Travis Green is the person the Ottawa Senators are looking to help their core go to the next level. The 53-year-old Green will be officially introduced by the Senators on Tuesday morning when they hold a press conference at the Canadian Tire Centre. Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, will make the announcement. Owner Michael Andlauer and senior vice president of hockey operations Dave Poulin will be joining Staios. After a protracted search that began in late December when the team sacked coach D.J. Smith and temporarily installed Jacques Martin behind the bench, Green emerged as the top pick.By NHL standards, Green’s four-year contract with the Senators is a long one. According to a statement from Staios, “it became clear that Travis is the right fit to lead our group after speaking with several highly qualified candidates.” “As we have always said, creating a winning culture is essential to our goal of attaining long-term success. Travis is an enthusiastic teacher who has a strong will to win and holds his athletes to a very high standard. We are thrilled to have him and his family join the Ottawa-Gatineau area. In a news release, the team stated that Green will collaborate with players such as Brady Tkachuk, the captain, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson, and Shane Pinto.
With this core, Green continues where Martin left off, according to the club. “Martin instilled a sense of accountability and commitment to playing away from the puck that the Senators needed improvement on after taking the helm for the final 56 games of the season.”In order to move on and become a playoff team, Green will have to continue to cultivate that growth in this core. Green faces a challenging task in this situation. The Senators have not made it to the postseason in seven years, and last year’s squad was insufficient to make a serious run at it. He must rely on Staios to make the necessary adjustments during the off-season in order to accomplish some heavy lifting.
According to Staios, he is aware that this roster needs to be adjusted. To help relieve some of the pressure on seasoned winger Claude Giroux and enable the Senators to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, the team is committed to bringing in some leadership. Green failed to succeed during his five years behind the Vancouver bench, although observers at the time claim owner Francesco Aquilini was heavily involved, creating an environment that has been called “dysfunctional” and “impossible” to succeed in.
Green played for the Canucks for almost five seasons, finishing with a record of 133-147-34. During his tenure, he only got it to the playoffs once and finished with a winning percentage of.478. At that point, the NHL entered a bubble to conclude the 2019–20 season, which had been postponed due to COVID-19. When Lindy Ruff was sacked by general manager Tom Fitzgerald late in the season, he was assigned to New Jersey with the interim tag. After taking over, the 53-year-old Green finished with an 8-12-1 record in 21 games, but the Devils understood when Fitzgerald made the move that there was little chance they would make the playoffs.
Last Monday, Green notified the Devils that he would take the job with the Senators. Although the market can be dubious, it was mentioned to us that coaches frequently improve during their second tenure. That’s because they’ve grown from their mistakes, and since the Canucks fired Green, he’s stepped back to serve as an assistant. Not all previous head coaches will act in such a way.
In his NHL career, Green played for the New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins, appearing in 970 games. In that time, Green scored 455 points and scored 193 goals. It’s interesting to note that during his three seasons with the Leafs, Green was seen as the antagonist in Ottawa during the Battle of Ontario. That was back in the day, when the Leafs had players like Tie Domi and Darcy Tucker on the bench and the late Pat Quinn in the middle.
With the same objective of making the Senators successful, the two enduring adversaries will collaborate if former captain Daniel Alfredsson continues in his capacity as an assistant coach. The Senators reportedly have casual conversations with former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube, former Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason, and former Los Angeles Kings coach Todd McLellan.
It is said that Staios had a long list of potential coaches, some of whom he spoke with without NHL experience. In the end, Staios believed that given the direction this club needs to go, having someone with prior NHL bench experience was essential. It will take time to determine if Green is the proper addition for the Senators, but he has to convince this group that he is a genuine prospect when training camp begins in September. After all, everyone is entitled to a second shot in life.