Martin believes foundation in place for Sens to succeed
Who says you can't go home again?
Jacques Martin has never made his accomplishments about himself, but Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre, his career will come full circle as he steps behind the bench in his hometown for one final time in his 1,349th game as a National Hockey League bench boss.
In his second stint with the Senators after taking over as the interim coach when D.J. Smith was fired on Dec. 18, the 71-year-old Martin has enjoyed his return to Ottawa and with three games left in the season, it's fitting he'll face the Montreal Canadiens in this one.
Martin was the Habs' coach from 2009-12 and was there when Montreal went to the Eastern Conference final in 2010 with Jaroslav Halak in net.
A native of nearby St. Pascal, Ont., Martin is the winningest coach in franchise history with 365 victories in 745 career games with Ottawa. Most of those came during his first eight years from 1996-2004, but the Senators are 24-25-4 since he took over and have taken steps in the right direction.
Martin has also made stops in St. Louis and Florida as head coach while winning two Stanley Cup rings as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins. First hired to take over the Senators in January 1996, Martin left his post as an assistant in Colorado and the Avalanche won the Cup that spring.
“Ottawa has been one of the places I've enjoyed the most,” Martin said in a telephone interview Friday. “Basically, it was here and Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, we won two (Stanley) Cups and we had a lot of success but I also had a lot of success in Ottawa.
“I also felt bad that we didn't win a Cup with the group that we had. It's special (to be back), but at the same time, you know me, I always preach about the team. This has to be about the team. What's important is that I'm hoping tomorrow we play our best game at home tomorrow in front of our fans.
“That's what they deserve. We've got to play hard and we've got to play a simple game. Win or lose, it's about the process and how invested you are in the game.”
When the final buzzer sounds Tuesday at Boston's TD Garden against the Bruins, Martin is expected to resume his role as senior adviser to the coaching staff.
He'll work with owner Michael Andlauer, Steve Staios, the Senators' president of hockey operations and general manager, along with senior vice-president Dave Poulin and associate GM Ryan Bowness in the search for a full-time head coach to lead this team into next season.
“Hopefully, I'll stay in the organization and try to help them get to where we want to get to and that's to win a Cup,” Martin said. “I've always said that I've always been a team-first guy. When I look at back when I coached this team the first time, we had some great scouts that got us some great players.”
Martin likes the core led by captain Brady Tkachuk along with Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson, Ridly Greig and alternate captain Thomas Chabot.
“The sky's the limit (for them), but there's some work to be done. It's a process,” Martin said. “Look at a team like Vancouver because they're a good example. They've struggled and they hadn't made the playoffs, but they brought in a new nucleus and they turned the page this year.”