Yeo first to be interviewed for coach
First to be interviewed for head coaching job in Ottawa
Pierre Dorion has officially started his search for the next head coach for the Senators.
Less than a week after giving bench boss Dave Cameron and his assistants their walking papers, sources confirmed a report Tuesday the newly appointed Senators GM turned his talk into action by sitting down for a face-to-face interview with former Minnesota Wild coach Mike Yeo on Sunday.
While it’s only the first step in Dorion’s search for a new voice to try to lead this club back to the playoffs, it is significant that Yeo, 42, who was fired in February by the then-struggling Wild, was the first man interviewed for the job because he’s considered to be one of the best candidates available.
It is believed Dorion will continue the discussions this week with former Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher and former Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford, two others who will get a look.
Once all the candidates have been interviewed, the top two or three likely will be invited in for a second session.
During his news conference last week, Dorion noted he’s determined to find somebody who can help this team play better defensively.
“We’re definitely going to look at someone who can make a commitment to have our players play defence,” Dorion said the day he fired Cameron.
It certainly sounds like Yeo fits the bill on that front, according to people who know him.
“He’s detailed, he’s structured and everybody has to be accountable, but it’s not robotic by any means. You can do what you want offensively, but the structure and defending starts from the offensive zone,” Wild assistant coach Darryl Sydor, who has worked with Yeo the last six years, said Tuesday from Minny.
The Wild had a 23-22-10 record when Yeo was replaced by interim coach John Torchetti and were outside the playoff picture.
Yeo compiled a 173-132-44 record in nearly five years behind the Wild bench while Minny qualified for the playoffs four straight years from 2011 to 2015 and twice made it to the second round.
Oddly enough, Yeo, who won a Stanley Cup as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, was named as an assistant to Team Canada at the world championships along with Cameron.
They will both work on Bill Peters’ staff later this month in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Though Torchetti has lit a fire under the Wild since he took over, and the club has a chance to tie its first-round playoff series with the Dallas Stars at 2-2 Wednesday night at home, Yeo left his mark with Minny.
“We don’t have the high-powered offence but we’re always there,” said Sydor, who also worked with Yeo as a player when bench boss was an assistant in Pittsburgh. “We had a great start to the year then things went sour and he took the brunt ... It is what is. That’s the coaching business.
“He’s detailed. His door is wide open for the players to come in to talk to him. If anybody has any ideas or thoughts on this or that, he’ll listen. It’s not a one-way street.”
Mention Yeo’s name and the subject of his show of frustration with his team at a practice in Jan. 2015 is bound to surface.
He was so upset with the way the Wild were working, he stopped the drills, skated the players from side-to-side and then unleashed a profanity-laced tirade on the team. He slammed his stick and told the players he didn’t like their attitudes and he wasn’t going to stand for anybody hanging their heads just because the club had lost the night before.
Yeo is well-respected, which is why he’s a good candidate for the job, and he has produced results in the past.
“I like Mike Yeo. I think he’s a good communicator and I think he’s a good player’s coach,” said former NHL goalie Jamie McLennan, a colour analyst on TSN’s broadcasts of Senators games.
“All we see is through the media. (Last year), he had the meltdown on the ice and his team responded after getting (goalie) Devan Dubnyk. Every time I’ve dealt with him he’s done a very good job.”
The Senators have to decide if Yeo is the right fit, but the interview process is far from being completed.
I like Mike Yeo. I think he’s a good communicator and I think he’s a good player’s coach.
The Senators likely will play the waiting game.
While GM Pierre Dorion certainly didn’t waste anytime interviewing Mike Yeo for the club’s vacant coaching job, the quick move was made partially due to the fact he’s headed overseas with Team Canada next week to be an assistant at the world championships in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Though the Senators are expected to sit down with former Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher and former Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford this week, the list of interviews won’t stop there. In fact, don’t be surprised if Dorion speaks to 10 to 15 possible candidates before cutting down his list.
The belief in league circles is he should wait until the end of the opening round of the playoffs to see who becomes available. The heat is on Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau, who went into Tuesday’s Game 3 in Nashville trailing 2-0, and St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock, to advance into the second round.
Should the Senators lay in the weeds a little bit?
“Absolutely,” said former NHL goalie Jamie McLennan, a TSN colour analyst on Ottawa broadcasts. “If Bruce Boudreau loses in Anaheim. If St. Louis loses in the first round. I’m not suggesting those guys are on thin ice but it’s possible.
“It’s possible if St. Louis loses to Chicago in the firstround, do you think Ken Hitchcock makes it out of there? I don’t know. He’s on a one-year deal anyways. It was touch and go after last year’s playoff. I’m not suggesting that’s your best fit but guys like that with pedigree.”
McLennan doesn’t think the Senators need to hurry.
“I know Pierre may want to put something into place and that’s what his staff are probably going to do internally by setting some dates,” he said. “But if you lay in the weeds and, all of sudden, somebody comes available that you don’t think would be available, sometimes that can be a godsend.”