The Senators are hunting for a new head coach this summer after firing D.J. Smith in December after an 11-15-0 start. Former Sens coach Jacques Martin stepped in as interim head coach, and longtime captain Daniel Alfredsson joined his staff as an assistant, but it was clear neither name was expected to be the long-term solution as Ottawa tries yet again to exit its years-long rebuild.
As the Sens enter a long summer, it appears they’d like to get their coaching vacancy sorted out sooner rather than later. Multiple reports suggest they’ve started the interview process, with Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reporting the team has “legit interest” in former Blues bench boss Craig Berube. The team has also been granted permission to talk to and subsequently interviewed ex-Wild coach Dean Evason for the role, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Berube and Evason were sacked by their respective teams during the 2023-24 campaign.
Ottawa would be Berube’s third try leading an NHL bench. His first stint was brief, coming with the Flyers for nearly two full seasons over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns after nearly a decade of working in the organization as an assistant and AHL head coach.
Let go after failing to make the postseason in 2015, Berube returned to coaching in the Blues organization after a season off, manning their AHL affiliate for a year before being upgraded to associate coach on the NHL bench. The rest was history, taking over for Mike Yeo in the 2018-19 season and guiding St. Louis to its first Stanley Cup on the back of breakout goalie Jordan Binnington.
A below .500 season in 2022-23 and a below .500 start this year cost Berube his job in December, a month after the same fate befell Evason in Minnesota.
Plagued by injuries and poor goaltending to start the season, Evason’s Wild sputtered to a 5-10-4 start despite being viewed as a playoff contender in the Central Division. Even after the club named John Hynes as his permanent replacement, it couldn’t rebound quite enough to squeak into a playoff spot. Minnesota was Evason’s first job as an NHL head coach.
Like the Sabres bringing back familiar face Lindy Ruff to replace Don Granato behind the bench, Ottawa’s front office is going for a more aggressive, veteran coach to instill accountability across the board.
Coaching wasn’t their primary issue by any stretch this season, though. Despite finishing seventh in the Atlantic, the Sens had the possession numbers of a much better team. At 5-on-5, they controlled 51.0% of shot attempts, 50.2% of all scoring chances and 51.4% of high-danger chances. Unfortunately, their 9.6 shooting percentage was a tad below the league average. Big free-agent pickup Joonas Korpisalo crashed and burned between the pipes, conceding nearly 21 goals above average with his .890 SV% in 55 appearances.
Whoever their next hire is will be their third full-time head coach since 2016, a surprisingly low turnover rate for a club that’s fallen short of expectations multiple times in the past few years.
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