‘I want to win a Stanley Cup’: Sens coach Travis Green unveils plan for success
Says he’ll fast-track the struggling Senators by focusing on accountability
After seven straight playoff misses for the Ottawa Senators, new head coach Travis Green says he welcomes the pressure that comes with getting them there.
“I want to win a Stanley Cup and I’m going to push this team to get to that place,” said Green, who was officially unveiled as the new head coach on Wednesday.
Green is taking the reins from interim head coach Jacques Martin, who led the team after D.J. Smith was fired in December.
Martin, who previously coached the Senators from 1996-2004, is staying on as an adviser to help the team transition leadership.
Ottawa started searching for a new coach midway through the season and interviewed around a half dozen people, according to Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios.
“Not always do you land on what we feel is a perfect fit for our group,” Staios said. “The things that we value from Travis [are] his leadership, his passion, his experience, his ability to develop players.”
The 53-year-old from Castlegar, B.C., isn’t new to the NHL scene, having played for five teams over 15 seasons from 1992 to 2007. He served as head coach for the Vancouver Canucks for four-plus seasons from 2017 until 2021.
Under Green, the Canucks posted a 133-147-34 record and made the playoffs in 2020 season, only to be knocked out in the second round by Vegas in Game 7.
He also had an 8-12-1 record this past season as the interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils.
Despite Green’s lack of NHL playoff success, Staios said he’s confident in his abilities and that choosing a coach goes “a lot deeper than looking at win-loss records”
Green said he’d had his eye on the Senators for a while, describing them as “a very young, talented team that also has a lot of room to grow.” He faced them twice while leading the Devils.
He said he plans to fast-track them to the top by focusing on accountability and identifying the right roles within the team.
“Players want to know where they stand. They want to know what’s expected of them. And that starts with communicating and [having] open and honest discussion with players,” he said.
“If you want to have accountability you got to be able to express to your players what’s expected, and that process takes a little time. Any winning team has accountability within their group, and that doesn’t happen overnight.”
As a self-proclaimed “firm” and “detailed” coach who can be “demanding,” Green said he’s still approachable and that players will know he wants the best out of them.
“I know what it means to coach in Canada,” he said. “I know how bad the people in Ottawa want to win, and I’m going to give everything I can.”