In a perfect world, the Senators will have their next head coach in place before the 2024 NHL Draft, which is less than two months away.
It is well known that this was a disappointing season in Ottawa after the Senators missed the playoffs for a 7th consecutive season. This leaves a long list of offseason tasks for GM Steve Staios to tackle if the franchise hopes to make the leap to the post-season next year.
Atop this list is hiring the team’s next head coach.
Many names have flown around social media since the season ended. However, some facts are starting to take shape regarding the search. First of all, Staios confirmed at his end-of-season press conference that Daniel Alfredsson would not be considered for the position, saying that Alfie feels like he needs more experience.
Additionally, it appears that Sens management has begun interviewing experienced coaches. According to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa has interviewed Dean Evason, former head coach of the Minnesota Wild. Garrioch also stated that there is “a belief in league circles" that the Senators have talked to former Los Angeles Kings head coach, Todd McLellan.
Also, Elliotte Friedman has reported several times over the last week that the Senators have a strong interest in former St. Louis Blues coach and 2019 Stanley Cup Champion, Craig Berube.
Although he was not able to confirm the interview happened already, Friedman on Friday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast stated, “I have people telling me to watch Craig Berube there (Ottawa)...I’ve had a couple of teams tell me they (Ottawa) really like Berube and they believe they’ve (Ottawa) already interviewed him”.
On Monday’s edition of his podcast, Friedman further doubled down on the Senators’ interest, saying he believes that Berube is at the top of Ottawa’s list of candidates.
As a successful and experienced coach, Berube is surely drawing heavy interest elsewhere as well. Friedman essentially confirmed this, stating that Berube is potentially at the top of the New Jersey Devils search board as well. With more teams falling out of the playoffs, Friedman speculates that further interest may cause the process surrounding Berube to be accelerated.
A note that may assist Ottawa in the race for Berube is the fact that new Senior VP of Hockey Operations, Dave Poulin, played with Berube for parts of six seasons in the NHL with Philadelphia and Washington. So the two know each other quite well.
Another name that has been speculated for a long time has been John Gruden of the Toronto Marlies. The new owner of the Senators, Michael Andlauer, has made an early habit of hiring people he has closely worked with. Gruden was the head coach of Andlauer's junior team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, and Staios was the GM when they all won an OHL title together in 2018.
Although he should still be considered a candidate, it appears that management has begun to prioritize candidates with proven NHL experience and success.
There is also some belief that Gruden may end up on the Ottawa bench even in an associate or assistant coach role, if that is something he would consider. Gruden's season came to an end on the weekend as the Toronto Marlies lost to the Belleville Senators in the first round of AHL playoffs.
Expect the list of candidates including Berube, Evason, McLellan and Gruden to grow in the coming weeks as management continues to conduct interviews. Although there is no formal timeline for the search for a new coach, the process is likely to be wrapped up by the Draft in June so that a proper summer of preparations can take place.