Coaching hires: Blues, Senators make moves
The Ottawa Senators hired Travis Green as coach on Tuesday and the St. Louis Blues removed the interim tag from coach Drew Bannister and signed him to a two-year contract.
Bannister, 50, took over behind the bench on Dec. 14 after Craig Berube was fired following a 13-14-1 start. The Blues went 30-19-5 under Bannister but missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
From Bannister’s arrival through the end of the season, the Blues had the 12th-most points (65) and the 10th-best home record (18-9-2) in the league.
Green, 53, had been interim coach of the New Jersey Devils after the team fired Lindy Ruff in March.
The Devils went 8-12-1 under Green. He also had coached the Vancouver Canucks for four-plus seasons, making the playoffs in 2019-20. His NHL record is 141-159-35.
The Senators fired coach D.J. Smith in December and veteran coach Jacques Martin had moved behind the bench as interim coach.
Where other teams stand with their coaching situations:
h The Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks have openings after firing Dave Hasktol and David Quinn, respectively.
h The Winnipeg Jets have an opening after Rick Bowness announced his retirement. Though the Jets haven’t announced a replacement, Scott Arniel had filled in for a month after Bowness’ wife had a seizure.
h The Devils also have an opening now with Green in Ottawa. According to TSN’S Pierre Lebrun, they hope to make a hire in seven to 10 days.
h The Los Angeles Kings will have to make a decision on interim coach Jim Hiller. Lebrun said general manager Rob Blake will meet with Hiller next week.
h The Toronto Maple Leafs management plan to hold a news conference on Friday. The team will have to make a decision on coach Sheldon Keefe, who’s signed through 2025-26. He got the Maple Leafs to the second round last season but they lost to the Boston Bruins in the first round this season, his fifth consecutive early playoff exit.
“We’re in the results business here and we didn’t get results and we haven’t met expectations,” Keefe said Tuesday. “As a head coach, I take responsibility for that.”