Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours. The regular season is in full swing and it has been quite the merry-go-round in the Northern nation’s capital. It just seems like it is one headline after another. Today’s rumours focus on the Ottawa Senators and what one thing means for another.
Friedman on potential head coaching options if DJ Smith is let go in Ottawa (32TP): "You got local fans cheering for Claude Julien, who's there and Claude Julien is a structure guy"
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) November 6, 2023
NHL Rumours
Ottawa Senators
Rumour: Elliotte Friedman discusses Senators Head Coach Search
You know things are tumultuous when there’s a rumour swirling of the replacement for someone who isn’t even fired. Well, welcome to the saga that is the Ottawa Senators. Even though their current Head Coach D.J. Smith is still gainfully employed, the ice under him is admittedly thinning. Now to add to the fray, and rumours are gaining traction on his replacement. Now, yes, some of these rumours may be more fan based, but some are also from reputable sources. The top candidate from these rumours is Claude Julien.
One Head Coach Rumoured for the Ottawa Senators
Claude Julien is a very long tenured NHL head coach. He coached 19 seasons in the NHL. He coached one season with the New Jersey Devils, ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, and two different stints with the Montreal Canadiens totaling eight seasons. In case you are wondering, there would have been an overlap from his second stint in La Belle Province, with Michael Andlauder. Andlauer was a part-owner of the Canadiens going back to 2009. Moreover, during his career as a coach, he recorded 667 regular season victories, and over 1275 games. Also, he was at the helm as Boston captured the 2011 Stanley Cup.
In Julien, it seems that it would be the answer to a lot of the Senators difficulties. He is a very sound structural tactician as a head coach. This is what Senators fans are yearning for, someone to place a defensive system on the club. Just look at Boston as a team that had air-tight structure and accountability. One question mark on Julien is his age at 63, how much motivation does he have to get behind the bench?
Friedman on '32 Thoughts' says that one of the prospective ownership groups was going to bring Patrick Roy into the fold. One name brought up was John Gruden, who coached and won an OHL championship for Andlauer and Staios in Hamilton. He's currently coaching the AHL Marlies.
— Graeme Nichols (@GraemeNichols) November 6, 2023
Of course, let’s not forget that D.J. Smith is still the current head coach of the Senators. Conversely, with the noise being made, you have to think the winds of change are upon us. Some of the less substantiated rumours point to names like Patrick Roy or John Gruden. Gruden is currently the AHL’s Marlies head coach but has worked under Andlauer and Staios in the past.
Main photo: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
