Garrioch: New coach Travis Green will have time to right the Senators' ship

Published May 09, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 4 minute read

Ottawa Senartors officially introduced Travis Green as the team’s new head coach at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa Wednesday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

And the Ottawa Senators aren’t expecting Travis Green to turn this around overnight.

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Introduced as the Senators head coach in a press conference Wednesday afternoon, the 53-year-old Green was given a four-year deal by Steve Staios, the president of hockey operations and general manager, because getting this right will require some work.

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“If you look at our group and the growth and potential of our group moving forward, I think that (four-year term) lines up,” Staios said.

After missing the playoffs for seven straight years, patience in this market is wearing thin. Fans here are tired of this core packing its bag early every spring and heading their separate ways with a promise that the Senators will be better next year.

Sooner or later, the potential has to turn to production and, after interviewing six candidates, Staios felt Green is equipped to get this right.

“Not always do you land on what we feel is a perfect fit for our group,” Staios said. “This is also a massive step for our organization. The work now becomes for me to be able to support Travis, build out the coaching staff, and continue to look forward.”

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Green spent his first full day on the job making the rounds during a media tour in the morning. Then, he had some time in the office to begin a number of tasks that have to be completed before training camp opens in September.

Not only does Green have to assemble a coaching staff sometime here in the next couple of months, he also has to sit down with Staios, senior vice-president Dave Poulin and associate GM Ryan Bowness regarding the club’s roster and the changes that will be made in the off-season.

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At some point, Green will reach out to the players to speak to them about his expectations. TSN’s Ottawa bureau chief Claire Hanna spoke with captain Brady Tkachuk at the IIHF world championship in Ostrava, Czechia, on Thursday morning and he already had a brief conversation with Green.

Green and Tkachuk’s father, Keith, played together in Arizona.

“Now that we know our head coach for next year, we’re really excited about it. I think he’s going to be good for us,” said Tkachuk, who will wear the ‘C’ for Team USA.

Green will sit down with his staff over the course of the summer to come up with a game plan for every day and he wants the players to be ready for the first drill in camp.

“The onus is on the players,” Green said. “With the access to training, there’s no excuse coming into camp not being in outstanding shape from Day 1 and not working your way into it.”

That doesn’t mean Green is going to rule with an iron fist, but he will be demanding in his new role.

“When you talk about a tough coach, I think that gives you a persona of a certain type of person or coach,” Green said. “I’m just a demanding coach that wants the best out of my players. I want to push them to be their best, to tap their potential, but also work with them and make them understand what that is.

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“Being a demanding coach isn’t always yelling at or sitting out a player. It’s sometimes giving a player confidence if they’re feeling down. There are times when good players lose their confidence and now they need a coach that’s not looking at them in an negative way. Being a demanding coach comes in a lot of different ways and if you’re good with people and have good people skills to read the player, you figure out what the player needs to be pushed to their max.

“I take a lot of pride in being that type of coach.”

The Senators need a coach who is going to get them to play better defensively and that’s the bottom line. This team has been one of the worst in the league in its own end and, if the players don’t buy into Green’s program, then nothing will change here.

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Ray Ferraro was talking about playing with Green in Long Island under Al Arbour on the Ray and Dregs Podcast this week with Darren Dreger. Green was a prolific scorer throughout his junior career, but had to change his game because the Isles had other players who could score goals.

“Defensively is part of where we need to get better,” Green said. “You see that a lot with young, skilled players, getting them to grasp the commitment level to play in their zone. For me that’s number one.

“I remember being a young player at 19- or 20-year-old, being used to scoring goals. If you talked to me about defence, I was probably not listening. And a lot of coaches would say at 25 I probably wasn’t listening either, so I get that part of it.

“If you want to win you have to play a 200-foot game.”

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