Probably About Time

Craig Hartsburg inherited a mess not of his making and couldn't fix it in 48 games. Given that he's an experienced coach at all levels and a former standout NHLer, that tells you something about how bad things are in the nation's capital with the Ottawa Senators.

You'll recall I said in the fall I believed the Sens would miss post-season play. But I thought it would be a near miss, not the disaster that has unfolded.

Interestingly, in replacing Hartsburg with minor league coach Cory Clouston, the Senators are just the latest NHL club to pass on a group of highly-experienced veteran coaches with championships on their resumes, a list that includes Pat Quinn, Bob Hartley, Marc Crawford, John Tortorella and Peter Laviolette.

Tampa chose to elevate Rick Tocchet when Barry Melrose was dumped. Carolina, after firing Laviolette, turned back to Paul Maurice. Chicago made the earliest move, replacing Denis Savard with Joel Quenneville.

Now Ottawa has replaced Hartsburg with Clouston, leaving Eugene Melnyk with two men - John Paddock and Hartsburg - on his payroll being paid not to coach.

Maybe that's why Clouston, and not Quinn or Crawford or Hartley or Tortorella, got the job. Melnyk didn't want to pay yet another coaching salary when Clouston was already in the organization down in Binghampton.

With 38 games left, you have to believe this is Clouston's opportunity to make some judgements about the team that he can move forward with. In other words, the idea has to be that he'll be the coach next season, and that this is a start on making next fall a lot more promising than the past 12 months have been.

Melnyk, meanwhile, looks a little silly today after his bombastic pronouncements of last year in which he suggested those who believed his team needed to be "blown up" should "blow themselves up." He was defiant and supportive of those who he had put in place, and to now turn around in a matter of days and, for the second straight year, fire a coach with less than one season on the job, makes it appear as though the problems with the Ottawa franchise might begin with the toast of the town, the man who got an ovation every time he appeared at the recent world junior championships, and that would be Melnyk himself.

Comments

[Ron]

I find it amazing that no one seems to have anything bad to say about Melnyk. He's not a hockey guy - he's a businessman. Yet he gets a free pass from the fans, whereas Toronto is a huge joke because of their owners. I don't get it. I certainly hear more from Melnyk than I do from any of the Toronto owners. And most of what he says isn't that great.

[Down Goes Brown]

What experienced coach would ever take the job? Murray has to be as good as gone at the end of the season -- after all, Melnyk keeps telling everyone that he's all about winning, and clearly he's not just blowing smoke, right?

So with anew GM on the way in who will want his own coach, why would somebody like Quinn or Tortorella even answer his phone for this guy?

[Confused]

Should have been Murray instead.

[pdh]

Bryan Murray should have been fired two years ago. He is the focal point of a weak management system. The player's problems are that they have skill, yet no heart. Hartsburg was not the coach to instill such ethics. Who is? Pat Quinn would be a better starting point than a minor league coach, but let's see what transpires over the next few months. By then Mr. Melnyk may have got his "own bomb" and did what he was apposed to last week.

[Phil Ford]

The mistake goes back to when Muckler was fired as GM and replaced by Murray. All Muckler did was steam roller the East and lose in the finals. Murray inherited that team and it has been all down hill ever since, except for the first month of last season.

If the coaches, Paddock and Hartsberg,are to blame (and therefore are fired) you only have to ask who hired them.

How Murray keeps his job is hard to understand. Melnyk seems to like him for reasons that are not clear to me.

As a Leaf fan living in Ottawa I must confess that it is a lot of fun watching this circus after all the abuse I have taken over the last few years.

[jim]

I agree that Melnyk is part of the problem - a little too much fan and not enough owner. What's the last thing you've heard from George Gillette? I'm grateful that he saved the team but I cringe when he "guarantees" winning games. Murray may be gone because he's had no success choosing a coach. The Heatley, Spezza, Fisher and Alfie contract extensions are all on Murray's watch but I wonder how much he was influenced by Melnyk; i.e. sign these guys for whatever it takes.

[Brian]

For me when the Sens lost Chara that is when things went down,
The Sens have one line no defence no goalie and no coaching,
this team needs a major shakeup.
The Sens will be looking up for a few years

[Jon Harper]

Historically hockey ownership in Ottawa has been shaky at best. Not so much due to poor decision making, but because of a lack of funds. Melnyk changed that when he purchased the club, injected cash into the franchise and found success with winning teams over an extended period. They didn't win the Cup, but they were close.

And yes it is highly unlikely the Senators will reach the playoffs this year. They do however have a strong core of forwards, two strong defensive defensemen and some hope in the net. They need a serious upgrade in rushing defensemen and overall team defense.

Leafs on the other hand have had loads of cash to spend, wasted it with flawed decision making, have not had a whiff of the playoffs since before the long-ago lockout and they are unlikely to make the playoffs in the foreseeable future. They have weak goaltending, one promising young defensemen, one good veteran defensemen and about 15 other 3rd or 4th line players.

Ron Wilson too would have been fired by Ottawa if he coached them this year. He'll be given more of an opportunity in Toronto and deservedly so. Hartsburg is a talented guy who tried, but I don't believe he could turn around a team that screams out for a Chara, Redden, Mezaros, Corvo, Preissing, or White (all traded) to carry the puck out of their own end. Someone who the forwards can trust to feed them that break-out pass.

I suspect Clouston is there to determine who will be swapped for that desperately needed defensive upgrade. I would have thought this would typically be a task for a general manager, but to borrow your words its "probably about time" Melnyk dumped Brian Murray too.

[Gary]

I think with the trading chips Ottawa has in place, much much deeper than the Leafs, they could do a very quick Philly style rebuild . They could get a top 10 pick for each of Alfredsson, Heatley and Spezza, PLUS some very good prospects. Phillips, Kuba, etc could also bring them value.
I don't think Murray has the cojones to do this but the core of that team is rotten . They have far too much talent to be behind the Leafs in the standings.

[Paulie]

Spezza is a coach killer. That's why Ottawa didn't replace Hartsburg with experience. Could you imagine Quinn coaching Spezza!
Alfredson was one of the top forwards in the NHL the last two years. This year his heart isn't in it. Why?
One rotten apple...

[Guido]

How about making a trade? Hard to blame the coach when you make 0 moves to change the players.

[Al]

Ottawa has really fell off the rails. This is a very talented squad that needs to just let their sticks do the talking. I don't know if it is arogance or intimidation every time they open their mouth to make a promise. It is no surprise Melynk is concerned this team is not doing well. It has been a spiral since the lost of big defense Chara and following a short-fuse Emery issue ... what a waste there. Alfredsson is defense right?

[VINN37]

How is this Bryan Murray's fault - This organization's failings have Muckler's hand prints all over it - yes Murray took the worng coach last year - it hardly ever works moving up an assistant coach to take over the reins.
Murray will turn it around - it will take time..
Lastly - why do most Sens fans hate Melnyk - he has lots of cash and supports the teamin Ottawa - he doesnt need to be a hockey expert - it wasnt that long ago that Ottawa almost did'nt have a team - and the way the economy is now - Sens fans should be thankful they have an owner with money and who cares - at some point in time he will want out - then what? Move them to Portland,Or cause no one else will be able to afford an NHL team in Canada....

[mark]

You asked a question in another article you wrote Damien: who would you rather be the Sens or the Leafs? You then answered with ..."the Sens of course." Well, you may change your tune in a couple years. The Leafs have the management team they need now (minus the meddlers from MLSE corporate head office). They do have some young d-men who appear to be NHL calibre and they have a very tradeable commodity in Nik Antropov (and possibly others like Kaberle) to use at the trade deadline.
Once could argue that trading one of Ottawa's big three would eclipse any deal the Leafs could pull off, but let's not forget who's doing the trading and the salaries of those players.
So, in terms of where they are now, where they could be two years from now and who's in charge of getting them there... I'd rather be the Leafs. Incredible as that may sound.