The Ottawa Senators are heading toward one of the most interesting off-seasons in recent history. I expect a couple of significant players including one that will upgrade the team's prospectus between the pipes. But for now, the Sens have a coaching staff to fill out, precisely what Travis Green is doing.
Mike Yeo joins the Senators as the presumed top assistant on Travis Green's staff. Yeo most recently served as an assistant coach for Vancouver Canucks under Bruce Boudreau. The 50-year-old also briefly led the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blue as a head coach.
Nolan Baumgartner is the first name our guy Jacob Larivière mentioned in his article regarding potential Ottawa assistant coach hires. Baumgartner made a lot of sense because of his history with Green in AHL-Utica and Vancouver. The former defensemen. And top-10 NHL draft pick also logged 17 years as a player, spending most of his time in the AHL.
If there's anything to like about Travis Green's approach to building his staff, he's opting for familiarity and continuity. Much to my surprise, Green retained assistant coaches Daniel Alfredsson and Ben Sexton and goaltending coach Justin Peters. All three are holdovers from the 2023-24 season but have earned their stay for various reasons.
Baumgartner has more familiarity with Green's system than any current assistant coach, and Mike Yeo has spent time working with Claude Giroux in Philadelphia. Indeed, the Ottawa Senators have to turn their fortunes around sooner than later and I think Green is speeding up the process with a coaching staff familiar with him, the city, and the current roster.
The Senators are also bringing back Jacques Martin to serve as Senior Advisor to the Coaching Staff and Mike King as Video Coach.