Major changes coming to the Sens Bench and Player Development
Written by: Tyler Beauchesne
Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images
Brace yourselves everyone, we are about to witness another major overhaul in the Ottawa Senators organization, specifically on their bench. On Thursday, the Ottawa Senators official Twitter page announced that assistant coach Mike Yeo has been hired on the bench.
Yeo was a former assistant coach who started with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2005 to 2010. He began as a head coach with the AHL team Houston Aeros before going to the Minnesota Wild in 2011. He stayed with the Wild and helped them make the playoffs until 2016 when he went to the St. Louis Blues. He was with the Blues until the 2018-19 season. He was an interim head coach for the Flyers until 2022 when he joined the Canucks as an assistant coach and was fired this offseason. He has a coaching record of 263-217-62 so I have a lot of confidence in this hire.
I think Yeo is a great upgrade on the bench from Jack Capuano as he has a lot of cup and playoff experience to bring to the team. This is yet another best in class hiring as the Sens continue to make it clear that they want playoffs. This is a young team that needs to learn how to win and with the right staff, it can be possible.
Don’t worry about Capuano though, he has other opportunities ahead of him. As Michael Russo reported, the Minnesota Wild is in the market for an assistant coach, and Capuano is likely one top contender. All I will say to the Wild is…good luck. We thank Capuano for his time here in Ottawa, the standard he brought to the rebuild was solid but it is a standard we can no longer deem as acceptable.
Yeo is not the only important hire that was announced as Daniel Alfredsson is staying on the bench and Nolan Baumgartner will be joining as an assistant coach as well. Alfie has finally returned to the place he belongs and he will be staying. I believe his role will be to take care of the special teams and improve the abysmal power play the Sens had last season. The power play was at 18 per cent on the season, making it 23rd in the league. They also had their Power Play Goals For/60 at a 6.43, which was tied for 25th in the league (Thank you SENS TALK Statistician Trent Raynard for double-checking that for me). Hopefully, we can get back to the top five numbers we had with our special teams in 2022.
Baumgartner was a alright hire to take care of our defense which desperately needed restructuring. Both Yeo and Baumgartner have been a part of the Travis Green coaching tree so that connection helps a lot. However, the defense in Vancouver was struggling under Baumgartner’s tenure. With Yeo’s help, I believe that he might have a chance to do a solid job in Ottawa.
With the coaches coming in, Brent Wallace of the Coming in Hot Senators Podcast has confirmed many hiring and firing rumours in the front office itself. He said that he has heard that Wade Redden, Shean Donovan, and Jesse Winchester are stepping down from player development. Our very own Brandon Plant had this rumour confirmed that Winchester told Wallace personally about this news, good work Brandon!
It’s a shame to see Redden go as with all the defensive prospects we had in our pool. Redden having that veteran experience on their blueline helped their development. With all three stepping down, Steve Staios has a big task on his hands filling their roles. The picks we have this summer are going to be very crucial in turning the ship around for the franchise. With that being said, I wish all three the best of luck in whatever they decide to do and go wherever they go. Their contributions to the team were greatly appreciated.
Welcome to Ottawa, Yeo and Baumgartner! We welcome you with open arms and trust that you can do great things with this team. As long as the power play gets fixed and you do not break up Sanderson-Zub, we will be on good terms!
