Senators GM says he has the green light to make a move

Pierre Dorion has his owner's blessing when it comes to dealing before the trade deadline.

The Ottawa Senators general manager told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch on Wednesday that Eugene Melnyk has given him the go-ahead to make a move "to get the team to the playoffs."

The Senators sit second in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for first with a pair of games in hand, but they're suddenly smarting up front with a long-term injury to Bobby Ryan, while top-ranked and third-ranked goal-scorers Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman recently suffered less severe but still concerning ailments.

Dorion hopes the latter pair will be able to play Sunday in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers, but he also acknowledged that if he does anything before next Wednesday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, it'll be at the forward position.

Speaking of forwards, the GM also said he's received calls from other teams about Curtis Lazar, but added that his first choice is to hold on to the 22-year-old right-winger, who's a pending restricted free agent.

While he does have the green light to make a trade, Dorion cautioned that prices are high and said he owes it to the organization to be patient.

The Senators have five pending UFAs, including backup goaltender Mike Condon and depth forward Tom Pyatt, and the GM said contract talks with those two players will pick back up after the deadline.

As for what the roster will look like when the dust clears next Wednesday afternoon, Dorion expressed his desire to make a move, but understands it might not happen.

"There is a good chance we go into (the stretch run) after March 1 with the same team we have now, (but) we would like to do something," he said, according to TSN's Brent Wallace.