Senators GM Addresses Derek Stepan Trade Speculation

Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was sick and tired of hearing about Derek Stepan wanting out of Ottawa so he decided to confront the trade rumors head on.

Dorion spoke to the media on Wednesday after it's been speculated the past two weeks that Stepan is looking to head back to play closer to his young family. The Senators acquired him from the Arizona Coyotes for a second-round pick and were looking to Stepan to provide leadership to their young core.

No, he hasn't indicated anything along that line to us. We can tell with our conversations that I've had with him that I think it's only human that ... when you only see your newborn for a day or two that it can be difficult on any type of human being. He's given us great minutes, he's (proved) to be a great leader ... The best way to describe it is, when you have so many young players on your team ... young players make mistakes. The last two games ... some mistakes were made by young players, and a guy like Derek Stepan can tell these younger guys, 'Just forget it, be better.' It's almost like having an extra coach out there.

Stepan's wife gave birth to their third child only two days after Stepan was acquired by Ottawa so obviously he had a ton weighing on his mind early on this season.

Soo..what's all this noise about then?