the day, he makes the decisions. He was comfortable with this structure moving forward and we've continued to build off it. "I think when you start looking at names on a GM search, there are obviously many capable people out there who could do the job. And, we've continued to look down the hallway at Ryan Bowness and his continued ascension in the game and his experience - his winning experience with the Pittsburgh Penguins. So, we felt we had a candidate there that certainly could work alongside me in the GM position to continue to move this thing forward." There was an expectation that, over time, Staios would simply return exclusively to a president of hockey operations role while Bowness could potentially ascend to the general manager's role. That obviously will not happen now. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement After Pierre Dorion fired Trent Mann as part of a self-preservation power move to maintain control through the Senators' sale process, Bowness was one of the few holdovers from the previous regime. With his departure, Staios continues to put his stamp on the organization on and off the ice. He has worked to reshape the roster and front office in his vision, putting people in place who will be loyal to him. Graeme Nichols The Hockey News Ottawa Report: Ottawa Senators Shake Up Front Office, Parting Ways With Associate GM Ryan Bowness Report: Ottawa Senators Shake Up Front Office, Parting Ways With Associate GM Ryan Bowness For a team that's only five days into its off-season, the Ottawa Senators aren't wasting any time preparing for next season. On Monday, GM Steve Staios signed RFA defenceman Nik Matinpalo to a two-year extension. On Tuesday, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, the team parted company with associate GM Ryan Bowness.