Guy Boucher hired as Ottawa's head coach + Crawford signed as assistant

We should hear rumours at some point regarding Hoffman as well. Do they go 5 years, or try for shorter?

Ev wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:

Ev wrote:Read this article: http://strib.mn/1q7JIWz

We didn't have a chance

Actually, it's quite clear that we had a chance, but Minny drastically outbid us. Again, I'm fine without Boudreau, but he was Dorion's #1 choice but couldn't commit financially.

You didn't read hard enough. He was set on Minnesota before even coming to Ottawa

Hindsight is 20/20. It should be a learning experience for Dorion and Co., they should have been more proactive and aggressive in their pursuit. Can affect future UFA pursuits. But yeah that sucks that BB was so deeply engaged with Minnesota.

Flo The Action wrote:

wprager wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:Boucher....


We dont have The type Of team to buy into The type Of game he coachs. This is The stupidest hire. You have to hire a couch that Goes with The team you have. How The Diddle is that going to play with karlsson? He's not gonna play The trap. Bet you he came in at a really low salary and 2 year deal.

Diddle me.

Your comments are right up there with calling Karlsson a "garbage pick" before seeing him take one shift with the team.  Well done!  

Really dude? It's not allowed to have an opinion based on him having coached another NHL team?
I'm not saying I won't change my mind about him but for now I think it might lead to problems with karlsson.

You are allowed to have an opinion, just as I am allowed to have mine, and my opinion is that you are per-judging the guy before he has spent on minute with the team. This guy was supposed to be one of the brightest up-and-comers in coaching ranks. What happened there? Not sure, I've read some reports about him losing the room but another report talked about goaltending and injuries, among other stuff:
- Lindback and Garon in goal, both barely over .900 SV%
- Marty St Louis had a great year (leading the team with 60 points in 48 games) but he was pissed off that Yzerman left him off the Olympic roster so maybe that had an effect in the room
- They had 37 players in total and 21 of them played in 24 or fewer games (24 being half the shortened season); by comparison, this past season the Sens also had 37 players in total, and 19 of them appeared in half the games or fewer. I believe that's a good indicator of injuries and call-ups having to fill in.

Also, in a shortened season it's a lot more difficult to adjust and fix things.

Personally, I never thought much about Boucher as a candidate, but for the same reason (i.e. lack of knowledge about the guy) I'm willing to see how this plays out. I'll give the team a check-up at the 10 and 20 game mark, to see if they've improved defensively and on special teams.

Oglethorpe wrote:

Flo The Action wrote:I'm still divided about what we have here. The D is a work in progress and always an injury away from a disaster. Nothing good to look at on the third pairing. The top 6 is getting there but a really big question marks on the left side. the 3rd line is ok but it's likely going to drop off since there is no possible way zach smoth comes close to reproducing his success and we are going to need a replacement for Chiasson that can score in the right
Hoffman is likely getting dealt and I really doubt we will get something back that can help us in the same respect.
So no I'm not sure we have a better team to be honest.

First off no team has a great third pairing.  Secondly, Zachary Smith certainly has a chance to come close to 20 again, he might not do it but there is a chance.  Lastly, how the hell do you know Hoffman is likely to be dealt, Dorion has no track record for you to base this on.  

I actually assumed the comment about the third pairing was facetious. The reason your top-pairing guys are supposed to be playing 25+ minutes is so that you don't have to rely on your third-pairing for more than 6-10 minutes, against the other team's worst line. Any team whose biggest issue is to improve their third pairing is probably a Cup contender.

This is kinda interesting, given the recent exchange between me an Flo:

Ian Mendes ‏@ian_mendes 40m40 minutes ago
Dorion says he's as confident in his decision to name Boucher as head coach as he was when he convinced Bryan Murray to draft Erik Karlsson.

Do you expect Dorion to say anything other than Boucher was his top choice?  

Anyway, the I terview on TSN 1200 this morning was great. Boucher came across super smart which is something I don't thing Boudreau is.

tim1_2 wrote:Do you expect Dorion to say anything other than Boucher was his top choice?  

Anyway, the I terview on TSN 1200 this morning was great. Boucher came across super smart which is something I don't thing Boudreau is.

No, but with the way he said it and the way Boucher answered those questions you gotta admit it feels like he really was the first choice

Sounds like it's happening:

Chris Nichols ‏@NicholsOnHockey 14m14 minutes ago
McKenzie: I think it's a pretty safe bet before day is out, you'll see Marc Crawford as associate or assistant coach to Guy Boucher. #Sens

Don't know where Nichols is quoting Mac from, but he also quoted him as saying that he (Mac) knows for a fact that the Sens were very high on Boucher.

All but official:

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger 2m2 minutes ago
A bit of NHL news while awaiting CAN/BLR in St Petersburg. Expect Marc Crawford to be named Guy Boucher's associate coach today in Ottawa.

LeCaptain wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:Do you expect Dorion to say anything other than Boucher was his top choice?  

Anyway, the I terview on TSN 1200 this morning was great. Boucher came across super smart which is something I don't thing Boudreau is.

No, but  with the way he said it and the way Boucher answered those questions you gotta admit it feels like he really was the first choice

I still think that it's very possible that Boudreau was their top choice (would be hard to argue against that for *any* team) but if Bobby Mac says he knows for a fact the Sens wre very high on Boucher then he was on their short list. And, like I said before, when Boudreau bolted Boucher *was* their short list.

wprager wrote:Sounds like it's happening:

Chris Nichols ‏@NicholsOnHockey  14m14 minutes ago
McKenzie: I think it's a pretty safe bet before day is out, you'll see Marc Crawford as associate or assistant coach to Guy Boucher. #Sens

Don't know where Nichols is quoting Mac from, but he also quoted him as saying that he (Mac) knows for a fact that the Sens were very high on Boucher.

He usually transcribes radio interviews.

This is gonna be a quality coaching staff. Wow!

Diddle Boudreau. Our coaching is gonna be killer. We want guys who want to be here

Hey, I'm on board with Boucher and Crawford. That's pretty cool to be honest.

Crawford has a ring, was the HC in Nagano (although he's the guy who left #99 on the bench in the shootout and sent a defenseman instead) and coached in Europe. Boucher also coached in Europe. I like the fact that they've coached on both sides of the pond, actually, gives them a broader perspective.

Yes, Walter, we all understand that you have a crush on Crawford.

Whoa, that's a potent coaching staff with Crawford on board if thar happens. Again, I wasn't sold on a Crawford as head coach, but as assistant, that's fantastic.

From a Mathieu Darche's perspective, who played under Boucher in the AHL (en francais):
http://www.rds.ca/hockey/lnh/senateurs/une-deuxieme-chance-pleinement-meritee-1.3340222

SpezDispensed wrote:Whoa, that's a potent coaching staff with Crawford on board if thar happens.  Again, I wasn't sold on a Crawford as head coach,  but as assistant,  that's fantastic.

I wasn't sold on Boucher. I wanted someone with more coaching experience at the NHL level but with Crawford coming in as an assistant I am feeling much more comfortable with the decision. Now we just need Groulx to come in as either the head coach of Bingo or Special Teams coach and I'd be happy.