We all knew this was going to happen at some point, as Guy Boucher was in the final season of his contract and it was obvious that he was not going to get a new contract for next season. What is surprising though is that he was fired this morning, rather than at the end of the season:
News Release: Marc Crawford named interim head coach of rebuilding Ottawa Senators: https://t.co/mzV6MvCK4M
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 1, 2019
Since there is only just over a month left in the season, Marc Crawford is going to be the interim head coach, and I look at that as a test run to see if he should be the head coach for next season as well. The strange thing about this is that literally yesterday, Pierre Dorion had said that they were going to wait until the end of the season to decide what to do with Boucher and his staff:
From Bruce's invu with Dorion... uh, yesterday: "A decision on head coach Guy Boucher and his staff, who are in the final year of their contracts, won’t be made until the off-season." Awkward for Dorion. https://t.co/ixlW6OtjqO
— Glen McGregor (@glen_mcgregor) March 1, 2019
I'm not sure what changed, but Bob McKenzie gives his best explanation:
OTT rationale for firing Boucher was two fold. One, the decision to make a coaching change at end of season had already been made (Boucher’s contract expiring). Two, OTT didn’t like the dynamic/tendencies team was showing in remaining weeks.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 1, 2019
I am all for firing Boucher considering he was unwilling to give some of their young players a proper chance in the lineup, and he wasn't going to be the coach beyond this season. However, a coaching change in the middle of a season is always odd timing, and I'm not sure why this wasn't done weeks or even months ago, because Boucher has been doing the same things for a while now.
I just hope that Crawford isn't a strong candidate to be head coach for next season because he is an old school type of coach who I wouldn't want to have for a young team. I mean, just read this story from Brent Sopel when he had Crawford as a coach in Vancouver:
Interim head coach of YOUR rebuilding Ottawa Senators, Marc Crawford!
— Paul (@Sens_Army_) March 1, 2019
Brent Sopel was on @spittinchiclets in November. This is what he had to say about Crawford who coached him in Vancouver (transcription from @omarcanuck)
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Perhaps Crawford has toned it down now, but he's still going to be relatively the same. Belleville coach Troy Mann has done a great job in the AHL by trusting his young players, and is willing to play guys based on merit, rather than age or experience, and that is something that Ottawa will need in the coming years. I'm not sure if Mann would work out as an NHL coach, but I know that I'd much rather have him than Crawford. Furthermore, someone like Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe has always been on my list, as his success (seven playoff series wins in his first three seasons) speaks for itself.
I'd be shocked if the next full-time coach for the Senators is anyone but Crawford of Mann, just because the Senators are incredibly cheap when it comes to hiring coaches, and they know those two guys best.
Seeing Boucher depart is good for the franchise, even though two years ago there was a lot of faith in him from the Senators fanbase. But he isn't the right man for a rebuild, that much is clear. He adds to the long list of failed coaches in Ottawa, and he will probably be another one that never gets an NHL job, which speaks to the poor hiring that the organization has done. Crawford becomes the 12th head coach in Senators history and the 8th in the past 12 years.