Heating up may be an exaggeration but after weeks of complete silence, it does sound like Pierre Dorion has begun the process to identify the next Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators.
A total of 13 different men have coached the Senators over the years. From Jacques Martin’s 528 games to the two games coached by Roger Neilson, the Senators have had their fair share of ups and downs.
The last three- Paul MacLean, Dave Cameron and Guy Boucher- all started well only to fall out of favour with the organization and fans a year later. Instability at the coaching position certainly isn’t unique to this franchise but it has been an issue lately.
And that’s why it’s so important that Pierre Dorion gets this hire right.
He needs to identify someone that can hold down the position for a few years and can be the one that helps drive this rebuild forward.
It won’t be an easy choice.
And that’s why we’re going to help him out with some good ol’ fashion polling.
Bruce Garrioch provided an update on the search yesterday and at this point, it sounds like there are six or maybe seven candidates that the organization is looking at.
For now anyway.
The list includes Marc Crawford, Troy Mann, Mike Yeo, Dominique Ducharme, Nate Leaman and Jacques Martin. And while he wasn’t specifically mentioned in the article, there have been rumours Dorion plans to head to Europe to speak to Rikard Grönborg.
Seven candidates although it’s likely there are more.
Marc Crawford has already had his initial conversation with Dorion and makes a ton of sense. He has the experience teams value in a Head Coach but also a familiarity with the players.
Similar story with Troy Mann. He did a heck of a job with the team in Belleville last year and while they fell short of the playoffs, his AHL resume is certainly impressive enough to warrant consideration.
Dominuque Ducharme, Nate Leaman and Rikard Grönborg are all relative unknowns. Ducharme was an Assistant with the Canadiens last year and previously a Head Coach for Team Canada at the World Juniors. Nate Leaman is a highly regarded NCAA coach that seems to drawing a lot of attention this off-season. And Rikard Grönborg has built up a strong international resume and seems to be considering a move to the NHL. Mike Yeo was a candidate for the position last time around.
And then there’s Jacques.
The franchise’s all-time leader in games coached and in wins. He has a reputation as a strong defensive coach and we’ve already heard definitively that the Senators have asked the Penguins for permission to speak to him about the position.
Plenty of good candidates. But it’s time to pick your favourite. Not who you think they will go with but who you would pick from this list. Obviously there are other names worth of consideration but for the purposes of this highly-scientific poll, we’ll limit it to these seven.
Decision time, folks.
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