New Year's Resolutions: Goaltending, Wins & Hiring (experienced) Staff
As we break into 2024, the Senators are going to need to focus on some major improvements to reach organizational success.
With the calendar about to turn to 2024, what better way to kick things off than with some resolutions, right?
Sure, we all make these goals for ourselves that last a few weeks before we forget about them, but for the Ottawa Senators, the stakes are higher in 2024 than in any of the past half-dozen years.
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Leave your thoughts and questions in the comment box of this post and start a discussion on the biggest changes you think the Senators need in 2024!
Goaltending They Can Trust
The Senators don’t need Connor Hellebuyck, Igor Shesterkin, or even the 2023-24 version of Cam Talbot (that one hurts). What they need is some goaltending they can trust to keep them in the game.
Quite frankly, Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo have been very disappointing through the first 31 games of the season.
Forsberg: .877 SV% - 3.29 GAA - 6-6-0 - -6.7 GSAx
Korpisalo: .890 SV% - 3.66 GAA - 7-12-0 - -11.1 GSAx
According to TopDownHockey, Forsberg and Korpisalo are the worst goaltending tandem in the NHL, ranking 76th and 82nd among all 85 goaltenders to play in the NHL this season.
The inability to stop a puck has cost this team plenty of games so far. The goal-scoring and offense are good enough, but the defending is not, and that certainly doesn’t help the case for the goaltenders, and even Jacques Martin can agree.
The playoffs are a long shot, but if they want to come anywhere close to challenging for a spot, they need to improve in the crease.
Hiring Permanent (experienced) Staff
The Senators have always gone with the cheaper option when hiring staff, but under the new regime, the hope is that they will go with somebody who brings a lot of experience and talent and is worth a high salary.
The Senators are currently without a general manager (GM) and a head coach. Steve Staios is the interim GM, while Martin is the interim coach. Both are currently employed in roles above their current interim position, so there is hope that both are temporary.
Hiring a GM comes first. The Senators have been linked to plenty of candidates like Mathieu Darche, Peter Chiarelli, and even Eric Tulsky. The problem with hiring a GM mid-season is that whatever team currently employs that person, likely isn’t willing to let them go. That stuff happens in the summer. Now, when the offseason rolls around, the Senators are going to have to act quickly. They have a lot of signings to make, possibly some trades, and even at the draft table. Odds are, most of the offseason will be Staios’ decisions, but there is certainly hope that the Senators make the best of this situation.
After that comes the coach. Teams often like to allow a GM to pick their own coach, so it looks like if the Senators are waiting for the offseason to find a GM, they are running with Martin for the rest of the year.
My thoughts on the coaching situation have been vocalized on the Senators Roundtable, but to summarize, the Senators need a coach with strong systems, a proven track record, and someone who might not be best buddies with every player. Now, that doesn’t mean you get someone nobody respects or everyone hates. It means you get someone who will tell you how it is. Names that come to mind are John Tortorella and Rick Tocchet.
Some other names in the running for the position could be Claude Julien, Patrick Roy, Gerard Gallant, and Jay Woodcroft. There is certainly reason for optimism with all of the names thrown around for this job, but only time will tell who lands the gig.
Win.
This is a pretty simple one to understand. In 2024 the Ottawa Senators need to win.
Win what, you may ask?
Hockey games. They don’t need to win the Stanley Cup, they don’t need to win the draft lottery, they don’t need to win free agency, they just need to win hockey games.
In the calendar year, the Senators went 36-36-5. Considering their great run at the end of last season, that is not nearly good enough. The Senators have gone through a very lengthy rebuild…for what? To be a .500 team?
Something needs to change, and those changes have already been made. As mentioned, the GM and coach have been fired, some good names are in the interim positions, and it is time to win hockey games.
Let us know what you hope to see from the Ottawa Senators in 2024! Be sure to subscribe, share with your friends, and leave a comment on your thoughts!
The hiring of Dave Poulin WHY and for WHAT POSITION-pls explain as an assistant GM or GM he has loads of experience and can even coach -Martin even though intrim 👎too old and what they don’t need is intrim just like putting lipstick on a pig!