Pre-Game Talk: SENS in Buffalo (Snowstorm Edition), Tuesday night 7:00 pm on TSN

[Langdon Alger]

It's not gonna change.

A lot of people criticize Ottawa for not hiring coaches with nhl head coaching experience, but to be fair a lot of other teams do the same thing.

San Jose hired McLellan
Vancouver hired Green
Isles hired Weight
Washington hired Boudreau

It might be a bit early with Green and Weight, but so far so good.

You can hire guys with previous head coaching experience, but that doesn’t always work either.

I thought MacLean did well for a while, Boucher had a great first year. Clouston did well for a bit. People just got tired of them after a while.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

That doesn’t change what happened before we hired Boucher. Paddock, Hartsburg, Clouston, Cameron, MacLean.

Well it could have. Like "ahh we made those mistakes but now we have boudreau".

 

[Cosmix]

Yup, but I’m still tired of all the different coaches.

I’m tired of the poor management.

 

[aragorn]

Nope. Not a big fan of Boucher. I wanted Boudreau. You can check my post history.

This losing streak has nothing to do with toughness. NOTHING. So not sure what your point is.

You were defending DiDo & Dumont not that long ago, I thought you liked a soft small speedy little team. You used to defend Connacher too. Oh, and no one defending Ryan getting pasted into the boards has nothing to do with a lack of toughness or the fact these players won't stand up for each other. Looks like an indicator to me that they aren't playing for each other or this coach & they aren't a team. This team goes down without a fight almost every game now, they're quitters, that's fun to see.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Well it could have. Like "ahh we made those mistakes but now we have boudreau".

No guarantee we have success with him.

 

[Langdon Alger]

I’m tired of the poor management.

Indeed

 

[Burrowsaurus]

People that complain about our keadership and toughness helllllooo what in the actually f*** did we pay for and then pay burrows for. Where's his value if not those f***ing things. Sorry.

 

[Langdon Alger]

People that complain about our keadership and toughness helllllooo what in the actually **** did we pay for and then pay burrows for. Where's his value if not those ****ing things. Sorry.

I’ve never questioned our keadership.

 

[Ouroboros]

They were the cheapest options.

Most likely.

It's more than that, though. Many of those guys were hired without doing a comprehensive search/due diligence.

Paddock: Was an assistant here at the time. His promotion was basically a coronation.

Hartsburg: Many people forget that he wasn't the team's first choice. News broke that the Sens had agreed to hire Pete DeBoer as head coach, pending a meeting with Melnyk which was seen as a formality. After that meeting it was reported that the deal was off - something fell apart. Salary demands? Who knows.

Clouston: Mid-season replacement as an interim. Got decent results after taking over and was made permanent without other candidates being considered.

Cameron: another mid-season replacement - he was made permanent before he even coached a single game for the team. Insane.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Most likely.

It's more than that, though. Many of those guys were hired without doing a comprehensive search/due diligence.

Paddock: Was an assistant here at the time. His promotion was basically a coronation.

Hartsburg: Many people forget that he wasn't the team's first choice. News broke that the Sens had agreed to hire Pete DeBoer as head coach, pending a meeting with Melnyk which was seen as a formality. After that meeting it was reported that the deal was off - something fell apart. Salary demands? Who knows.

Clouston: Mid-season replacement as an interim. Got decent results after taking over and was made permanent without other candidates being considered.

Cameron: another mid-season replacement - he was made permanent before he even coached a single game for the team. Insane.

Dave Lewis took over in Detroit after Bowman retired. That didn’t work out either. Not sure if promoting the assistant is the best idea.

With Doboer I remember hearing he wanted a 4 year deal. For a junior coach to ask for that is kind of ballsy. Ottawa wanted to give him the standard three year deal. I don’t blame them. He could have been a dud like a lot of junior coaches who come to the nhl.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

We had our chance with Boudreau.

We were a team that couldn't hold a coach for more than two years and we picked a coach who literally couldn't sustain success for longer than a year.

Boucher was the right hire at the time, and he is a good coach. He just lost the room, it happens to good coaches sometimes.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

A lot of people criticize Ottawa for not hiring coaches with nhl head coaching experience, but to be fair a lot of other teams do the same thing.

San Jose hired McLellan
Vancouver hired Green
Isles hired Weight
Washington hired Boudreau

It might be a bit early with Green and Weight, but so far so good.

You can hire guys with previous head coaching experience, but that doesn’t always work either.

I thought MacLean did well for a while, Boucher had a great first year. Clouston did well for a bit. People just got tired of them after a while.

Sure but this was known about Boucher. He already had a reputation of having a short shelf life. It's hilarious that a team with that exact same problem would hire him over a guy who consistently coached great teams.

 

[ToastrStutzle]

People that complain about our keadership and toughness helllllooo what in the actually **** did we pay for and then pay burrows for. Where's his value if not those ****ing things. Sorry.

Couldn't agree more. Time for "veteran leadership" and intangibles to step up

Doesn't look like they have it in them

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Boucher was the right hire at the time, and he is a good coach. He just lost the room, it happens to good coaches sometimes.

Losing the room in the second year...three times in a row?

It's not hard to see why his strict coaching isn't loved by many.

 

[God Says No]

You were defending DiDo & Dumont not that long ago, I thought you liked a soft small speedy little team. You used to defend Connacher too. Oh, and no one defending Ryan getting pasted into the boards has nothing to do with a lack of toughness or the fact these players won't stand up for each other. Looks like an indicator to me that they aren't playing for each other or this coach & they aren't a team.

Wrong again bro. You have bad memory. I'll break it down for you, so you can remember next time.

Dido - I had issue of waiving Dido when the team was struggling offensively. I'm not a big fan of Dido. He's a tweener, that most likely won't be in the league next year. He can't skate, but he had some chemistry with Hoffman and that's we need right now is offense.
Dumont - I don't know where you got the idea I like Dumont. I dare you to find a post from me that "defends" Dumont. Or that says he's nothing more than a defensive forward that wouldn't play on a good team.
Conacher - I thought it was just bad asset management. Was never enamored with him. We got gipped by TBL.

I will agree with you that the team is not playing for each other right now though.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Sure but this was known about Boucher. He already had a reputation of having a short shelf life. It's hilarious that a team with that exact same problem would hire him over a guy who consistently coached great teams.

Well, he had only coached one other nhl team. This isn’t like a Hitchcock or Tortorella who had had multiple chances around the league.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Well, he had only coached one other nhl team. This isn’t like a Hitchcock or Tortorella who had had multiple chances around the league.

Happened in the Swiss league too. Coached a great first year, awful second year, got fired, then the team excelled after he was fired.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Happened in the Swiss league too. Coached a great first year, awful second year, got fired, then the team excelled after he was fired.

Maybe Dorion realizes the team is completely demoralized under Boucher and is on #teamtank. He's not gonna fire Boucher in season, because he doesn't want to spark the team into finishing 11th overall. He'll fire Boucher in June....

(lol jk jk)

 

[Langdon Alger]

Happened in the Swiss league too. Coached a great first year, awful second year, got fired, then the team excelled after he was fired.

My post you replied to was more about hiring guys like Clouston, MacLean and Cameron though. People criticize us for hiring inexperienced guys, but it has worked out for other teams.

People like to criticize us for going cheap and going the inexperienced route, but other teams do the same sometimes. We’re not the only ones.

 

[Korpse]

Good coaches don't act like Boucher. When their team just isn't cutting it they will tell it like it is.

Boucher couldn't possibly make things worse than they are right now by admitting that whatever they are doing is not working. It would simply be stating the obvious. His "we almost had this one!" schtick isn't cutting it both with the media/fans, and the team itself, obviously.

Each situation is different of course. Usually coaches are looking for better performances when they are winning games. They act like they are never statisfied but thats the time to push. It's a fragile group right now, its evident in their play. They have come out strong in almost every game these past few weeks but once something goes the other way, they get down on themselves. His message to the players in private is likely different than what he is saying in public but he probably isn't pushing too much. Your approach could work, I still think its too soon.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

My post you replied to was more about hiring guys like Clouston, MacLean and Cameron though. People criticize us for hiring inexperienced guys, but it has worked out for other teams.

People like to criticize us for going cheap and going the inexperienced route, but other teams do the same sometimes. We’re not the only ones.

Fair enough, but this has been a common trend for us more than any other team. Sometimes enough is enough.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

No guarantee we have success with him.

NO guarentee we have success with mike Babcock. But if that's the attitude we take with All alternatives then there's no hope.

 

[Shruggs Peterson]

Losing the room in the second year...three times in a row?

It's not hard to see why his strict coaching isn't loved by many.

Everyone was talking about the reasons Boucher failed in Tampa and the defense was that the personnel just wasn't there (Lindback and Garon in net for most of the year) and guys like Sami Salo (at 38) averaging 21 minutes a night. Made sense to me at the time why it didn't work.

This......well it's hard to defend anything Boucher's done during this stretch.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I’ve never questioned our keadership.

Did I quote you? Whoops.

 

[aragorn]

I don't recall Burrows ever being considered a tough guy, a pest yes, but not a tough guy.