TRADE DEADLINE: Coach Travis Green rejected $98.9 million offer from the …see more
How Senators coach Travis Green sought to reverse the negativity and pressure OTTAWA – As Steve Staios and Travis Green sat next to each other at the press conference table Wednesday afternoon, a cold rain hit Canadian Tire Centre.
The gloomy weather seemed the perfect metaphor for the dark cloud of negativity that enveloped some Ottawa fans after Green was hired as head coach earlier this week.
Their argument is that Green — who has a .
478 career points percentage as an NHL head coach — is not the right person to take a stagnant Senators program to the next level.
Green’s detractors want a more established head coach with a winning history put behind Ottawa’s bench.
A Stanley Cup champion like Craig Berube.
A perennial winner like Todd McLellan, who has made the playoffs nine times.
4,444 Or even someone with a .
639 career NHL points percentage like Dean Evason.
So on Wednesday, Staios was asked why he passed over several candidates with more impressive resumes to choose Green.
“When we look at the current Stanley Cup Playoffs, you can see some of the coaches in contention for the Stanley Cup are now in the exact same position as Travis after their first term coach ,” Staios said.
“It’s much deeper than just looking at win-loss records.
” Staios’ comments certainly ring true when analyzing some of these coaches who are still alive in the playoffs.
Peter DeBoer never made the playoffs and had a .
492 fielding percentage in three seasons with Florida to begin his coaching career.
During his first stint with Hartford and Carolina, Paul Maurice only hit a .
482 rate.
But Staios could easily mention Rick Tocchet as the best comparable to Green.
When Tocchet was hired by Vancouver last year, he arrived with a career hitting percentage of .
475 after stints in Tampa Bay and Arizona.
The Vancouver market was so opposed to his hiring that Rogers Arena was booed when Tocchet was introduced in his home debut.
Tocchet deleted his Fast forward to Wednesday and Tocchet is enjoying the accolades that make him the favorite to win the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top manager in 2023 -24.
His Canucks are preparing to host a second-round playoff game at home at Rogers Arena, amid 15-degree temperatures and sunny Vancouver weather.
The contrast between the scenes in Ottawa and Vancouver on Wednesday couldn’t have been more stark.
Sunny and optimistic in one corner; Dark clouds and negativity within each other.
As Green steps into his new role in Ottawa, he’s acutely aware that he’s entering an emotional marketplace that publicly displays the scars and bruises of his absence from the ring playoffs since 2017.
“It’s a passionate city.
They want a winner.
And I’m in the same situation,” Green said.
“I think coaching in Canada and competing in Canada is a privilege.
There is something to be said for winning in Canada.
There’s pressure and I like it.
However, for the Senators to become Canucks 2.
0, a lot of things have to go right.
Not the least of which is cleaning up the sloppy defensive zone that has been a source of problems for Ottawa over the past seven seasons.Green grows
But Green concedes he’s evolved as a head coach over the past seven seasons. On Wednesday, he wanted to balance that hard-nosed reputation with the notion that he’s a genuinely caring head coach who is sensitive to the pressures and challenges faced by modern NHL players.
At one point during his news conference, Green even expressed the importance of “showing empathy when you need it.”
“I’m a firm coach, detailed coach. I can be demanding, but I’m also very approachable,” Green said. “I don’t look at myself as a tough coach. Being a demanding coach isn’t always yelling at a player or sitting out a player. Sometimes, you have to give them confidence when they’re feeling down.”
Senators owner Michael Andlauer — who stood in the back of the room while Staios and Green were seated on the dais — said Green’s flexible personality and willingness to communicate played a role in the organization’s decision to hire him.
“Travis fits the mold of the culture that we’re trying to create here,” Andlauer told a small gathering of reporters afterward. “I keep reiterating, we’re in the people business.”
Andlauer stated unequivocally that Green’s hiring was, “Steve’s choice. I did not hire him. Steve hired him.”
That process for Staios started shortly after he relieved D.J. Smith of his duties on Dec. 18. In total, Staios said he narrowed down a larger field to roughly six serious candidates as the process drew to its conclusion.
“It became clear to us, the more we went through this, that Travis definitely was our guy,” said Staios.
This is quite a remarkable turn of events, considering that less than three weeks ago — on April 18 — Green stood in front of reporters in Newark, wearing a black Devils windbreaker and sounding eager for a chance to return to New Jersey.
“I want to be the head coach of the New Jersey Devils,” said Green that day. “And we’ll see where that goes.”
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