NO RINGING ENDORSEMENT FOR SENS’ HEAD COACH
GM says young players need more ice time and he wants a greater focus on practice
Guy Boucher has been put on notice.
Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion refused Thursday morning to give members of the club’s coaching staff a vote of confidence and added that, “if ” they were back next season, the way they operated would have to change dramatically.
Speaking to reporters at his end of season media conference at Canadian Tire Centre, Dorion indicated he wouldn’t make a decision on Boucher or the rest of the staff until at least the end of the month.
“A full evaluation of the coaching staff is under way right now, top to bottom,” Dorion said. "There’s no real timeline. We want to give ourselves enough time to make a really thorough evaluation and no harsh decisions are going to be made right after the season.
“I don’t think it’s for the next few weeks, but at some point in time we’ll make a decision. But I don’t see it in the month of April.”
Boucher has one year left on his contract as Senators head coach.
“If he’s back, I think things need to change,” Dorion said. “They were addressed. During the season, Guy and myself will have meetings where things are addressed, but I think Guy has the toughest job in Ottawa and I’ve said that multiple times.
“During the course of the season, we have little exchanges, but we think having Guy coach with an open mind is the best way for our success. He’s the coach and we’re going to let him be the coach.”
That was why they met for two hours on Monday, and it was then that Dorion told Boucher about the areas where management wasn’t happy with the work done by the head coach or his assistants.
The take-away from that meeting: Young players didn’t get nearly enough ice time and Senators players got way too many days off.
“There were quite a few things that were addressed because, to us, this is unacceptable,” Dorion said. “Two things that will change, for sure, if he’s back, is the implementation of the younger players in our lineup. He’ll decide who gets what ice time and we’re going to practice more.
“Rest is a weapon … If I hear that one more time, I’ll go crazy.”
After getting to within one goal of the Stanley Cup final last spring, the Senators took a huge step backwards in 2017-18. Their power play and penalty kill units both ranked in the bottom third of the 31-team National Hockey League, which just wasn’t right, given the available talent.
Dorion and assistant GM Randy Lee met with Senators players on Monday for exit meetings without Boucher. That’s not unusual, and it’s meant to allow players to speak more freely.
“The players didn’t blame the coaches, they blamed themselves more than anything else,” Dorion said. “It wasn’t about Guy not being there, and I didn’t ask them, ‘What do you think of the coach?’ It was about, ‘What happened this year? What are we going to do to be better next year, and why this won’t repeat itself.’ That was why we did it.”
Does accountability need to improve, Dorion was asked?
“Accountability comes from everyone,” he said.
Dorion then related a story about a meeting the Senators had before the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2017, with the late Bryan Murray in the room, and how they promised each other that, no matter what happened, they would be “positive.”
“It helped us thrive to within one goal of the Stanley Cup final,” Dorion said. “This year, we found too many excuses, so we’ve got to move forward from that.”
Boucher’s status isn’t all the GM has on his plate.
After leaving the rink Thursday, he was headed to Barrie to see 2018 draft prospect Andrei Svechnikov and Senators prospect Aaron Luchuk play in the Colts’ Ontario Hockey League playoff series against the Kingston Frontenacs. The NHL draft lottery will take place on April 28 in Toronto.
“First, and foremost, I’m going to do a bit of scouting this weekend, and after that it’s the lottery,” Dorion said. “After that, there’s going to be a process where we’re going to sit down and figure out what we need to do, and at that point in time we’ll make a decision.
“We still all think that Guy is a very good coach. Don’t get me wrong here, but when you finish in 30th place, I think you have to evaluate everything.”