What to Make of Travis Green

Hard times can come on you fast. It was just a few days ago that I wrote about the surprising Senators stats to start the season. That was an article that had a mainly positive tone. Flash forward to today, after two straight losses have pushed the Senators to under .500, the mood around this team has shifted to the dark side. Through 13 games, the Sens have the exact same record as last season, at 6-7. Different coach, different year, same results. Well, the record is the same anyway. Let’s dive into what’s changed with Travis Green in charge.

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A Comparison by the Numbers

Let’s take a look at the Senators over four different time frames- their first 13 games this season with Travis Green, their 26 games under DJ Smith last season, their 56 games with Jacques Martin last season, and their time with DJ Smith the season before.

The numbers under Jacques Martin, which were bad, are pretty easy to explain. That was a sad group after DJ Smith was fired. For a lot of those guys, he was their only head coach as NHL players. Mix in the additional sadness of being out of the playoff race by mid December, and you had a tough transition period. There were also a lot of bad habits that took some time to break away from during Martin’s 56 games last season. By the end of the season, you could see a Senators team that put more pride in the details of the game. The hope was that they could progress even further this season.

Well, what stands out to me is how little things have changed. This team continues to struggle with goal prevention, they continue to struggle on the penalty kill, and they remain in the bottom half of the standings. Sure, their power play has been better this year compared to last. The coaching staff this season deserves credit there. They were a top 10 unit in 2022-23 as well, though. You simply can’t be a team that relies on a power play to win every game for you. Preventing goals has to be a bigger priority, at even strength and on the penalty kill.

The Positives

Tim Stützle is playing the best hockey of his career (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

Before I dive into what’s gone wrong, let’s look at what’s gone right. Tim Stützle’s play has been the biggest positive. He has bought into what Travis Green has asked of him. He’s playing an intense style of hockey, leading to incredible point production and an increase in physicality. Thomas Chabot’s role is what Senators fans were hoping for. He was asked to do too much under DJ Smith. With Sanderson here, the hope was that Chabot could play a little less, and take advantage of the fresher legs. The pairing of Chabot and Jensen has been fantastic lately.

The depth players have also benefited from Green’s approach. They know that they need to play the determined, physical style that he asks of all his players if they want to earn a decent amount of ice-time. There haven’t been many games where you haven’t noticed some good from the fourth line, and the third pairing defensemen. As mentioned above, the power play has looked great as well. There is more movement with the man advantage this season.

There are a few stats that would lead you to think this team has deserved a better fate at time this season. They rank fifth in shots but only 15th in shooting percentage at 10.9%. They’re even worse at 5 on 5, scoring on just 7.7% of their shots which ranks 22nd. So while there are reasons to be hopeful, there are reasons for concern as well.

Player Personnel Decisions

There have been two choices that Green has made that caught my attention for the wrong reasons. First, is his use of Travis Hamonic. Just one week ago, I wrote about needing to limit Hamonic going forward. Since then, Green kept him paired with Sanderson. Then, when Zub came back, he opted to take Bernard-Docker out on the lineup instead of Hamonic. Sure, Hamonic competes hard and he’s had a few good games. He also had his share of bad games, he negatively impacted Sanderson’s game, and he offers nothing in the offensive zone except the standard slap shot toward the net. Every. Single. Time. Hamonic as Ottawa’s sixth/seventh d-man? That’s fine. Instead, he’s played all 13 games, many in the top four.

The other problem for me has been the goalie rotation lately. Ullmark is not here to be a split goalie. He signed a big contract to be a true number one. Since his return from injury, here’s how Green has started his goalies: Ullmark, Forsberg, Ullmark, Ullmark, Forsberg, Ullmark, Forsberg. I was in favour of starting Ullmark last night. My thought process was, if Ottawa has any chance of making the playoffs, they need Ullmark to play great. Let’s not turn this into a goalie controversy, and let’s not rattle Ullmark’s confidence early. Well, Green opted for Forsberg, and the Senators fell to under .500. Not that Forsberg was the main reason for the loss, but the Senators are now in a spot where Ullmark’s not feeling great about his game, and he knows that with any lesser start, Green will quickly give the backup those extra starts. Not ideal.

New Season, Same Defensive Mistakes

My biggest gripe with this team over the last few seasons has been their defensive play in their own zone. Time after time, they lose coverage, they fail to communicate in their own zone, and they get caught puck watching. Unfortunately, these problems remain, despite the coaching change. I could point to Brady Tkachuk watching the puck, allowing Bowen Byram to work his way down low for a goal. There was also Stützle leaving the front of the net, allowing Anders Lee to stand wide open for a goal from the slot. Tyler Kleven left the front of the net to chase the play behind the net earlier this season against Montreal, allowing Heineman to score an easy one. I could go on and on.

Tkachuk is a great player to point to in regards to the defensive side of the ice. I’ve never questioned his effort- he’s always willing to be physical and sacrifice his body. It’s about the attention to detail, though. He’s one of many who loses his man, or doesn’t seem to communicate well defensively. Isn’t that when the coach needs to get on him, making sure he realizes what he’s done wrong? To this point, it seems like only the goalies get any type of pushback for their lesser play.

The likes of Tkachuk, Batherson, Norris, Stützle, and Chabot all have what it takes to be two-way players. It’s going to take the right coach to have them take as much pride on the defensive side as they do offensively. Hopefully, Green can be that coach. It’s only 13 games, so there’s still time for him to leave his mark on this team. Make no mistake about it, though. It’s time for Travis Green to step up- hold players accountable, fix the defensive issues, and lead this team to the playoffs.