With the predictable disappointment of the Draft Lottery now in the rear-view mirror, Pierre Dorion can turn his attention to the next item on his off-season To Do List.
The future of his Head Coach.
Dorion is expected to meet with Guy Boucher at some point today and it’s believed that the two will talk about Boucher’s status heading into next season. All options remain on the table including a change at the Head Coach position, an overhaul to the supporting cast or something close to status quo, although that seems extremely unlikely at this point.
Dorion has mentioned it a few times now but after a disappointing 30th place finish, all aspects of the organization are under review this summer. Well except for GM and Owner, I suppose.
Late in the season, it sounded like Boucher’s job was safe but it’s clear that since then, Dorion has had a bit of a change of heart.
If Boucher is back next year, and that seems like the smart bet right now, he’ll be expected to make some changes to his approach. At the top of the list are the integration of young players into important roles on the team and a renewed emphasis on practice.
These were the two primary issues Dorion highlighted in his season ending press conference.
It’s safe to assume that the future of the Associate Coach Marc Crawford and the Assistants Rob Cookson and Martin Raymond could come up today too.
We could find out more on their future and on the status of Guy Boucher, later today.
-As if the disappointment of dropping a couple spots in the lottery wasn’t bad enough, yesterday we found out just how close Ottawa was to landing the top spot. Sportsnet published a detailed look at how the draft lottery played out on Saturday night and it mentioned that heading into the selection of last lottery ball, the Senators actually had the best chance at landing the top spot. It didn’t go their way and instead the Sabres retained the first overall selection. Obviously fourth overall isn’t ideal but fifth would have been a disaster. At fourth, they should be able to have their choice of one of Filip Zadina or Brady Tkachuk. Or one of the highly rated defenceman, should they decide to go that route.
