Confirmed with Link: Travis Green named new head coach

[Gil Gunderson]

Seriously? He had the best goal scorer of the past 10 years on his team, other offensive talent, extra money to put under performers on LTIR and won one playoff round.

The Leafs offence does dry up in the playoffs, but I've always been impressed how much he's been able to get out of his mediocre d-corps. They always play better defensively than they have a right to be.

 

[Micklebot]

Him bringing this team to the playoffs next year is a long shot, at best. I think that’s agreed upon within Sens management.

He’s not going to turn this pumpkin into a carriage, no coach was. There are going to be bumps in the road, as we should expect with the “current” iteration of the team.

so, it's an interesting question,

on the one hand, we were 13 pts out of a playoff spot this year, so there's a ways to go.

On the other hand, goaltending was about as bad as it gets, and presumably the org is going to shore up the roster (RHD...) so we'll have a better built roster. We also shouldn't see Pinto suspended for half the season, and if we're lucky, should get healthier seasons from Chabot and Norris.

It's also worth noting we were only 6 pts out the year before.

I don't think the team is counting on playoffs next year, nor should they, but I do think they should expect this team to compete for a wild card spot. We were a 90 pts team over the second half of the year, the slow start under DJ did killed us, and we arguably had a soft start to the schedule. I think the team made progress under Martin, and while they still have a ways to go, I don't see us as all that different from Detroit, still not a great team, but we know what needs to be addressed, and if we address it we should be competitive for that wild card spot.

 

[Satoru Gojo]

Funny you would include a guy like Pete Deboer. In his first 7 seasons in the league he missed the playoffs in 5 and was fired part way through in a sixth. I'm sure lots of fans in San Jose had zero faith in him when he got hired there.

Yes sir, well him as an example provides me a slight bit of optimism that Green could be ok

It ever so slight though

 

[Crosside]

Green: Players need to show up to camp in shape

Senators head coach Travis Green on the Battle of Ontario rivalry in his playing days, leaving New Jersey for Ottawa, Steve Staios, approach to training camp, accountability between players and his coaching staff.

www.tsn.ca

 

[Senovision]

I think Mckee might get hired as an assistant coach.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I think Green has a reputation for being tough. I don’t agree that he has a reputation of being fair. I think if anything he has a reputation for picking favourites that have immunity from criticism. Especially on the defence.

We will have to see if that trend continues in Ottawa.

It’s up to staios to build him 3 strong pairs then

 

[RyCam]

After letting the hiring stew in my brain for a few days, I'm cautiously optimistic about Travis Green being the right man for the job. A lot of coaches flourish after their first stint as HC because the first is usually when they are learning to be a HC in the NHL and I predict that it will be the same for Travis.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

After letting the hiring stew in my brain for a few days, I'm cautiously optimistic about Travis Green being the right man for the job. A lot of coaches flourish after their first stint as HC because the first is usually when they are learning to be a HC in the NHL and I predict that it will be the same for Travis.

At this point I'm waiting for the assistants. I'm really only impressed by Green's supposed player communication and adamancy for them to be in shape, but we need someone like Gruden on the bench who has experience coaching successful defensive teams.

 

[Micklebot]

Yes sir, well him as an example provides me a slight bit of optimism that Green could be ok

It ever so slight though

Gallant had a record of 94-106-4-20 in his first few years as an NHL head coach, a .473 pts%. Green's current pts%, .473%, coincidence???

Jacques Martin had a 107-131-42 record in his first 280 games as a HC
Rick Tochett had a 178-200-60 record when Vancouver hired him.
Bowness started his HC career 164-317-59

Sometimes a coach has a bad record because of circumstances rather than their abilities. That's why I don't put a lot of stock into how a coaches first stop went record wise.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Staios really doesn’t sound impressed with whatever DJ did here.

 

[Micklebot]

Staios really doesn’t sound impressed with whatever DJ did here.

What did he say?

 

[Relapsing]

so, it's an interesting question,

on the one hand, we were 13 pts out of a playoff spot this year, so there's a ways to go.

On the other hand, goaltending was about as bad as it gets, and presumably the org is going to shore up the roster (RHD...) so we'll have a better built roster. We also shouldn't see Pinto suspended for half the season, and if we're lucky, should get healthier seasons from Chabot and Norris.

It's also worth noting we were only 6 pts out the year before.

I don't think the team is counting on playoffs next year, nor should they, but I do think they should expect this team to compete for a wild card spot. We were a 90 pts team over the second half of the year, the slow start under DJ did killed us, and we arguably had a soft start to the schedule. I think the team made progress under Martin, and while they still have a ways to go, I don't see us as all that different from Detroit, still not a great team, but we know what needs to be addressed, and if we address it we should be competitive for that wild card spot.

I think if we took a look through the list of games last year, we could easily find 7 games we could have won that we lost to bad goaltending or team defensive play

 

[HoweHullOrr]

Corrado only played a season and a half under him, in the AHL, a decade ago. I’ve heard more recently from someone connected to the NHL that Green has problems with picking favourites. The story from the NJ fan seems to corroborate what I’ve heard Green has struggles with in the NHL.

Again I’m willing to wait and see but it’s at least a yellow flag.

Interesting. Can you provide a link and/or the source and what they actually said. I have no idea what “someone connected to the NHL” means.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

What did he say?

Not the first time he’s said something like this. But he was asked about Martin and he was like “well having Martin coach this team before Greene comes in it won’t come as such a shock to the team on the details side of things”.

 

[Micklebot]

I think if we took a look through the list of games last year, we could easily find 7 games we could have won that we lost to bad goaltending or team defensive play

I mean, sure, but a lot of teams could do that too. I think you have to consider that there is an acceptable baseline of games lost due to goaltending/defensive play. So, while we can shore up in those areas, I'm not sure we can make up the full gap just there.

 

[Micklebot]

Not the first time he’s said something like this. But he was asked about Martin and he was like “well having Martin coach this team before Greene comes in it won’t come as such a shock to the team on the details side of things”.

hmm... I think that's just an acknowledgment that both Martin and Green are supposed to be highly focused on the details side of things. That's not to say DJ isn't good with details (he may not be) just that the new guy is particularly picky about them, and they got a taste of that from Jacques.

 

[Satoru Gojo]

Gallant had a record of 94-106-4-20 in his first few years as an NHL head coach, a .473 pts%. Green's current pts%, .473%, coincidence???

Jacques Martin had a 107-131-42 record in his first 280 games as a HC
Rick Tochett had a 178-200-60 record when Vancouver hired him.
Bowness started his HC career 164-317-59

Sometimes a coach has a bad record because of circumstances rather than their abilities. That's why I don't put a lot of stock into how a coaches first stop went record wise.

Yeah look he could work out, just personally I'm thrilled with the hire based on what was available

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Staios really doesn’t sound impressed with whatever DJ did here.

Why would he be impressed? DJ did next to nothing to develop the team into a winner during his time in Ottawa.

 

[Micklebot]

Yeah look he could work out, just personally I'm thrilled with the hire based on what was available

That's understandable. there were certainly more exciting options out there, I look at it like the draft, there are some guys I know more about and others that I have less of an idea about. I wasn't super excited about Pinto when we drafted him, but I let it play out. Same thing with Green, he isn't my top choice, but I'm not going to pass judgement without seeing how he does.

 

[Dan Patrick]

That's understandable. there were certainly more exciting options out there, I look at it like the draft, there are some guys I know more about and others that I have less of an idea about. I wasn't super excited about Pinto when we drafted him, but I let it play out. Same thing with Green, he isn't my top choice, but I'm not going to pass judgement without seeing how he does.

It’s also the first real move this group has made. Going to be interesting to see how it goes just from the perspective of evaluating if this management group can make the team competitive again.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Even if he moves Forsberg, or buys-out the Korpse, he’s going to have to fill that vacated position. We hope for a significant upgrade but it's also possible we get a much more modest upgrade given the supply/demand continuum. That’s why I think improving our team D is going to be imperative no matter what happens in the way of roster additions/subtractions if we have any hope at something more than a marginal improvement. I get that people don’t want to hear that idea or message though.

Ya, I know it's going to be difficult to find suitable replacements. I just think they were so near the bottom and such team killers, that recycling bodies is a worthwhile exercise. Performance can't get worse, and it doesn't really matter if it does because you're already well below the level you could ever have success with.

Nobody can ever convince me that Korpisalo is going to be a positive contributor. Just him being there and relied on for ~40 games will have already sealed the season as lost imo. There's no hiding this pumpkin.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

It absolutely sucks that we cannot spend with anyone in the league, but I don’t think that means we cannot win anything. For example, and it is a different sport, but the Rays seem to do alright. Here is Sternberg’s page from MLB.com, might be fitting as we have new owner…

“Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg enters his 20th season with the Tampa Bay Rays. He joined as a general partner of the franchise in 2004 and became its principal owner after the 2005 season. Today, the massive rebranding of the club at the start of 2008 marks two distinct eras of Rays baseball. In the 15 seasons since then, the Rays own the 4th-best record in baseball at 1,267-1,062 (.544) and have made eight trips to the postseason, including four AL East division titles (2021, 2020, 2010, 2008) and two World Series appearances (2020, 2008). During this span, only three clubs (Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals) have reached the postseason more often than the Rays, and only four (Astros, Dodgers, Giants, Phillies) have competed in more World Series. This success comes after the Devil Rays amassed the majors’ worst record at 645-972 (.399) over the club’s first decade of existence.”

I think in 15-20 years, if Andlauer’s page read like that, we’d all be pretty happy.

Ya, I was pretty emotional with that quoted comment. I've walked some of it back as I'm not as convinced it was about money and am warming up to the choice of Green. I'm just happy it wasn't Moe and Curly choosing the coach again.

I have a problem with the Rays example, simply because while yes it's the gold standard and what should be aimed for and you're absolutely correct, it's also a rare achievement and baseball seems to be a bit of a different animal. That and they've always fallen short in the end when it matters, which I think is related to the core issue and is the reality for budget teams in most cases. Like us falling short against the Penguins.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Him bringing this team to the playoffs next year is a long shot, at best. I think that’s agreed upon within Sens management.

He’s not going to turn this pumpkin into a carriage, no coach was. There are going to be bumps in the road, as we should expect with the “current” iteration of the team.

How many more losing seasons do you think Tkachuk lives with before looking to move on?

This paints a picture of his first meaningfull NHL game being in his 8th or 9th season, which is basically half a career.

 

[Rals]

My immediate reaction to Green's hiring was negative; I've been won over.
All this talk about hard training camps has me thinking this might be a good hire. Willing to give it a chance, I hope they surround him with the right guys.

 

[Tuna99]

I think Green has a reputation for being tough. I don’t agree that he has a reputation of being fair. I think if anything he has a reputation for picking favourites that have immunity from criticism. Especially on the defence.

We will have to see if that trend continues in Ottawa.

Might be a reason Green was hired. Before DJ was fired the Sens were a bottom NHL team for 7 years and it looked even after losses like the players on a plane to cancun and ready to party. That changed when DJ left. Even the guys who played bad had big smiles

Ottawa had a US college mentality under DJ that they were the big kids on campus and their Dads could get the coach in trouble. Staois made the environment uncomfortable and top players like Tkachuk who looked sad and dejected - like how a the Captain of a 7 year losing SHOULD look.