Before last night’s Senators broadcast, TSN aired its ‘Insider Trading’ segment where Pierre LeBrun touched upon the organization’s search for a new head coach.
“They are in no rush. So far Steve Staios, and he’s talked about this, has a list that he is working on,” LeBrun explained. “A list of candidates that he is building on.”
Interim head coach Jacques Martin has already confirmed that he will return to his coaching advisory role and assist in helping find a new bench boss for the Senators.
LeBrun expanded upon some the names believed to be on Staios’ radar.
“John Gruden of the Toronto Marlies a coach that coached with Staios in OHL Hamilton is obviously on that list. But, other bigger names such as Todd McLellan, Dean Evason, Craig Berube among others are believed also to be on this working list.”
Given Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios’ familiarity and experience working with Gruden, it makes sense for him to be included. His presence and the possibility of the OHL Brantford Bulldogs’ head coach Jay McKee being involved in this search fits this regime’s pattern. In their stewardship's infancy, they have tended to hire candidates they trust and have worked with before.
LeBrun’s use of the words ‘working list’ is interesting because it jives with what Staios indicated in a recent interview with TSN’s Geno Reda. It stands to reason that the Senators will not have started interviewing prospective candidates now and hold them in limbo when desirable prospective alternatives may become available later this offseason as LeBrun explained.
“I say working list because the Senators may add to it at two critical junctures. One, at the end of the regular season when perhaps some coaches become available depending on what happens elsewhere. Or, at the end of the first round when we know sometimes coaching decisions are made around the league. So, that’s why Ottawa doesn’t want to rush through this. Ultimately, they’d love to have a coach named by the draft in Vegas.”
The Senators still have to figure out what kind of role Daniel Alfredsson will have with the organization moving forward. It was originally believed that like head coach Jacques Martin, Alfredsson was taking on his role to assist in and ease the team’s transition from D.J. Smith.
Last week the Hall of Famer told the media that being an interim assistant coach has opened his mind to the possibility of doing it longer.
“It’s been very good and steep learning curve for myself on the coaching side of things. I’m learning every day. I’m lucky to be around two coaches who have been head coaches for a long time with Jack and Jacques. Ben and Justin have been great with me as well by helping me out with a lot of stuff by teaching me the coaching side.
“It has intrigued me more than I thought, but at the same time I don’t know where I’ll go after this year.”
The idea of Alfredsson sticking around in a coaching capacity is concerning for fans because nobody wants to see a franchise legend be fired. Every coach has a shelf life. They are hired to be fired.
This fear of Alfredsson tainting his legacy is understandable, but I don’t know that any shortcomings as a coach would significantly diminish our memories or fondness of Alfredsson for his contributions on and off the ice. And, if he has caught the coaching bug and wants to carry on in that role with an eventual goal of taking over as the head coach, there might not be an alternative.
Alfie could slide into a cushy player development role that offers more job stability and less stress, but the franchise icon is a driven competitor. If he sees it as an enticing challenge and is up for it, it would be difficult to deny him that opportunity — especially when the chance of him having success in his role is possible. It could simply add another layer to the icon’s story.
Jakob Chychrun’s Future
Thanks to the presence of Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, the addition of Jakob Chychrun was intriguing because his talent level and the question of fit.
He was brought in to be a stabilizing force on the backend who could significantly improve the team’s top-four. For that to happen, the assumption was that Chychrun would have to play consistently with one of Sanderson or Chabot.
Using NaturalStatTrick’s data, Chychrun has logged 1,544:33 of five-on-five ice time in his 84 games since arriving in Ottawa. Of those minutes, 359:07 has been spent playing with Chabot and 159:39 with Sanderson. In other words, approximately one-third of Chychrun’s ice time has been spent playing alongside Ottawa’s two most valuable defencemen.
Although Chabot has been Chychrun’s most common defensive partner by time spent on the ice, his next two most frequent partners have been Travis Hamonic (330:38) and Jacob Bernard-Docker (310:17).
Injuries have factored into the lineup decisions, but there is an obvious organizational preference for Chychrun to be on his natural side — even if it has meant for him to play with the organization’s least valuable defencemen.
Unfortunately, that preference has robbed us of watching Chychrun play with more talented players. The Senators’ underlying shot and goal metrics are impressive whenever he has played with Sanderson and Chabot.
Despite generating almost 60 percent of the shots and expected goals with Sanderson, the Senators have only generated 30.77 percent of the total goals (GF%). With Chabot, the Senators have generated 42.22 percent of the total goals.
Perhaps the Senators do not like how Chychrun and Chabot defend when they play together, but I wonder whether the Senators’ GF% is contributing to their personnel decisions. If Senators goaltenders stopped more than 84 percent of the shots when Chabot and Chychrun were on the ice, maybe there is a greater chance they would play together more exclusively.
With only a year left on his contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent and the Senators staring down the barrel of another expensive long-term contract, it makes sense for Steve Staios to listen to offers and see what is out there — especially since Chychrun represents one of the best and easiest trade assets to move.
Not a criticism of you, Graeme, but I take with a grain of salt Pierre's "are believed" reference to Staios's short-list.
He's been around for a while, and I suppose it's possible he and SS are long-time after-hours buddies ages ago. And therefore maybe he or a subordinate whispers stuff to his old bud.
But this is supposed to be a highly professional "best in class" org. Mendes just wrote about how Staios is like Yzerman, a brick wall in terms of leaks who treats everyone fairly and doesn't play favourites.
I also think the immediate vanquishing of "The Streets" leaks in January after something came out regarding Chychrun that was damaging to Staios's interests speaks volumes about how tight this ship is.
Given how toxic the Melnyk/Dorion reign was, I as a former journalist would be surprised if Staios would jeopardize this goodwill he's earned by playing favourites with a Toronto-based broadcaster. Doing so not only pisses off the Ottawa media. It also has LeBrun's rivals annoyed and expecting equal treatment.
Garrioch and Greger are also implying that they have "insider" knowledge of what's going on when it's pretty obvious they're blowing smoke.
Some GMs do sing like canaries. Not SS. So I think all three of them right now are referring to the knitting circle of broadcasters, writers and former execs gossiping because there aren't other options before they go on the air.