• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Ottawa Senators

Paul MacLean Out, Dave Cameron In as Ottawa Senators Look To Salvage Season

By Sean Tierney December 9th, 2014

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Paul MacLean Out, Dave Cameron In as Ottawa Senators Look to Salvage Season

Dallas Eakins just breathed a sigh of relief.

After weeks and weeks of utter futility in Edmonton, the head coach of the Oilers avoided being the first coach to be fired in the NHL this season.

Instead, Ottawa Senators bench boss Paul MacLean was the first coach to be fired this year.

As per the Ottawa Senators Twitter account:

Breaking: The Ottawa Senators have dismissed head coach Paul MacLean. #Sens

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 8, 2014

 

Despite posting a middling (but not awful) 11-11-5 record, the Senators’ sloppy defensive zone coverage (second-most shots against in the league) and lack of leadership led to MacLean’s dismissal.

As Dave Lozo of the Bleacher Report writes,

Coaches lean on their leaders in order to achieve accountability in the locker room. Perhaps the combination of new captain Erik Karlsson, [Chris]Neil and [Chris] Phillips wasn’t serving that purpose as well as the previous group. Just how effective Karlsson, a first-time captain, and Phillips, who may be bitter after being passed over for the ‘C’ not once but twice, were as leaders is something only they and the players in that locker room know.

Paul MacLean Ottawa Senators

Paul MacLean is the Sens new coach. Is he the maestro the Sens have been looking for? Photo BY Canadian Press. June, 2011.

Intangible facets aside, this season’s team was a fringe playoff contender at best no matter which players were cracking the whip in the locker room. Not only are Spezza and Alfredsson gone from that 2011-12, but so is Foligno. There has been a lot of standard roster turnover since 2011-12 and even 2013, but very little of it has served to make the Senators a better team.

 

With all the roster turnover during the past two seasons, MacLean seemingly lost the young leadership group and young squad in general (the Senators are the tenth-youngest team in the NHL). As Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen notes, MacLean and captain Erik Karlsson were regularly seen in heated discussions, both during practices and games.

All told, MacLean finishes his tenure with the Ottawa Senators with a solid 114-90-35 record, two post-season berths, one Jack Adams award, and one amazing doppelganger.

Paul MacLean Moves Out, Dave Cameron Moves Up

Former Sens assistant coach Dave Cameron will take over the head coaching duties for Paul MacLean.

Cameron has a lengthy tenure with the Senators organization. He coached with the Binghamton squad for three seasons prior to coaching the Senators as an assistant coach in 2011. Cameron has never been a head coach at the NHL level, though he is a teacher and a player’s coach.

By firing MacLean, the Senators have signalled that they are not interested in tanking to pursue the right to draft Connor McDavid in this season’s draft.

Instead, the Cameron hiring appears to be a safe move to encourage the Senators to climb the standings and make a pitch for a post-season spot this year. If Cameron succeeds in cutting down the shots-against total while Craig Anderson continues to play at an elite level, the Sens are likely to find themselves clinging to one of the last playoff spots next spring.

 

What do you think, Ottawa Senators fans? Are you happy that Paul MacLean is finally gone? Is Dave Cameron the right man to replace MacLean?

  • Tags
  • Dave Cameron
  • Paul MacLean
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 15th 4:10 PM
New York Rangers

Rangers Bring More of the Same in 2020-21 Opening Night

Jan 15th 3:45 PM
Column

Red Wings News & Rumors: Ryan, COVID, Markstrom & More

Jan 15th 3:30 PM
Boston Bruins

2020-21 Season Openers: Flames Lose Again, Islanders & Capitals Excel

Jan 15th 3:20 PM
Florida Panthers

Panthers Sending Signals That Yandle’s Time in Florida Is Over

Jan 15th 3:10 PM
Column

Rangers News & Rumors: Opening Night, Rooney, and More

Jan 15th 2:40 PM
St Louis Blues

Mike Hoffman Takes the Blues’ Power Play From Great to Elite

Jan 15th 2:05 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers’ Nugent-Hopkins Joins Team’s Decade Club as Free Agency Looms

Jan 15th 1:29 PM
Archives

Fuhr Suspension Helped Pave Way for NHL Drug Policy

Jan 15th 1:15 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs’ Matthews Calls for Consistency on Cross-Checking Calls (Video)

Jan 15th 1:09 PM
Archives

The 8 Best Defensive Forwards in Hockey History

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information