The Ottawa Senators are making a coaching change.
The NHL club has fired head coach Guy Boucher after the Senators suffered their sixth straight loss Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Senators currently sit last in the NHL with a 22-37-5 record.
Boucher was on the Ottawa bench for two and a half seasons.
Marc Crawford has been named the team's interim head coach.
“I want to thank Guy for his three years of service. He is a good person and has been an excellent representative of the Senators. At this point, however, we need a different set of coaching and leadership skills to guide our team through this rebuild,” said general manager Pierre Dorion. “In the interim, Marc will bring a different perspective along with a wealth of head coaching experience.”
The team finished second last in the league with 67 point last season, just one year after falling an overtime goal short of the Stanley Cup Final.
Crawford, 58, is in his third season on the Senators coaching staff. He has served as head coach for 1,151 NHL games with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996, but has not served as a head coach since the 2010-11 season.
In a news release, the Senators said they would be looking for a new head coach who excels in the following:
- A teacher who will focus on the development and growth of each player on the team;
- A listener who encourages feedback from players and the coaching staff;
- A communicator who lets every team member know where they stand and what is expected;
- A tactician who brings structure and game planning that will enhance our rebuild.
Boucher leaves Ottawa with a 94-108-26 record as head coach of the club. He led the team to a 44-28-10 record in his first season with the team, reaching the Eastern Conference Final, in which they lost in double overtime of Game 7 to the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins.
Boucher is the seventh head coach to be fired this season, joining (Los Angeles Kings), Joel Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks), Mike Yeo (St. Louis Blues), Todd McLellan (Edmonton Oilers), Dave Hakstol (Philadelphia Flyers) and Randy Carlyle (Anaheim Ducks).
No head coaches were fired in-season last year.