Paul MacLean’s Decisions And What Could Have Been

After an unprecedented sweep of California teams in the last four days (and their first ever in team history), the Ottawa Senators are starting to gain some playoff momentum. This five game winning streak has started to give fans some hope, and it doesn’t seem so daunting as it did a few weeks ago. If Ottawa does make it close to the end, you can be sure everyone will be looking back on certain games where points were lost or gained as crucial points.

If the Senators were to miss the playoffs by two points, then you could point out many games early on in the season when Paul MacLean was still coaching. Earlier in the year, MacLean seemed to still be much different from his first two seasons, as many were questioning his lines and usage of players. Of course at the end of the day it’s the players who play the game, but if your best players aren’t on the ice the most, then you’re put at a disadvantage.

There are a few things that I think were inexcusable at the time, and now they seem simply insane. For example, scratching Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, and Mika Zibanejad. All three of them are now entrenched in the top six, and they have had major contributions to the team since then. Hindsight is 20/20, but even in October it was clear that all three of them were amongst the teams best forwards.

More from Editorials

• Ottawa Senators: Something’s Got to Give
• Hot Pierre Summer 2.0? Let’s Talk About The Ottawa Senators Offseason So Far!
• EXCLUSIVE: Making Moments With Senators Forward Egor Sokolov
• Joonas Korpisalo: The Solution To The Senators’ Goaltending Problem
• Ottawa Senators: To Build Or Demolish? New Arena Discussion

In March now, I could argue that Ottawa’s two best forwards are Stone and Hoffman. Why MacLean couldn’t see that, I’ll never know. Zibanejad is on a slightly lower tier than those two, and he was also struggling at the beginning of the year. Still though, I don’t see how any one of the veteran players like Zack Smith, Chris Neil, David Legwand, or Colin Greening would have been better options than Zibanejad.

Young players need some time, and he eventually figured it out over the next few months. He now has a chance to take over the number one centre role, which is amazing for a 21-year-old. Furthermore, even when some of the younger players were in the lineup, they would not get very much ice time. I don’t know how many times fans screamed to put Hoffman on the power play, but it just never happened.

February 26, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing

(68) celebrates the 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Kings following the third period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

I can say with certainty that if MacLean was still coaching the Senators, Hoffman, Stone and Zibanejad would still be seeing less ice time than they should be. Most of MacLean’s mistakes came from his mishandling of the young players, and subsequent over-valuing of his veterans. For some reason he loved playing Smith, Neil, and Chris Phillips a whole lot, and Legwand was played as if he was still in his prime.

To me it’s no coincidence that Ottawa has played better (not amazingly better, but definite improvement) since the firing of MacLean. The young players make up most of the core on the team, and I think (and hope) that Cameron realizes that. Look at Hoffman for example: under MacLean, he had eight goals and four assists in 24 games, which of course was still a great start for him, but he was not getting much ice time.

Under Cameron though, he has put up an amazing 15 goals and 12 assists in 33 games. MacLean gave Hoffman 16 minutes or more in ice time only three times (or 12.5% of the time), but Cameron has gave him 16+ minutes 10 times (or 30.3% of the time). Of course I would still like to see him play even more, but his situation with the team has improved a lot.

It is weird to say now, but if Cameron had been the head coach for the entire year, perhaps Ottawa would be in a playoff spot

I think many of us Senators fans can think “what if?” to many games earlier in the year if some veteran players had a lot less ice time, as it’s clear that the young players carry this team. Amongst the core of the top six forwards (Hoffman, Zibanejad, Bobby Ryan, Clarke MacArthur, Kyle Turris, and Stone), the oldest is MacArthur, who is still only just turning 30.

It is weird to say now, but if Cameron had been the head coach for the entire year, perhaps Ottawa would be in a playoff spot. I know at the time of his hiring many people were very skeptical, because it was basically a Eugene Melnyk hiring, and Cameron had an awful history with the Binghamton Senators.

But it’s true, MacLean did not do a good enough job for the first 24 games of the season. I think he is a good coach, but he needs to be on a contending team with some more veteran players. He came from the Detroit Red Wings organization, and a team like that is probably what suits him best.

It’ll be extremely frustrating if after all of this, Ottawa does miss the playoffs by a couple of points. Because I know who I will be (partially) pointing the finger at, and it definitely will not be the current coach behind the bench.

Visit Ottawa Senators Nation Live on Facebook for Highlights, Play-by-play and more