Saying that it wasn't an "easy" decision to make, Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion admitted the waiving of forward Zack Smith on Tuesday was a performance-related issue.

But Dorion is confident that Smith and the team can quickly move forward from it and use it as a teachable moment.

"It was probably the toughest discussion that I’ve ever had with a player," Dorion said of the decision to TSN's Brent Wallace. "Zack is a high-character player, he's the heart and soul of that dressing room, but at the same time, it was performance-related. We knew that is if we let the team know we are not going to accept what happened last year, including how Zack played, that hopefully the message would be passed to the room."

The 10-year veteran cleared waivers on Wednesday and is expected to feature in the team's preseason contest on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dorion believes that Smith can bounce back from last season's five-goal, 14-assist output in 68 games.

“Zack is playing for us [on Thursday]," Dorion said. "He’s part of this team. We know he’s going to rebound for a big year and the idea is to play him with two good players and we look forward to seeing him play well."

Smith's agent, Allain Roy, repsonded to Dorion's comments later on Thursday.

“Zack Smith understands better than anyone that it’s a privilege to play in the NHL," Roy said in a statement. "He knows he owes his teammates, the fans and the organization a better season. No more media comments on this. We are done with this game of tennis and ready to get back to the business of hockey as of tonight.”

“It’s been a long two days," Smith told TSN 1200's Ian Mendes on Thursday. "I ran the course of emotions. It was disbelief first. Denial, anger. But my wife kind of leveled me off.”

Roy had previously said Smith was shocked by the move and teammates were equally taken aback.

“I’ll be honest, it’s a kick in the balls for us," Matt Duchene told reporters on Tuesday.

A native of Maple Creek, Sask., Smith is in the second year of a four-year, $13 million deal signed before last season.

In 542 career games, all with the Sens, Smith has 85 goals and 80 assists. His best season offensively came in 2015-16, when Smith potted 25 goals.