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On Paul MacLean

April 10, 2014, 11:29 AM ET [71 Comments]
Travis Yost
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Two days ago, I wrote about the future of Paul MacLean in Ottawa, expanding on a series of thoughts from Elliotte Friedman in his '30 Thoughts' column.

In response to Friedman's hypothesizing, I wrote that even if they did want to let Paul MacLean go at the end of the season, the organization would have trouble doing just that -- without the assurance that another interested team would pick up some of the dollars in a new-deal, Ottawa would be on the hook. Remember, Paul MacLean was extended last summer.

In pertinent part:

I've got a few thoughts about this, but I think the most important thing is that the conclusion Friedman reaches -- that it's highly improbable that Paul MacLean will be relieved of his duties at season's end -- is accurate. The reality is that there's enough blame to be scattered elsewhere for this team's woes than just the head coach, he has a track record of success, just inked a multi-year extension, and is probably Bryan Murray's last head coach before his inevitable retirement. And, he's doing all of this on a very tight budget. So, that's pretty much it.


Do end-of-year opinions come with a 48-hour expiry? I hope so. I have totally changed course on this, and I think largely because the team's not as worried about the financial aspect of this as I originally thought. Perhaps they know someone's going to grab him instantaneously if he hits the market. But, I digress.

Ever since I published that post, I've gotten the sense from a half-dozen media guys in Ottawa that Paul MacLean is in serious trouble. I've written here in the past about a real disconnect between the head coach and the higher-ups, so to readers here, none of this should really be a surprise. A lot of MacLean's odd moves this year seem calculated, and a lot of them don't make any sense, and it's impossible to suss out what's MacLean's choice with respect to lineups and deployment, and what's management or ownership's choice.

The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch confirmed speculation that Paul MacLean's on the hot seat right now, so I think the debate is going to now shift from "Is Paul MacLean in trouble?" to "Does Paul MacLean get fired?" Garrioch gets a lot of these stories from the guy at the top of the food chain, so I lean latter. But, I'm not entirely sure.

Regardless, know this: everything I hear from the guys who are a lot closer to this situation than I am suggest things are not good in Ottawa right now, and there's going to be some big-time shuffling.

Does that include Paul MacLean? 48-hours ago, I wouldn't have thought it, just because of the fact that anything/everything Ottawa does is to save a buck, and the possibility of paying two coaches at once just didn't strike me as plausible.

Today, I think his job is very much on the line. And he's not the guy that could see a change of scenery this summer. I'd keep an eye on a few of the hockey operations guys, who may be headed towards (greener?) pastures this summer.
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