Elliotte Friedman names Ryan Bowness replacements as Senators cut ties with associate GM in front office shakeup

The Ottawa Senators are making changes in their front office and on Tuesday, the team parted ways with associate general manager Ryan Bowness. The decision came just days after the team signed defenceman Nik Matinpalo to a two-year contract.

Bowness joined the Senators in 2022 and was one of the few holdovers from the previous leadership. Bowness also served as the GM of Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.

On Wednesday's episode of the "32 Thoughts" podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed Bowness' exit and mentioned the move was not a surprise.

"Well, first of all, I want to wish best of luck to Ryan," Friedman said . [51:26] "I don't think it comes as a huge surprise. There have been some rumors during the season that there were going to be some changes there, and potentially Ryan was one of them."

Friedman also spoke about potential replacements for Bowness, and he suggested Matt Turek as a possible candidate.

"One of the names that I think is going to potentially be out there is Matt Turek," Friedman added. "Matt Turek, who in NHL circles, people will know him as the person who pushed Arber Xhekaj on the Montreal Canadiens."

Turek has ties to Senators president Steve Staios and owner Michael Andlauer, making him a strong candidate for the job.

"There's a tie-in with Andlauer and Steve Staios," Friedman said. "He was the GM of the Hamilton, now Brantford, Bulldogs. They know him well. He knows them well. And I'll say this, I think there would be some people who would be surprised if he wasn't the guy or very high on their list. We'll see how it all works out."

Bowness has worked in NHL front offices for over 15 years. Before joining Ottawa, he worked with the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Dave Poulin, the club’s senior vice-president of hockey operations, will take over Bowness' duties at the AHL board of governors meeting.

Ottawa Senators' new GM will have much to plan

The Ottawa Senators are determined to improve following their playoff exit. They made their first postseason appearance after eight seasons. They hope to return to the playoffs and advance further next season. They have a long offseason to plan their next moves to bolster the roster.

The team has $18 million in cap space to deal with, and the new general manager will be expected to make good personnel decisions.

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk cleared his intentions after losing to the Maple Leafs in the first round

“I want to play here. I want to be here, and I really believe in everybody in this organization that everybody wants to win here,” Tkachuk said, via Sportsnet.

Several players need new contracts, including Claude Giroux and Shane Pinto. Some young players, like Tyler Kleven and Fabian Zetterlund, want to stay. Injuries are also a concern, especially for Nick Jensen, who might need surgery. So, the team may add help on defense.

The Senators' goal is to make the playoffs a regular thing, and then they want to keep building from here.