Seriously? You actually believe that in spite of all the bizarre coaching decisions and absolute lack of PK and PP structure, that Cameron was not a major part of the problem!!! A healthy Turris would have prolonged the playoff hope drama, but you are seriously over-rating his ability if you think he would have been the saviour. Charliebox, give your head a shake!
- legs37

What bizarre decisions?

Sitting Hoffman? Others are saying our D was so weak and we allowed too many shots, but then he sits a guy who doesn't give a crap defensively and people are mad. Seems like a case of damned if you do to me.. Scoring was never our problem.. it was keeping goals out.

Putting Boro in at forward over a guy who was doing nothing anyways? That decision, while bizarre to me too, didn't have any affect on the outcome of our season.

Both of the above are also chaulked up to 'developing players' which, as Cameron said, was his mandate this season, NOT to make the playoffs at all costs. If you feel a guy needs to sit, to learn a lesson, or sit in the press box, to learn how to play better defensively, then so be it. That's what coaches do.

Or was is the Z. Smith in the top 6 that everyone was mad about, that actually worked out and the guy got 25 goals?

I actually meant LW there. My bad.

We had Hoffman as our #1 and Mac, who didn't play as our #2. Smith did fine there for a bit, but no one expects him to stay there or produce like that long term.

Management and the fanbase is delusional. It all stems from ownership down. I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous.

Everyone around this team thinks we are better than we are. And now Dorion is taking over and he's probably the worst of them all. In his eyes, every prospect is amazing and this team is a playoff team. He's said it the last 4 years running and we've missed twice and made it on one of the finals spots the other years.

There is so much wishful thinking around this organization it's absolutely crazy. It honestly reminds me of leaf fans a decade ago.

Impartial analysts all tell it like it is. TSN and Sportsnet have both run articles talking about how this team just isn't that good. It's not on the coach. It's just not a great team, period.

The last two times we made the playoffs, we had to do it in dramatic fashion.

A few years ago, it was the 'pesky sens' who got in by playing rope-a-dope and relying on amazing goaltending from THREE different guys.

Last year, it was the miracle run that will never be seen again in the NHL.

Our team hasn't really improved over the years. Who are the new players that weren't around back then who are making things better? Bobby Ryan? I'd still rather have Spezza. If anything, all we've done is LOSE good players and replace them with lesser players.

Yet management and ownership are pissed at coaching for not taking this team to the playoffs. It's unbelievable.
- Charliebox

Step away from the cliff.

The core of the team is young/good.

The biggest problem is ownership. We've got this greasy bastard who complains all the time and needs a budget but will now have 3 coaches on the payroll next season. Brilliant.

You are crazy to continue to piss and moan about Zibby. He again improved this season and has already stated that he will be spending the majority of his off season in Ottawa to ensure that he comes into camp in better shape.

Lets us pray that Bobby does the same

What's funny is that this exactly what they praised him for LAST SEASON.
- Charliebox

Guy Boucher?

Step away from the cliff.

The core of the team is young/good.

The biggest problem is ownership. We've got this greasy bastard who complains all the time and needs a budget but will now have 3 coaches on the payroll next season. Brilliant.

You are crazy to continue to piss and moan about Zibby. He again improved this season and has already stated that he will be spending the majority of his off season in Ottawa to ensure that he comes into camp in better shape.

Lets us pray that Bobby does the same
- SENS 613

And two of them were fired for the same reason. This is what bothers me. Both were fired for defensive problems, and both had 3 guys in the lineup that weren't even NHL caliber players.

If it's one guy.. ok.. maybe Maclean sucked at the defensive aspect. When it's two?

I honestly think a full season of Dion Phaneuf in the 2nd pairing is going to do more for our shots and goals against than any coaching change will.

when your team is pretty much dead last in PP, PK, goals against, shots against, gave up most first period goals......despite having a relatively talented roster (not great, but certainly capable of being a playoff team) then the coaches bare a lot of responsibility.

cameron and his coaches had poopty systems that they stubbornly refused to change despite the complete failure of said systems.

does the owner suck.......hell yes.

is the roster perfect......obviously not

is there enough talent on this roster to be a playoff team.........hell yes.

the coaches don't take all the blame, but they certainly deserve a lot of it.

you can female dog all you want about the owner but it doesn't take away from the fact that the coaches were bad and replacing them was the right move.

And two of them were fired for the same reason. This is what bothers me. Both were fired for defensive problems, and both had 3 guys in the lineup that weren't even NHL caliber players.

If it's one guy.. ok.. maybe Maclean sucked at the defensive aspect. When it's two?

I honestly think a full season of Dion Phaneuf in the 2nd pairing is going to do more for our shots and goals against than any coaching change will.
- Charliebox

It's gonna be hard to say because there will be a different coach next year along with a full season of Dion Phaneuf. I think there's little question that they'll be giving up less shots and goals next year, and both of these will be contributing factors. It won't be possible to determine which has a greater impact. Bottom line, the team will be better defensively with a full season of Phaneuf AND a new coaching staff.

when your team is pretty much dead last in PP, PK, goals against, shots against, gave up most first period goals......despite having a relatively talented roster (not great, but certainly capable of being a playoff team) then the coaches bare a lot of responsibility.

cameron and his coaches had poopty systems that they stubbornly refused to change despite the complete failure of said systems.

does the owner suck.......hell yes.

is the roster perfect......obviously not

is there enough talent on this roster to be a playoff team.........hell yes.

the coaches don't take all the blame, but they certainly deserve a lot of it.

you can female dog all you want about the owner but it doesn't take away from the fact that the coaches were bad and replacing them was the right move.
- sensarmy_11

Game Log 14-15

http://senators.nhl.com/c...eason=20142015&gameType=2

Game Log 15-16

http://senators.nhl.com/club/gamelog.htm

Look at the shots against under Mac to start 14-15 and compare it to 15-16 with Cameron. It was actually worse under Maclean.

Either way, blame coaching if you want, but when the same thing happens in two consecutive years, under two coaches with two completely different philosophies, I would argue it has more to do with personnel.

Give Scotty (frank)ing Bowman in his prime, our D corps pre Phaneuf, and the shots against would look exactly the same.

You can't have 3 of 6 Dman who aren't legitimate NHL players and expect our team to be solid defensively.

Game Log 14-15

http://senators.nhl.com/c...eason=20142015&gameType=2

Game Log 15-16

http://senators.nhl.com/club/gamelog.htm

Look at the shots against under Mac to start 14-15 and compare it to 15-16 with Cameron. It was actually worse under Maclean.

Either way, blame coaching if you want, but when the same thing happens in two consecutive years, under two coaches with two completely different philosophies, I would argue it has more to do with personnel.

Give Scotty (frank)ing Bowman in his prime, our D corps pre Phaneuf, and the shots against would look exactly the same.

You can't have 3 of 6 Dman who aren't legitimate NHL players and expect our team to be solid defensively.
- Charliebox

Of course not, and they've addressed that part with the Phaneuf trade. Doesn't mean that the coaching staff was doing things right either. There was plenty of blame to go around, they've addressed part of the on-ice personnel issue (they do still need a #5 probably), and now they've addressed the coaching part. Bottom line, the team will be better with a new coaching staff and a full season of Phaneuf.

You mean this team will be better with Phaneuf.

Game Log 14-15

http://senators.nhl.com/c...eason=20142015&gameType=2

Game Log 15-16

http://senators.nhl.com/club/gamelog.htm

Look at the shots against under Mac to start 14-15 and compare it to 15-16 with Cameron. It was actually worse under Maclean.

Either way, blame coaching if you want, but when the same thing happens in two consecutive years, under two coaches with two completely different philosophies, I would argue it has more to do with personnel.

Give Scotty (frank)ing Bowman in his prime, our D corps pre Phaneuf, and the shots against would look exactly the same.

You can't have 3 of 6 Dman who aren't legitimate NHL players and expect our team to be solid defensively.
- Charliebox

that's the part you aren't understanding......it's basically the exact same coaching staff and system that they played under maclean. they fired maclean, promoted his assistant, and kept all the other coaches. the system remained unchanged.....the only differnece is that most of the team went on career best hot streaks at the same time.

the mistake isn't firing cameron now, it was hiring him in the first place, keeping all the other coaches, and thinking that things would be different in the long term.

and you keep saying "legit nhl d-men".....yes, cowen sucked....but guys like boro, wideman, wiercioch, etc are perfectly acceptable bottom pairing d-men.

I mean was he a perfect coach? No
One thing i would like to see is them bring in some more defensive depth so you can cut karlsons mins down
- nightmare3020

done .... enter Phaneuf....

you cant look at what this team has (or has not) accomplished and not expect to see a coaching change.

Ottawa is T5 in scoring, yet B5 on the PP. that's either poor schemes, or the players not buying in ..... either way - that's coaching.

Ottawa is B5 on the PK ......that's either poor schemes, or the players not buying in ..... either way - that's coaching.

that's the part you aren't understanding......it's basically the exact same coaching staff and system that they played under maclean. they fired maclean, promoted his assistant, and kept all the other coaches. the system remained unchanged.....the only differnece is that most of the team went on career best hot streaks at the same time.

the mistake isn't firing cameron now, it was hiring him in the first place, keeping all the other coaches, and thinking that things would be different in the long term.

and you keep saying "legit nhl d-men".....yes, cowen sucked....but guys like boro, wideman, wiercioch, etc are perfectly acceptable bottom pairing d-men.
- sensarmy_11

Actually Cameron and Mac's systems were wildly different.

And that's what management told us when they promoted from within.

Mac was a puck possession style.. hold onto puck at all costs. There were far more turnovers. It was supposed to be a skilled, thinking man's, game.

Cameron was supposed to be a hard nosed, support everyone, type of game. His practices were more intense than Mac's and it was supposed to be about intensity.

As for the D, Weirchioch is NOT an NHL player. I'm sorry. The guy can't even skate.

Boro is a fringe Dman, at best. He's another Matt Carkner.

Wideman is a Chris Benoit, or Tom Priessing. He'll play 3 or 4 years in the NHL.

Any ONE of these guys could make a team as a 6th Dman.. sure..

But to have them all on the same damn team? And one of them in the 3-4 pairing? It's a gong show.

You mean this team will be better with Phaneuf.


- Charliebox

Hopefully.

He was getting walked pretty easily on the outside (something thats always plagued him)

I hate the way he does the one push/stride instead of moving both his feet. I am sure other people do it but it drives me nuts

Hopefully.

We has getting walked pretty easily on the outside (something thats always plagued him)

I hate the way he does the one push/stride instead of moving both his feet. I am sure other people do it but it drives me nuts
- SENS 613

Couldn't be worse than Cowen, he was getting walked outside AND inside and behind the net and pushed around. Better, yes.

Apparently Marc Crawford interested in coaching the Sens. Not sure he's my first pick though.

Apparently Marc Crawford interested in coaching the Sens. Not sure he's my first pick though.
- MaxTLimit

If Ottawa managed to win the draft lottery to pick Matthews, then I'd say that Crawford would very likely jump to being the #1 contender for the job.

Apparently Marc Crawford interested in coaching the Sens. Not sure he's my first pick though.
- MaxTLimit

Why? Hes been out of the league since 2011.

done .... enter Phaneuf....

you cant look at what this team has (or has not) accomplished and not expect to see a coaching change.

Ottawa is T5 in scoring, yet B5 on the PP. that's either poor schemes, or the players not buying in ..... either way - that's coaching.

Ottawa is B5 on the PK ......that's either poor schemes, or the players not buying in ..... either way - that's coaching.
- SensnRBs

Isn't it just the same core still not playing team defense?
While I agree that it has some to do with coaching, time to take a long hard look at your Golden boy and some of your top-6.
You brought in a guy for 7 mil that is alright to play second pair, but one player can't make all the other players play defense. Turris is a #2 center, you traded your #1C for Nick Paul... need that void filled.

Why? Hes been out of the league since 2011.
- karlsson

If you are asking why he is interested in the job, I'd imagine he'd prefer it over coaching Zurich in the Swiss league.

Why is he not my first choice? Because I think there are better coaches who will soon be available.

For those complaining about the ownership, try to recall what it was like before Melnyk came in. Ownership literally had no money, the team was going bankrupt and threatened to be moved. Melnyk came in around 2003 and injected millions into the team. For the next five years the team was one of the best in the NHL and made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Big contracts were handed out and big names were brought in. As is common in sports, the team eventually regressed and had to re-tool. Luckily, the Sens had enough talent in the system to stay competitive and avoid being regular bottom dwellers like the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres.

Sure, the Sens could have paid high prices for UFAs or trade for supposed "superstars" over that time, but that rarely pans out; just ask the Maple Leafs and Rangers.

Melnyk has said it before, when the time is right, he will not shy away from bringing in the players needed to win. I agree that the time isn't right yet. It's not far off, maybe next season even, but the last three years he was right not to go crazy and spend to the cap limit.

You don't have a #1 center (or a #2 center for half the season).

You don't have a legitimate 2nd line RW.

You don't have any scoring depth in your bottom two lines whatsoever.

You don't have a top 10 goalie in the NHL.

You don't have a #3 Dman until the deadline or a legitimate bottom pairing.

.........and it's the coach's fault.
- Charliebox

With the roster the team had, they could have made the playoffs. Offense is not an issue, with Paneuf coming in, I think our D is close to being up to par with the exception of one veteran stay back D. I think the most important move this offseason was to fire the coach and get an established coach... With a better team, our Goaltenders will be better than average tandum. With the return of Turris in the lineup, Pageau makes for an excellent 3rd liner.

Injuries plagued the team this season and bad coaching. Healthy and well coached, this line-up makes the playoffs.

I don't think it has to be that one or the other of coaching and player personnel is the problem with this team... Should our team be playing better D regardless of system? Yes. Was there any success whatsoever at improving our team D with Cameron at the helm? No.

Some of you seem to be arguing that there is no way our team can play very good D, given the current roster, and I'm inclined to agree. However, our power play was very disappointing given our talent, and our PK was generationally awful - seemingly an attitudinal problem as much as anything else. Given that these are some of the elements of the game - along with slow starts - that coaches live and die with, I don't see why Cameron should have been retained.

Will replacing the staff necessarily improve the team? No. But defensively and systematically, it can't get much worse than it's been the past couple of years.

To respond to the bolded part.. if we had all those things this season, then Cameron would have taken us to the playoffs.

Just to be clear. I also don't think this team is a bottom feeder. This team is a bubble playoff team. They are a 7-10 team.

If they play well, and stay healthy, they are a 7.

If they struggle and have injuries, they are a 10.

They struggled and had injuries this season. The delusion comes when your ownership, and management, see your top center, and your 2LLW go down for the season and STILL think the team should be in the playoffs.

That is delusion. I'm sorry. The fans pick up on it. It's the same thing that happened in Toronto for years and years. They were a bubble team, but their management thought they were amazing.. and so did the fans.

Most good teams would struggle to make the playoffs if you took away their #1 center for 50 games. (I am counting the games he attempted to play in there, cause he was a liability if anything).

To a bubble team, with no depth, that's death.
- Charliebox

Want a testimony on how much of an impact a good coach can have a roster. Let's look at a very similar talented team in Flyers. They were horrible at the start of the year with their previous coach. They didn't make any big moves and with their new coach they were able to make the playoffs. Sometimes, you have to just accept that internal promotions don't always work. After failing 4-5 times straight under Murray, I think Dorion must establish his pace... he has no choice to go for a very big name out there. Someone like Claude Julien... he's from Ottawa right?

You mean this team will be better with Phaneuf.


- Charliebox

I don't think those words have ever been uttered before.

You don't have a #1 center (or a #2 center for half the season).

You don't have a legitimate 2nd line RW.

You don't have any scoring depth in your bottom two lines whatsoever.

You don't have a top 10 goalie in the NHL.

You don't have a #3 Dman until the deadline or a legitimate bottom pairing.

.........and it's the coach's fault.
- Charliebox

Give me a break, you can make a list like that for any team.
Like army pointed out the systems sucked, and it showed both on the ice and statistically.