Jacques Martin has had his hands on this team for almost three months. If he's not returning, then why not bring in a new coach now and treat the remaining games as an extended training camp?

Ottawa Senators interim head coach Jacques Martin recently confirmed that he's not going to be back next season. Martin is actually part of GM Steve Staios's brain trust that will decide on who the next man up will be.

If you ask the average Ottawa Senators fan to predict who the next head coach will be, Craig Berube is probably the most common response. As a recent Stanley Cup-winning head coach, Berube makes plenty of sense. He played in the league at the same time Steve Staios and Dave Poulin did. In fact, Poulin and Berube are friends and were NHL teammates for six years.

But Berube was fired in St. Louis in December and D.J. Smith was fired in Ottawa five days later. If both Berube and the Senators were certain this was the very best fit, he'd probably be the head coach here already.

So what's the best situation for Ottawa? Should they wait until the summer to hire their full-time head coach? That certainly seems like what they're planning. When everyone's season is over, that's when there will be the biggest pool of coaching talent available. And Staios, who hasn't really made a move as a GM yet, is likely to maintain his calculated approach for something as big as this.

But there's also something to be said for hiring someone now to steward the young Senators through to the end of this season, bonding with the club, and educating himself on the team's strengths and weaknesses. 

It's not going to be easy for the team to quickly purge/embrace the systems and teachings of a third coach in less than a calendar year. And learning on the job to start the season this fall isn't ideal, not when this team perennially plays itself completely out of contention in the first month or two.

Meanwhile, given his unusual circumstances, how effective is Martin at this point? 

The players now know that Martin will only be their coach for 23 more games. That shouldn't matter, but it does. It's human nature. Once it's officially established that your boss is leaving next month, there's a good chance you stop caring as much about his marching orders.

While Martin is a pro's pro, there a good chance he won't be at his best either. Where's his motivation? Win or lose, the guy's head coaching job ends next month no matter what.

There are arguments to be made for waiting until the summer. If the Sens wait, they can have more options, gather more information, and increase the odds of a good decision. 

Or maybe someone beats them to the punch. Owner Michael Andlauer admitted feeling a pang of regret when Patrick Roy was pulled off the market by the Islanders in January.

There are enough good candidates available right now to get on with things. Berube, Gerard Gallant, Claude Julien, Todd McLellan, or Jay Woodcroft, just to name a few.

Smith has been gone since December 18th, so the Sens have had a lot of time to think about this. By hiring the next one shortly after the trade deadline, the Senators will have a better chance to finally get on the same page and truly hit the ground running this fall.