(Kanata) No one predicted, before the start of the season, that the Ottawa Senators would be one of the worst teams in the league at mid-campaign. No one would have predicted that Jacques Martin would return to service, at the age of 71, behind the bench of an NHL club. And we certainly would not have bet our pay on the illustration that the same Martin would use for us, on this cold January morning, to describe the shortcomings of his workforce.
The question was very simple: what happened to cause it to escalate like this? To answer it, Jacques Martin chose to talk about… the Vancouver Canucks.
Because in his eyes, what makes the success of the Canucks, the undeniable surprise of the season so far in the NHL, largely explains what is missing from the Senators, a team overflowing with talent – Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Josh Norris , Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot, Jacob Chychrun, Jake Sanderson –, but who struggles to win matches.
“It’s good to have a core of talented young people, but we have to teach them to play the right way,” summed up the veteran, in French, to journalists from The Press and Montreal JournalWednesday morning.
“In general, successful teams will surround these young players. »
This is where the Canucks enter the conversation. “For two years, they tried to rebuild, but they got nowhere,” recalled Jacques Martin. They changed coaches last year, but the effect was not immediate.
What made the difference, according to him, were the additions made during the off-season. Martin lists here four players he knew in Pittsburgh, from his days as an assistant with the Penguins: Ian Cole, Teddy Blueger, Sam Lafferty and Casey DeSmith. “Minor changes,” he insists. But it helped, it surrounded the young people. It brought a different culture, a different experience. »
Also in Vancouver, top players like Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, JT Miller and Brock Boeser all “raised their game.”
Without saying it so bluntly, Martin implied that this is more or less what did not happen in Ottawa. The main offensive elements have not declined, but they are not carrying the team either.
The coach is more direct when he says he would like to count on “more veterans”. “We have a little less this year,” he notes. Derick Brassard and Nick Holden, two popular internal players last season, are no longer there. Claude Giroux and Travis Hamonic suddenly seem very alone.
“Often, these veterans are the extension of the coaching staff,” recalled Jacques Martin. Last summer, “we went looking for different players,” he continued, without drawing up a list. Let’s do it for him: Vladimir Tarasenko, Dominik Kubalik, Joonas Korpisalo and Zack MacEwen. However, we understand from his tone that they did not impress him.
PHOTO MARC DESROSIERS, USA TODAY SPORTS
Signed long-term last summer, Joonas Korpisalo is among the worst goalies in the NHL statistically.
Not as expected
That’s it for the partial staff review. The Senators’ implosion, however, is more complex.
It is, first of all, unexpected. Despite the loss of Alex DeBrincat, during the summer, it seemed certain that this team, finally, was on the verge of returning to success. Experts saw her in the playoffs, if not close, after six years of misery.
Quickly, at the start of the campaign, it became clear that something was wrong. At the beginning of November, general manager Pierre Dorion resigned. On December 18, head coach DJ Smith was shown the door. Jacques Martin arrived in relief, with Daniel Alfredsson, legend of the franchise, at his side.
However, under Martin, the club’s record (4-9-0) is even worse than under Smith (11-15-0).
Defensively, there are many gaps. We might roll our eyes at the defenders, but those who follow the team’s daily activities point out that the attackers more than deserve their share of the blame. And there’s Korpisalo, hired long-term last summer, who seems incapable of stopping pucks. Here he is among the worst goalies in the league statistically.
Crossed in the Senators locker room, Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot both highlighted a recurring problem. “The story of our season is our lack of concentration,” Sanderson said bluntly.
PHOTO SERGEI BELSKI, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Jake Sanderson
As if to prove him right, journalist Alex Adams, from Hockey News, mentioned on X that the Senators have already lost 14 games this season, even though they had the lead during the meeting. Tuesday night at home, a 4-2 lead against the Colorado Avalanche turned into a 7-4 loss.
“We are often the best team on the ice for 45 or 50 minutes, then 5 minutes cost us the victory,” added Chabot. As long as we don’t play well for 60 minutes, consistently, it will be difficult to win. »
The two defenders agree on another point: the solution must come from the locker room. Sanderson: “We are not playing to our full potential. We cannot feel sorry for our setbacks. Leading players [top guys], we have to be better. »
Chabot: “We have the support of the fans and the organization. They do everything to ensure that we perform as best as we can. It’s sure it’s frustrating, I won’t say the opposite. But we still have several matches to play. Now is not the time to look at the guy next to or in front of us. It’s up to us, the players, to do the work. »
After a month in office, Jacques Martin notes that his team must increase its “resilience”. Learn to take the hits and get back up after them.
It probably won’t be enough to completely save this season, with the playoffs virtually out of reach. Stopping the bleeding, however, would help limit the long-term damage.