After the Senators' power play finished eighth in the NHL last season, Ben Sexton will be the man in charge of the unit this year.
Less than three months ago, if you asked Senators fans to name the most popular player in franchise history, there's a good chance Daniel Alfredsson and Brady Tkachuk might have finished 1-2 in the voting.
But after a Sens summer to forget, a lot of fans would want a re-vote after both men willingly left Ottawa to join division rivals. The two high-profile exits have left the Sens with a gaping leadership void.
Tkachuk was traded to Florida, so now the Sens have to decide on a new captain. Meanwhile, Alfredsson went even deeper into the dark side, becoming an associate coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And he appears to have done so willingly.
That meant the Sens needed to replace him too. They had to decide on someone to be in charge of their power play, which ranked 8th in the league under Alfredsson last season.
In his appearance this week on Coming in Hot, Senators head coach Travis Green confirmed which member of his staff will get that assignment.
“Ben Sexton’s going to take over the power play,” Green said during an appearance on the Coming In Hot podcast. “He’ll join us on the bench and, for me, this has been a long time coming.”
Sexton has spent the past two seasons on Green’s coaching staff, but on game day he was more behind the scenes, providing support from the upper suites at the CTC. The Ottawa native previously served three seasons as an assistant coach with the Belleville Senators before joining the NHL club in 2023.
“Ben Sexton’s a hell of a coach and he’s got a real good future in the game as a coach, whether it’s an assistant or head coach down the road,” Green said.
“Behind the scenes, he’s been a big part of our staff for the last two years. I’ve worked hand-in-hand with him on a lot of different parts of our game: our day-to-day stuff, our pre-scouts, our game reviews, our teaching. He’s more than ready and qualified for this, and he’s going to do an excellent job.”
Just like Ryan Bowness, the Sens' former assistant GM, Sexton has fatherly ties to the expansion Senators of the early 90s. His father, Randy, is a former Sens GM, while Bowness' father, Rick, was the first Sens head coach in modern-day history.
The younger Sexton takes over a Sens' power play that finished with a 23.9 percent success rate last season. Sexton will now have to try and maintain that success without Tkachuk, who was a key component of the top unit.
Green said Sexton went through an internal interview process before officially being given the assignment.
“He went through a little bit of an interview process with me, just as far as running the power play and his thoughts and ideas,” Green said. “As much as I really felt there was no doubt in my mind, I still wanted him to go through that process.”
Just like Alfredsson, the man he's replacing, Sexton is also a former Senator. But unlike Alfredsson, Sexton played just two games in the bigs after a standout junior (Nepean Raiders) and university (Clarkson) career.
Green said he understands Alfredsson’s decision to pursue a larger opportunity.
“I want Alf to succeed,” Green said. “I enjoyed our two years together. I could see improvements in his coaching.
“I’m not wishing for him to win in Toronto, but I want him to personally do well. And I’m happy for him if he’s happy.”
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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