Senators hire two ex-Canucks coaches to work under Travis Green
The Ottawa Senators, led by the recently hired Travis Green, are building a coaching group littered with former Vancouver Canucks staff members.
The Eastern Conference team announced today they’ve hired Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner as assistant coaches, both of whom have former experience working with the Canucks.
Bench bosses secured âś…
The #Sens have announced that Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner will join Daniel Alfredsson and Ben Sexton as Assistant Coaches on Travis Green's staff. pic.twitter.com/m7KKayjgy2
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) June 4, 2024
The Senators hired Green, who was the Canucks head coach from 2017 until 2021, as their new bench boss this summer. It’s his second NHL head coaching job and he’ll look to replicate some of the success he had in his first stint, including an exciting playoff run during the 2020 NHL Playoffs.
Baumgartner was an assistant coach to Green during those four years. The two also worked together with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, before making their way to the big leagues. The former NHL player most recently led the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for the past two seasons.
Yeo, who was in charge of the Canucks’ much-improved penalty kill last season, left the team in a surprising move just recently in May. The 50-year-old has a host of coaching experience, including leading three NHL teams at various points.
The two new assistants join NHL legend Daniel Alfredsson and Ben Sexton on the team’s staff.
The Senators finished last season second-last in the Atlantic Division with just 78 points in 82 games. With players like Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle, and Claude Giroux on the roster, the finish was disappointing.
The good news for Green and his staff made up of former Canucks hires is that there are plenty of young talented players under contract to turn the ship around.
The Senators’ new coaching staff will hope to orchestrate a year-over-year improvement similar to the one that Rick Tocchet led in Vancouver this season, which earned him the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.
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