TSN is reporting that the Boston Bruins will be keeping Claude Julien around a while longer, much to the chagrin of a large part of the Senators' fan base.
Many thought Julien would get the axe after missing the postseason for the second straight year, and that a very nice landing spot would be behind the bench of the Senators.
So the Senators will have to look elsewhere to find their new bench boss.
I am not convinced the Senators would have anted up the dollars that it would have taken to bring in Julien, who has a pedigree that would make him a hot commodity on the open market and would likely have his choice of openings as the arise.
So while Julien was at the top of the wishlist, you can cross him off.
That leaves the likes of Mike Yeo, Guy Boucher, Marc Crawford, Kirk Muller and Kevin Dineen as just some of the names that you will hear, some of which will be considered while some won't.
There is also the Luke Richardson factor, as if I am not mistaken this is the year his daughter graduates from college and he would be ready to consider moving up to the NHL. Richardson is coming off couple of mediocre (to put it nicely) seasons in Binghamton with not a ton of rapid development seen in the organization since he was given credit for making Cody Ceci NHL-ready in a couple of months. I think some of the shine has come off of Richardson in terms of being an NHL ready head coach although it would be a great story. The club went internal for the replacement for Bryan Murray, a man who was being groomed for the job. Richardson underwent the same grooming, so it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility to promote him from within either. And he wouldn't carry the price tag of an experienced, pedigreed coach despite the wish expressed to bring in someone of that ilk.
The Senators are in no rush, as of right now they have the only coaching vacancy, and will likely wait until after the playoffs to see if some of the guys who need deep runs to save their jobs (ie Ken Hitchcock) might become available. And in some cases (Dineen) wait to talk to some assistants on playoff teams as they get eliminated.
Maybe Alfie comes down from above and takes the reins with a couple of very experienced assistant coaches to help him out? Not a likely scenario at all, but it would be fun!