Lory Cavalette Interview

Lory Cavalette sits down with Sens GM and talke about early season success

Interview with Lory Cavalette

Recently, renowned DCHL reporter Lory Cavalette sat down with Ottawa Senators GM, Steve Downs, to discuss his team’s early success this season. Here is how to interview went…

Lory: Thanks Steve for meeting with me. You must be pretty excited with your team’s record so far this year.

Steve: Thanks for having me Lory. It’s great to be here with you. Yeah, it’s still early but we are pretty excited about our start so far. The goal is to make the play-offs and so far that looks promising.

L: What do you think is the biggest reason for your team’s early success?

S: Well, you have to start with goaltending. Both our goalies have been great but Freddie has been absolutely amazing this year. After the struggles he had last year, he really wanted to make a statement this year and showed up for preseason in the best shape of his life. He looks like an entirely different guy out there and he is giving us a chance to win every night.

L: It looks like you are limiting his starts a little bit this year. Is there a reason for this?

S: We know that Freddie has had durability issues in the past so we went into this season knowing we would need to lean on Dan more and to be honest Dan has been great. His 6-1-1 record has been a big reason we are where we are in the standings. He is keeping us in games and our team is getting the W.

L: Let’s talk a bit about some of the other players that are having bounce back seasons. Your captain Ovie, scored 17 goals in the first half of the season last year but then only 5 the rest of the year. He does have 12 already through 21 games. How do you make sure he doesn’t go into a slump like he did last season?

S: I don’t know there is anything we can do. All we know is he is Alex Ovechkin and he is possibly the best goal scorer in history. To help him we made sure to bring Mikael Granlund back this year and the two have had some amazing chemistry.

L: Hold on, I’m gonna challenge that a bit. During Free Agency you were one of the teams in on Zibanaejad.

S: Well sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make. We needed a top line C. Zibanejad was one of the guys we talked to. We were never able to come to an agreement and Granlund has never played a game for any other franchise in the DCHL. We have been lucky to have him be a part of our organization and would be happy to have him play his entire career with us.

L: Well this season he is on pace for over 100 points. Why do you think that is?

S: Well, I have no idea and I’m not sure I care. I’m just like all our fans and enjoying watching he and Ovie combining on putting lost of pucks into the backs of nets.

L: Finally let’s talk about your guy, Chychrun. The way he is playing do you think he will get some consideration for the Norris Trophy?

S: He should. He is among the top D in scoring and +-. He is helping put pucks in the net and helping keep them out of the net. Again, it is still early with lots of hockey still to play, but he has been one of the top D in the League so far. If his play continues like this, I don’t know how he isn’t among the finalists for the award.

L: Well Steve thanks for the chat and good luck the rest of the way.

S: Thanks Lory. Hope I see you on those Two Bald Guys Podcast soon.