Quick Thoughts On Paul MacLean’s Departure

After the Ottawa Senators 4-3 comeback overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks Sunday night, most people seemed to think that Paul MacLean salvaged his job that night. Well not so fast. As you must have heard by now, MacLean was fired this morning by GM Bryan Murray after 3+ seasons with the team. Assistant coach Dave Cameron now takes over as head coach, but not as an interim position. Perhaps the team may explore other possibilities in the offseason, but considering their tight budget, I highly doubt that.

It’s just another era for the Senators who can’t seem to land a coach that is right for them. In todays NHL, 3+ seasons as a head coach is a respectable term. However, MacLean already ranks 2nd in all-time wins for the Senators, behind Jacques Martin. Of course the franchise hasn’t been around for very long, but it’s clear that the organization has had its troubles finding the right man.

I was certainly surprised by the timing of the firing. Usually a firing doesn’t occur after a win, and in fact MacLean seemed to be making some better decisions recently regarding the lineup and ice time usage. Finally he had figured out the top six forwards (Clarke MacArthur, Kyle Turris, Mark Stone; Mike Hoffman, Mika Zibanejad, Bobby Ryan), and I would have assumed that maybe the team would wait until the end of the season to change coaches, like they did with Cory Clouston in 2011.

However, they obviously felt that MacLean had lost the room, and he was no longer effective. He’s certainly a good coach, and we haven’t heard the last from him. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he was coaching in the league next year. It’s odd-looking back, because just two short seasons ago, he had won the Jack Adams trophy, and everyone in Ottawa loved him. He had gotten into the minds of the Montreal Canadiens players in the playoffs and Michel Therrien seemed to hate him, which simply made us Senators fans laugh.

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Looking back on his first two great seasons where the team made the playoffs; can we say that MacLean was actually a good coach for Ottawa? I’m not sure. It seems as if he definitely changed during last season and this season, and not for the better. He has an odd infatuation with overrated veterans and he improperly uses them. He constantly changes lines (even in-game), but it takes him a while until it’s the combinations that fans have been collectively begging for.

He does have his strengths though. He loves to play up-tempo, high event hockey, which worked for a while. However, it’s hard to keep that up when the defensive corps basically consists of one player. Maybe his coaching style is better suited for another organization, and I truly hope he does have success elsewhere.

Just a year and a half ago, I would have been singing praises about MacLean, but now I can see that he has some flaws, and what he has done is worthy of being fired. If you cannot bring the best out of your team with what you have, you should not be coaching that team, and it’s as simple as that. The team is flawed and needs some fixes, but MacLean wasn’t helping. Furthermore, it seems as if many of the top players were growing upset with MacLean and it’s most likely due to ice time. I can’t blame them, because I would be complaining about why Chris Neil was getting more minutes than Bobby Ryan as well.

Now I can see that he has some flaws, and what he has done is worthy of being fired

There needed to be change, and there was. The one part about this that I’m skeptical about is the hiring/promotion of Dave Cameron. He has been with the team for the same amount as MacLean, and he was also a coach in the OHL before that. Cameron was essentially a hire by Eugene Melnyk, because when Cameron coached the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, Melnyk owned the team. So he likes Cameron of course, and I doubt Bryan Murray had much say in that hiring.

The reason I don’t entirely like the hiring is this: if MacLean was part of the problem and he couldn’t communicate with players well, wouldn’t Cameron be part of that problem as well? I doubt he has radically different views regarding player ice time and deployment, and in fact one of his supposed weaknesses is player communication. I’m willing to give him a chance, and if he turns the team around the rest of the way, then that’s fantastic. However, I just don’t see any major changes by this hire.

There are some good (and better) coaches available right now, but Ottawa was never going to go outside for a hire, and it comes down to money. They still have to pay the rest of MacLean’s contract, and by promoting Cameron, they only need to increase his salary instead of bringing in a new coach. It’s sad for Ottawa, because I truly believe that Bryan Murray can make this team much better, but he’s being restricted by Melnyk’s tight budget.

An interesting part of Murray’s press conference today was that he essentially said that Binghamton Senators coach Luke Richardson was the teams first choice, but he wants to stay close to his daughter. No doubt family comes first, but it’s a shame because I have a lot of faith in Richardson as he seems like a fresh face that they need that can communicate with the younger players a lot better. Perhaps things will change in the summer, but as of now he’ll be staying in Binghamton.

The move was a shock to me, especially coming off of a win. In order to move forward though, I think a change was needed. I’m not sure Dave Cameron is the answer, but maybe a better candidate will come on board in the summer. It’ll be interesting to watch Cameron’s first game Thursday and see how the team lines up, and how they respond.