Could the Ottawa Senators be interested in Rikard Gronborg?

The Ottawa Senators are searching for a new head coach, and one unique candidate might be worth some consideration this off-season.

Since firing Guy Boucher, the Ottawa Senators have been led by Marc Crawford but the organisation has not yet committed to him taking on the job full-time.

While some people were satisfied with what Crawford did during his 18-game stint in charge, the Senators are still taking their time to ensure the right person is hired.

With big names such as Joel Quenneville, Alain Vigneault and Todd McLellan all off the board, it might require some creativity from the Senators to find someone new.

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Enter Sweden national team head coach Rikard Gronborg.

Gronborg is set to lead Sweden into another World Championships tournament, with the Tre Kronor looking to achieve a three-peat after earning gold in the previous two seasons.

The 50-year-old Swede has been involved with his country’s national team setup since 2006, working initially as a scout before moving into coaching.

Since stepping up into the coaching world in 2010, Gronborg has earned medals at all levels of the game, winning three gold medals in the World Championships – seven medals in total.

He has also won six total medals at the World Junior Championships – including a gold medal in the 2011/12 season.

During that time he was an assistant coach and worked alongside future NHL stars such as Jonas Brodin, William Karlsson, Rickard Rakell and Mika Zibanejad.

With this level of sustained success over a significant period of time comes, unsurprisingly, interest from NHL clubs – with at least five teams currently looking for a new coach.

What is interesting about Gronborg, however, is the fact that he has never coached at a professional club level – with almost all of his experience coming via the Swedish national team and stints in college and junior hockey before that.

His level of knowledge about Swedish players, the majority of whom play in the NHL, would be a valuable asset to have in an organisation and his winning mentality could be exactly what a rebuilding team needs.

His inexperience at club level could be viewed both negatively and positively, with the positive being that he would be a fresh face in a league that regularly recycles coaches with similar results across the board.

His experience working with Under-18s and Under-20s would also be valuable to the Ottawa Senators, with plenty of promising young prospects in the pipeline – including Swedish defenceman Erik Brannstrom.

Per KHL/European insider Aivis Kalnins, NHL teams have interest in Gronborg but will need to wait until after the World Championships before making a potential offer.

This might work fine for the Senators, with the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reporting that the organisation will take their time in selecting a new head coach – seemingly being more flexible than others with Gronborg’s current stance.

The Ottawa Senators may very well give Crawford a shot next season, with very few expectations, but it would be interesting to see the team think outside the box and consider someone such as Gronborg.

What do you think Sens fans? Who would you like to see be considered for the head coaching position? Would Gronborg be worth taking a chance on? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!