Like newcomer David Perron, the new head coach was also a teammate of Brady Tkachuk's father, Keith.
For many Ottawa Senators players, training camp this September will be another big adjustment as they begin taking marching orders from their third head coach in nine months.
They almost required a decompression chamber last December when they transitioned from the boisterous, attaboy-git-er-done D.J. Smith to the elderly, uber-stoic Jacques Martin.
And now they've got Travis Green, who perhaps falls somewhere in between and wishes training camp started this week.
Green has already spoken with several of the players, including 24-year-old captain Brady Tkachuk, who's entering his fourth season as the club's captain. Green is thrilled to have Tkachuk as his man wearing the C.
"Ottawa is lucky that we have a great young captain that not only is a really good hockey player, but cares about his teammates, and is ultra competitive," Green said on Monday on the Coming in Hot Podcast. "He's young, he's improving, he's hungry to win, and man, those are elements you want in your captain."
The captain's role in hockey is diverse and includes facilitating communication between the players and the coach. Green says his early conversations with Tkachuk have been extremely positive.
"Sometimes we're talking specific, sometimes it's just to check in with him," Green said. "I think that's just part of the process of building a relationship with someone, getting him to understand what I believe in as a coach, what I want for our team, and understanding him as well – what he likes from a coach.
"I think that's important that coaches understand that too. I think there are certain things that are non-negotiables within your group, but you can't coach each player the same, and you've got to get to understand them, and I obviously started with (Tkachuk)."
Like newcomer David Perron, Green is another former player who played with Brady's dad, Keith, which adds an interesting wrinkle to the coach-captain dynamic.
"I did play with Walt for a few years in Arizona,' Green said. I actually was around Matthew and Brady when they were younger. They're a great family and great competitors.
"I think the one good thing about guys that have played, they respect certain things in a coach. And I think communication and honesty, if you have those qualities within you as a coach, it goes a long way, especially with guys that have played. It's never been a problem for me, and it's a nice full circle."
Given Tkachuk's high value as a captain, it will be interesting to see if Green asks him to dial it back a little with the fights and penalty minutes. No one wants Tkachuk to change his bull-in-a-china shop ways, but being among the league leaders in PIMs and scraps isn't ideal either.