Travis Green was determined to find the right fit and the right mix.
When the new head coach of the Ottawa Senators set out to assemble his staff, Green wanted to make sure he put a group in place that could not only work together to have success, but also help a team that wants desperately to make the next step to the playoffs.
Green confirmed Tuesday the staff will include former National Hockey League head coach Mike Yeo along with long-time assistant Nolan Baumgartner.
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Former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson will return as an assistant along with Ben Sexton, video coach Mike King and goalie coach Justin Peters.
Speaking to Postmedia in a one-on-one interview Thursday, Green, 53, expanded on what he tried to build with his staff, where everybody will fit and the steps they’ll take as a group to try to have the Senators have success.
“I wanted a combination of a lot of things,” Green said. “I wanted good people, and when I say that, I mean caring guys, coaches that you can tell really care about the players because that’s really important in today’s world.
“I also wanted intelligent people: Coaches that are smart and you can tell they see the game in different ways. And, I wanted a mix of everything. I wanted a mix of youth and experience with the group.”
Green said he spoke with several candidates and believes the group he put together is strong.
“I really feel like after talking to a fair amount of people, I wouldn’t say I called anyone who I felt like wasn’t going to be a fit, I’m excited about our staff,” Green said. “There has to be camaraderie in the coaches room because you spend a lot of time together.
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“I look at our staff and I see a group that’s going to be able to talk about all parts of the game and able to collaborate to come up with what’s best for our group.”
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Many believe this is a strong hire for Green.
Yeo, 50, who had stints as a head coach with the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers, left an assistant coaching position with the Vancouver Canucks last week to sign with Ottawa.
Green likes the idea of having a former head coach by his side, he played that role last year in New Jersey with Lindy Ruff and felt it was beneficial.
“It was important for me. You learn as a you go.” Green said. “Having spent four years in Vancouver, in a Canadian market, I’ve been asked that question before about having a former head coach on your staff, I think Mike brings a lot to the table.
“He has experience, he’s smart, he presents really well, he has coached in a Canadian market and understands the differences when it comes to that, as opposed to coaching in an American market. A lot of the American markets are intense, but the Canadian markets are INTENSE.
“Having a guy who was a head coach before is only beneficial to our staff to myself and our team.”
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Yeo was in charge of the Canucks penalty-killing units last season, but will run the power play with input from Alfredsson in Ottawa. Green didn’t know Yeo personally, but he came highly recommended by Vancouver coach Rick Tocchett.
“As coaches we always follow the paths of different coaches,” Yeo said. “When you’re going through interviews, it takes a long time to get to know a person, and a lot of conversations. The benefit of being friends with Rick Tocchett really helped.
“Knowing some of the people on the Vancouver staff on how he carried himself, how smart he was, what type of person he was and I’m good friends with Jason King, who is now in Minnesota, and everyone I spoke with to a man really said a lot of good things about Mike.
“When we did the interviews with Mike, he was a good fit.”
Baumgartner, 48, also is a new face in Ottawa. He was an assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose, but spent four years with the Canucks when Green was the head coach there.
The expectation is Baumgartner will run the club’s defence and penalty killing units. Green noted his relationship with Baumgartner didn’t mean he was an automatic for a job.
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“He’s a natural fit because he’s a really good coach,” said Green, who worked with Baumgartner in Utica in the American Hockey League. “I wouldn’t bring him on if I didn’t think he’s exceptional at what he does. It’s a bonus that he knows me and knows what I’m about as well.
“He’ll help in all the coaching areas we talk about, but also as far as my language, how do I things. How I run meetings and that should help fast-track the rest of the group getting to know me as well.”
The players who have worked with Baumgartner think highly of him.
“He works hard on dealing with players,” Green added. “He’s not just a coach that’s on his computer all day. Communication is a big part of coaching, and much like everyone on our staff, it’s going to be important we coach our players as a team, but also as individuals because have such a young group.”
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The fans are thrilled that Alfredsson has decided to return for his first full season behind the bench and so is Green.
The most prolific player in franchise history, Alfredsson went behind the bench in December to assist interim head coach Jacques Martin after D.J. Smith was fired. He held several discussions with Green, Staios and owner Michael Andlauer before deciding to return.
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“I had a lot conversations with Alfie as far as his vision of the game and how he sees it being played because it’s important that the coaches are on the same page,” Green said. “Alfie has only coached for half-a-season and he doesn’t just see the game from coaches eye and I like that.
“He was an exceptional player who worked extremely hard and everyone thinks Hall of Fame players are naturally gifted athletes. While they are, they’re also the guys who work the hardest. Alfie is no exception. He’s a hard worker.”
Though Alfredsson told reporters close to the end of the 2023-24 season that he had caught the coaching bug during his stint as an Ottawa assistant, he was noncommittal about returning to the same role next season because he wanted to leave up to the next head coach.
Green said the day he was hired that he understood it was important to have legacy players involved with the organization. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Alfredsson has been able to pass along tips to players on an approach to have success plus Green noted he’ll also use him to help with the offensive side of the game.
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“I’ve done my homework. Everything he does, he’s going to be exceptional at it and he’s going to work at being exceptional at it,” Green said. “I have full confidence that he’s going to be a great coach for us, he’s going to carry a lot of weight when he speaks.
“He’s going to have respect from the players and he’s going to help our staff a lot.”
Sexton, 33, an Ottawa native, joined Smith’s staff last season after spending three seasons with the club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville. He was on the bench when Smith was fired, but will return to being an eye-in-the-sky.
Green has only gotten to know Sexton since he was hired but has been impressed.
“When I came to Ottawa I got to spend a lot of time with him and I heard a lot of great things about him,” Green said. “He’s very well prepared, he’s a good young coach but I was more impressed with him than the things I had heard.
“I can see why people spoke highly about him. He’s got a presence to him, he works hard and he’s got a really bright future in coaching.”
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Peters, who was hired by the Senators to be the goalie coach in Belleville in 2021, was promoted to the Ottawa job in January.
He has his work cut out for him because the club’s goaltending was a disaster last season with Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg not playing up to expectations. They were amongst the worst goalies in the NHL last season.
“I don’t proclaim to be a goalie coach. I like the goalies that stop the puck a lot and the ones that don’t stop it as much, those aren’t the goalies you love the most,” Green said tongue-in-cheek.
“All joking aside, when it came to Justin, I relied on the people who watched him work, we had several conversations where he walked me through what he believed in, as far as being a goalie coach. He’s a bright guy, he’s demanding, which is really important, when you’re coaching two guys who need to play 60 minutes of focused hockey.
“The more I got to talk to him the more I realized it was capable of doing this job.”
Don’t discount the importance of the video coach, especially with review and challenges.
King is well-respected in league circles and just finished a stint as video coach for Team USA at the IIHF world championship held in Prague. He will head into his sixth season in his role with Ottawa.
“The more I talk to Mike, and the people around him, it’s apparent that he’s exceptional at his job,” Green said. “He’s been prepared and diligent in anything I’ve looked to watch so far. He’s a really good video coach.”
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