Maple Leafs Rival Trying To Poach Toronto Head Coach
The Ottawa Senators have finally fired D.J. Smith and are now officially looking for a new coach.
Senators Make Major Changes Behind the Bench
Following a rough start to the season, duplicating last season's, the Senators management came to a conclusion: the team hasn't improved in a year.
The Sens' talented young core is better than last year. However, the results haven't been showing it. Their 11-15-0 record places them at the last rank in their division.
Smith's firing was demanded by fans even before the season started. With Steve Staios taking over management, people knew it was going to happen soon unless Smith could turn things around quickly. Unfortunately, he failed.
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However, the team is in good hands. Staios decided to name Jacques Martin as the interim head coach and hired Daniel Alfredsson as assistant coach.
Naming an interim coach is an interesting choice. This gives the Senators time to find the right candidate to fill Smith's role and can benefit from Martin's experience while they do so.
A reporter announced a frontrunner for the job, and Maple Leafs fans won't be pleased.
Ottawa to Poach the Maple Leafs to Find Their New Head Coach?
According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the frontrunner to land the head coach job for the Sens is John Gruden, who currently works in Toronto with the Marlies.
"If you're looking for a frontrunner, league executives have told Postmedia in the last couple of weeks that the top candidate may be John Gruden, who was named the head coach of the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies (the top farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs) before the start of the season."
Gruden was named head coach of the Marlies before the current season, after five years of being an assistant in the NHL for the Islanders and the Bruins.
According to Garrioch, a return to the NHL could happen sooner rather than later, if the Senators decide to give him a chance.
There are a lot of great candidates available, like Claude Julien or Patrick Roy. It'll be interesting to see what the Sens do next.
We're also eager to see how the team performs in the coming games, with Alfredsson and Martin behind the bench.
Previously on HockeyPatrol
| POLL |
19 DECEMBRE | 513 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Rival Trying To Poach Toronto Head Coach Do you think the Senators will bounce back and make the playoffs with Jacques Martin and Daniel Alfredsson behind the bench? |
| Yes | 126 | 24.6 % |
| No | 387 | 75.4 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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