3 candidates to coach the Senators
After only two days on the job, new Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has made his mark on the team by firing head coach Dave Cameron and his staff.
The move was made after only 138 regular-seasons games with Cameron as bench boss, with last year's first-round playoff loss to Montreal also on his resume.
The club will reportedly be looking for a coach with NHL experience, allowing us to narrow the field to three top candidates:
Mike Yeo
One name that jumped out soon after Cameron's firing was former Minnesota Wild head coach Yeo.
Former Wild coach Mike Yeo will come highly recommended by the people in Minnesota. My guess is he'll be a candidate. #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) April 12, 2016
Spending parts of five seasons with the Wild, Yeo guided the club to three straight playoff appearances, all of which ended with losses to Chicago.
Deposed by Minnesota in favor of John Torchetti earlier this year, he boasts a 173-132-44 career regular-season record. He also knows how to make use of a high-end defenseman, like Ottawa's Erik Karlsson, after relying heavily on a lesser player like Ryan Suter in Minnesota.
Guy Boucher
As a rookie head coach in 2010-11, Boucher led the Tampa Bay Lightning to within one win of the Stanley Cup Final.
Replaced by Jon Cooper two years later - after a loss to the Senators, no less - Boucher spent two seasons coaching SC Bern of the Swiss League before being let go in January.
In 195 games with the Lightning, he amassed a 97-78-20 record, and was well known for his defensively minded structure that's much needed in Ottawa.
Claude Julien
Certainly the most attractive option would be Julien, should he be relieved of his duties by the Boston Bruins.
He's someone Dorion is very familiar with:
#Sens GM Pierre Dorion gave Julien his first coaching job 23 years ago with the Ottawa Jr. Senators of the Central Junior Hockey League
— Don Brennan (@SunDoniB) April 12, 2016
Julien, of course, has been on an incredible run with the Bruins, setting the club's career wins record this season (393) after leading Boston to a Stanley Cup in 2011 and another final appearance in 2013.
Considered to be one of the NHL's better coaches today, his tenure with the Bruins may be coming to an end following a second straight year out of the playoffs.
Many teams would jump at the chance to secure his services, and Ottawa would be no different, assuming they're willing to shell out the necessary dollars to get him while continuing to compensate Cameron.