(Kanata) If Travis Green had wanted to make friends, he probably would have taken a job other than head coach of the Ottawa Senators.
Among the supporters of the Sens, the perplexity is obvious. We wonder why the club’s management chose a candidate who, in 335 games behind an NHL bench, only has a ranking point rate of .473. A candidate, even more so, whose stay with the Vancouver Canucks ended in chaos two years ago, and whose services the New Jersey Devils did not retain a few days ago hardly, after an interim period as short as it was unsuccessful.
On the players’ side, it would undoubtedly be an exaggeration to say that playtime is over… but there is still a bit of that. At the opening of a press briefing during which he confirmed Green’s appointment on Tuesday afternoon, Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios was delighted to have hired a pilot whose The “firm but fair” approach is “necessary” for his team to reach “the next step”.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Senators general manager Steve Staios and head coach Travis Green
A head coach should not be judged solely based on the victories and defeats on his record, insisted the manager. In Green, he believes he has found a mix of “leadership, passion and experience”, whose “ability to develop players” and get the best out of them is in line with the objectives of the organization.
The Senators, in fact, are at a crossroads. A long rebuild has seen them bring together an impressive pool of young talent, to which have been added some quality veterans. Success, however, was long in coming.
Last fall, we showed the door to general manager Pierre Dorion and then to head coach DJ Smith. Staios took the reins of the team, and Jacques Martin came down to finish the campaign behind the bench.
With a four-year contract in his pocket, which will likely give him time to leave his mark on the group he leads, Travis Green arrives with a precise and ambitious mandate: to win.
Asked what, in his opinion, the Senators are missing to reach the playoffs, the newcomer remained cautious, saying he had not had time to analyze his squad in depth “with [son] coach’s eye.”
When I look at this team, I see that it is young, that it is exciting and that its future is bright, he stressed. I want to make it a winning team. It’s one thing to have a talented group, it’s another to have a talented, winning group.
Travis Green, head coach of the Ottawa Senators
Teaching players and helping them improve is not just about “making great passes or playing well on the power play,” he imagined.
“Watch the shows right now. We see hockey, hard, defensive and offensive, over 200 feet. But above all we see a commitment to winning. For me, it’s part of the conversation I’m going to have with my team. »
“Attributes”
In the same vein, he wishes to see “winning attributes” appear within his troops.
But still ? “It’s a lot of things,” Green, 53, continued. Playing for each other, for the logo. It starts with work and daily competition; not just during matches, but with good habits in training. The list is long. »
The one who, as a player, played 970 matches in the 1990s and 2000s denied being a “tough” coach.
I am firm and I am demanding. I want to work with players to maximize their potential. Being demanding doesn’t mean yelling at them or keeping them on the bench. We have to give them confidence. There come times when good players lose confidence: at that time, they don’t need a coach who is negative. I believe that with good skills in reading people, you can push them to the maximum.
Travis Green, head coach of the Ottawa Senators
Not all players should be managed the same way, he believes. Instead, everyone must know the role assigned to them and the expectations that go with it. A high level of accountability [ « accountability » ] will however be expected of the whole group, without discernment and without compromise.
“There will be details in our game that are non-negotiable,” he warned. Everyone will know. »
Travis Green, we said, is not in Ottawa to make friends. And probably he didn’t have many in the area already. In a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform from 2001 to 2003, he took part in some of the most epic duels of the “Battle of Ontario” of the era – notably the second round of the 2002 playoffs .
When he walked into the Canadian Tire Center this week, Chris Neil and Chris Phillips were among the first people he encountered. “I felt like I was reliving a nightmare! “, he said, laughing.
Revisiting those memories, however, allowed him to remember how fiery this market can be when the stakes are high. “It gives an idea of what we can build here,” the coach mused. [Les partisans] want a winning team. I want the same thing. »
Who knows if he won’t make a few friends in the end.