Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios (left) announces Travis Green as the team’s new head coach on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Ottawa. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
After the Ottawa Senators missed the playoffs seven times in a row, their new head coach Travis Green is relishing the pressure that comes with getting them there.
“I want to win the Stanley Cup and I’m going to lead this team to do that,” said Green, who was officially introduced as the new head coach on Wednesday.
Green takes over the reins from interim coach Jacques Martin, who led the team after DJ Smith was fired last December.
Martin, who coached the Senators from 1996 to 2004, will remain with the team as an advisor to support the leadership transition.
The NHL team began searching for a new coach midseason and interviewed about half a dozen people for the position, said Steve Staios, president of hockey operations and general manager of the Senators.
“You don’t always find what we think is the perfect fit for our group,” Staios said. “What we value about Travis is his leadership, his passion, his experience and his ability to develop players.”
Travis Green has experience as a head coach, most recently as interim coach of the New Jersey Devils. (Noah K. Murray/The Associated Press)
The 53-year-old from Castlegar, BC, is no newcomer to the NHL scene, having served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for four seasons from 2017 to 2021.
Under Green, the Canucks posted a 133-147-34 record and made the playoffs in the 2019–20 season, but were eliminated in Game 7 of the second round by Vegas.
As interim coach of the New Jersey Devils, he also posted a record of 8-12-1 last season.
Despite Green’s playoff failure so far, Staios said he is confident in his abilities and that selecting a coach “goes much deeper than just looking at the win-loss record.”
“I know coaches are judged on their performance as coaches, but there is a lot more to it than that,” Staios said.
“Young, talented team”
Green said he has had his eye on the Senators for some time and described them as “a very young, talented team that still has a lot of room to grow.”
He said he wants to help them get to the top quickly by focusing on accountability and identifying the right roles within the team.
“The players want to know where they stand. They want to know what is expected of them. And that starts with communication and open and honest discussions with the players,” he said.
“If you want to take responsibility, you have to be able to make it clear to your players what is expected of them. This process takes some time. Every winning team has to take responsibility within its group, and that doesn’t happen overnight.”
Green describes himself as a “strict” and “detailed” coach who can also be “demanding,” and said he is still approachable and the players know he wants to get the best out of them.
“I know what it means to coach in Canada,” he said. “I know how much the people in Ottawa want to win and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”
