Bowness sees good days ahead for Sens
The Ottawa Senators’ first head coach says the current head coach fits the bill for the position.
“They’ve got the right guy,” said Rick Bowness, who led the expansion Senators from 199295 and interviewed for the vacant job following the 2018-19 season. “It was just nice to be involved in the mix. I enjoyed talking to Pierre (Dorion, the Senators’ general manager).”
Bowness is in his first year as an assistant with the Dallas Stars after spending the previous six years as an associate coach in Tampa. He has also served as head coach in Winnipeg, Boston and with the New York Islanders.
Before hiring D.J. Smith,
Dorion flew to Dallas to talk to Bowness about the possibility of returning for a second tour as head coach in the nation’s capital.
“Oh, sure,” Bowness said, when asked if he would have considered returning to Ottawa. “They came to me and the whole thing was good, but I still believe they got the right guy. Right now, I want to win a Stanley Cup more than anything. That hasn’t changed. I’m 64 now and the chances of me getting another head job are remote and that’s all right.”
REBUILD 2.0: Bowness, who lived through all of the ugly growing pains of the earliest years with the Senators — he posted a record of 40 wins, 178 losses and six ties behind the bench with Ottawa — offers up some hope for impatient fans in Ottawa.
“They’ve got a young, up-and-coming team and they’ve got an up-and-coming coach that will grow with them,” he said. “However long it takes, they’ll grow together. They’ve got a good nucleus. It’s not like they’re starting from scratch. They’ve got some great young talent.”
ANISIMOV FINALLY RETURNS: Until he returned Monday against the Stars, the last time Senators fans saw Artem Anisimov on the ice was during Smith’s first win as an NHL head coach, the 4-2 win over Tampa Oct. 12.
“When you’re watching the guys playing and you’re getting treatment (for an undisclosed lower body injury), you just want to go out there and play the game,” said Anisimov, who was acquired in the summer trade for Zack Smith.
The Senators have sorely missed Anisimov, with Smith overplaying Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chris Tierney and Colin White.
“I want to lead by example,” said Anisimov, whose lone goal came against Tampa. “I want to do everything on the ice and in the locker-room and off the ice, too, talking to the young guys. The most important thing is to help them out, the best I can.”
THE LONG ROAD TO WATCH: The Senators recalled J.C. Beaudin from Belleville of the AHL Monday, just in case Anisimov wasn’t ready to play. Even with the uncertainty, Beaudin’s parents, along with his brother and sister, flew to Dallas from Montreal, not wanting to miss what would have been his first NHL game.
“It’s good for my confidence, I’m excited to be here,” Beaudin said. “I know I can bring some offence, but I’m responsible defensively, too. I just need to be a little more physical. I know I can play in this league.”
Still, it was an interesting callup given Beaudin played in only one pre-season game and has been in only two of Belleville’s first five contests.
BOEDKER BACK: Mikkel Boedker took Scott Sabourin’s spot in the lineup against Dallas, but he acknowledges it was tough to sit as a healthy scratch in his old home in Phoenix during the Senators 5-2 loss on Saturday.
“It was one of those things where you want to play in a building you played in for many years, but you can’t change the coach’s decision, that’s why he’s the coach,” he said. “You’ve just got to work and do the right things in practice and be a good teammate.”
MOVE OVER, LRT: It’s hard to miss the electric scooters Dallas commuters use downtown. Even the Senators got into the act Sunday, posting their scooter action on Instagram.
“We just hopped on the old birds and there ended up being six or seven of us and it was hilarious seeing us all going around,” said Nick Paul.
Being competitive athletes, of course, a parking lot race ensued.
MAN OF MANY WORDS: When asked about the struggles of Stars defenceman John Klingberg, Dallas coach Jim Montgomery went to football and golf to explain.
“Instead of being Tom Brady and looking for six first downs and an 80-yard drive that leads to a touchdown, he’s looking for a Dan Fouts aerial and let’s get the 50-yard bomb to (John) Jefferson or (Charlie) Joiner. And that leads to more interceptions,” he said, before adding:
“The best analogy is Tin Cup. Are you going to lay up and stay tied with the lead for the tournament? Or do you want to look good? And I’m not saying that in particular to John Klingberg, but this is what we’ve been doing.” kwarren@postmedia.com