How Senators head coach Travis Green helped get Ottawa back on track

Travis Green had heard enough.

It was late November, and the Ottawa Senators were on a five-game losing streak.

Pressure was already mounting significantly on the Senators, who hadnt made the playoffs since 2017.

Despite playing well in games, they struggled to close out opponents.

As the Sens kept losing, the teams confidence plummeted, and an underachieving November had fans and players feeling deja vu.

Advertisement We had to talk to our team about that.

We cannot think about whats happened here in the past, Green told The Athletic .

I dont give a f, pardon my language.

But I dont care whats happened in the past.

Because this happened before, it doesnt have to happen tomorrow.

On top of that, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk faced public criticism for his leadership style.

When Green stepped up to the podium at the Canadian Tire Centres media lounge that day, he decided to give his leader a public vote of confidence.

Whether you were playing peewee hockey, junior hockey, the American League.

Any league, any world, youd want a player like this on your hockey team, Green said.

I dont think its fair.

Is he perfect? No.

There are not many perfect players in the world, if any.

But sometimes when you have something for a little while, you kind of forget what you have.

And I think the Ottawa Senators are lucky to have this guy.

Later that night, Tkachuk scored in a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames , which ended the losing skid.

The Senators are 10-3-1 since, including a season-high six-game winning streak thats their longest since 2017.

I dont know if Ive opened up that way about a player before, Green said.

In his second NHL head coaching stint, Green says he feels comfortable in his own skin.

It took some years in Vancouver and a brief time in New Jersey with Lindy Ruff, but he now feels settled in all areas of coaching.

Ottawa entered the Christmas break in a wild-card spot.

Yes, the Senators have benefitted from Linus Ullmark s improved goaltending performances.

But theyve also settled into the identity and style imposed by Green.

Hes been great, Senators forward Josh Norris said.

I think he manages the team really well, manages his emotions really well.

I think hes just in complete control of the bench during a game whether its going good or its not going good.

Hes very process-driven and thats something we focus on.

I think hes been awesome.

Advertisement I think hes very honest with every player, Senators forward Drake Batherson said.

In video, every guy is on a certain clip and hes not afraid to correct anyone on this team which is the way it should be.

Hes probably one of the quieter coaches Ive had.

But when theres a detail that needs to be fixed, hes not scared to tell you.

As a player, thats what you want to hear.

Friend and coaching colleague Rick Tocchet had dinner with Green in late November when the Senators losing skid was at four games.

Tocchet has Greens old job in Vancouver now.

Despite the early season struggles, Tocchet told Green he believed his team would sort things out.

Its his philosophy.

Its the way he coaches.

Hes a really good coach, Tocchet said.

I think that hes got a good young team that is craving some direction and hes the type of guy that can give them that direction.

Seven years after his NHL coaching journey began in Vancouver, Green feels hes improved a lot.

His defensive zone coverages, breakouts and neutral zone play look different, but his overall philosophy hasnt changed.

Green still believes in playing a fast, aggressive, ultra-competitive game while maintaining a commitment to defense.

At Christmas, the Senators were tied for the 12th-best goals-against per game (2.85).

Last season, Ottawa tied with two other teams for the fifth-worst goals-against rate in the NHL (3.43).

Green says hes adjusted that level of aggression, acknowledging that it might have cost the Canucks games when he coached them, but he wont stray too far from it.

I just think thats the foundation for winning, Green said.

Green played 14 seasons in the NHL, reaching nearly 1,000 career games.

He was steered toward coaching near the end of his playing days when Paul Maurice told Green he could be a coach during exit meetings after the 2006-07 Toronto Maple Leafs season.

Maurice didnt say that to just anyone; he had only told two other NHLers the same: Ray Whitney and future Jack Adams Award winner Rod BrindAmour.

Advertisement I took it to heart because Id already been thinking about what I wanted to do, Green said.

First, he worked for the WHLs Portland Winterhawks, ultimately serving as interim head coach in 2012-13.

The Winterhawks won the WHL championship that year and made it to the Memorial Cup Final against the Halifax Mooseheads.

In July 2013, Green joined the Utica Comets as head coach the Canucks minor-league affiliate and led them to the Calder Cup Final in 2015 with a young Jacob Markstrom in goal.

GO DEEPER Travis Green on Canucks regrets, Rick Tocchet and being ready for what's next He eventually replaced Willie Desjardins as Vancouver head coach ahead of the 2017-18 season.

As the team slowly transitioned out of the Sedin twin era, he coached Brock Boeser , Bo Horvat , Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes .

Pettersson won the Calder Trophy during Greens second season.

Had a ton of respect for (Green), Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers said.

Thought he was a really good coach, really good with Xs and Os.

We got along well, held his guys accountable, which I respected.

Despite his guiding hand for young players, the Canucks only made the playoffs once in his four seasons with the team during the 2019-20 pandemic-affected campaign.

Green previously told The Athletic s Thomas Drance that he should have been more patient and found ways to get his players away from the game more that year.

During the 2020-21 season when Green was fired after 25 games, he also told Drance that his player deployment on the penalty kill couldve been different and that his teams goal scoring struggles were an issue.

I havent really shared them publicly and I dont know if I ever will, but I have some regrets, Green said.

Thats part of life is learning from regrets or mistakes youve made and moving on.

I do believe that people become a lot better at what they do over time, the more you do it, especially in a job like coaching.

He was brought on as an assistant coach in New Jersey for the 2023-24 season but finished the year as the Devils interim coach when Ruff was fired in March.

Advertisement In the offseason, the Senators needed a coach and Green was available.

According to Senators GM Steve Staios, Green was one of four finalists for the head coaching gig before his profile was circled as the one.

What I really liked about Travis was a lot of things, Staios said.

But his ability to communicate with the players and to push these players, to hold them accountable, but also be able to communicate with them.

As I dug into it a little bit deeper, his situation in Vancouver with that group and that age.

Where they were getting to, and then now watching them get it to another level, he was just sort of on the cusp of that.

I think theres a lot of experiences he can take away from his first go-round in Vancouver that would put us in a good situation.

Green spent the summer connecting with his new players.

He had already connected with Tkachuk a handful of times once the Senators reached the NHL Draft floor in Vegas.

Green traveled to Germany to meet with Tim Stutzle and encouraged him to be a 200-foot player.

Green called Batherson while he was shopping at Wal-Mart for a new barbecue.

After Batherson found patio furniture to sit on, he listened as Green motivated him to be stronger on pucks and to use his frame more in board battles.

GO DEEPER Travis Green opens up about vision for Senators, building relationships with players Theyre very coachable, and Ive enjoyed that a lot, Green said.

Every player is a little different.

How they take coaching.

How they take criticism.

Are they willing to apply it? And to a man, this group has really been open to improving, and theyre hungry to learn.

They dont think they all have it figured out.

They believe they need some guidance.

Theyll listen to anyone on our staff.

Theyre a good group to coach.

While Greens tactics have produced recent success, there remains room for improvement.

The Senators still have a penalty kill that ranks among the leagues worst.

Ottawa could still do better with getting high-danger chances.

And some fans have made their voices heard over the handling of young defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker .

The 24-year-old is playing more in the absence of injured teammate Artem Zub .

But when the defence corps is healthy, Green has opted to favor veteran Travis Hamonic .

Green maintains that he doesnt prefer one player over the other.

But while Green has liked Bernard-Docker playing alongside fellow youngster Tyler Kleven , Green pointed to Hamonics veteran leadership as a reason why hes seen more ice time.

You know what we have in (Hamonic), Green said.

(Hamonic) also brings a lot of other qualities that people would never understand or see unless theyre in our locker room.

For example, the other night when Kleven had the big hit on ( Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel) Acciari.

(Hamonic) gave him some advice on the bench.

But you cant put a price tag on it.

Im not sitting here saying that one player is way better than the other.

Weve got confidence and belief in all our players, but someones going to play in that spot.

And right now, its (Hamonic).

Advertisement As the Christmas break concludes, the Senators will play five more road games while the World Juniors take place in Ottawa.

They will be without Ullmark for the foreseeable future as he nurses his injured back .

But as a result of their November skid, the Senators will still have to make up as many points as possible.

Theyve done that with an 8-2-1 December record.

The Senators confidence remains high, and Green deserves credit for that.

For the timing of our group, I think Travis is certainly proving to be the right fit, Staios said.

(Top photo of Travis Green: Andre Ringuette / NHLI via Getty Images).

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