I agree. There have been voices calling for Hartsburg’s dismissal but the fact is he has improved the team in a significant way, that being defensively.

This without consistent production from the players being paid to score goals. I would even venture the opinion that Hartsburg has done a remarkable job in doing what he has, with club that is very short on depth.

In fact, I would venture to say both Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette are better all-around players under Hartsburg. In another environment like Chicago, a team mentioned in trade talk, Fisher and Vermette would probably thrive. Why IMHO? Because those teams have a balance Ottawa doesn’t, so a Fisher and a Vermette can fill a distinct role suited to their skills in a well defined team.

If you look at Chicago, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia, who have all rebounded from non-playoff years, they all have scoring spread over a number of players. Hartsburg doesn’t have that quality of personnel.

In this case the General Manager becomes the focus of the speculation.

Would Eugene Melnyk make a pitch to Pat Quinn to come in as GM, reprising his former role with Toronto? 

An interesting scenario of two WJC winners running the Senators, might be percolating in the mind of Mr. Melnyk.

Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 01/06/09 at 10:07 AM ET

Good call on Melnyk not wanting to look trigger happy. Ottawa has to manage to attract FAs and quality staff, which means they need some stability (even at the cost of short-term success) and an image of commitment to improve. Ottawa needs to shake it’s underachieving image and work hard, regardles of their talent (whether real or perceived).

As for Karlsson, he can’t join us soon enough. He’s very small, but has some great assets as a player. He made a few mistakes at the blue line, but his long stretch passes to the tape of his on-rushing forwards or merely skating past 2 or 3 fore checkers through the neutral zone is something desperately needed in Ottawa. Also I’m sure his aim will improve! Now if we happen to end up with Hedman (who showed he has some emotion last night) after this season, we’ve got a great pair of blue-liners.

Posted by His Dudeness on 01/06/09 at 10:39 AM ET

Your Dudeness, an excellent observation on your part about Melnyk.

The spotlight is on him now, especially considering his recent comments about The Senators being a ‘Top Four’ Eastern team.

If fans and season ticket holders begin to feel that Mr Melnyk has ‘lost the plot’, they might not be so ready to renew the tickets or otherwise continue to support the Senators.

Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 01/06/09 at 12:04 PM ET

Wanting to attract quality players and personnel is a very strong reason why nothing dramatic - or foolish - has happened yet on those fronts.

Ottawa won’t likely see any dramatic attendance drop, but they are ‘blessed’ to have fluctuations that can send messages to management. Unlike Toronto, where average attendance has fluctuated by less than 200 over the past three seasons, Ottawa has seen a jump of about 500 after going to the Final, and then a drop of about 1,000 after last season’s disappointing end. That, along with merchandise sales, made easier by the Sens stores, can serve as a small barometer for fan support, as do the letters in the paper, call-ins on the radio, and posts/comments on blogs.

Melnyk is a great social man, which is the easiest explanation for his apparent closeness to the Canadian WJ staff, made obvious when he invites fans to Bert’s Bar in the Caribbean to watch games, and any time I’ve been in his presence. What wouldn’t surprise me too much, though, would be if he starts further molding Ottawa after the Detroit-esque ‘brain trust’ concept. After the Olympics, hometown hero and Detroit management product Stevie Y will be far less busy, and maybe ready to take on a more active role in his hometown.

Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 01/06/09 at 12:16 PM ET

Talk about management change in Ottawa is circulating. Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson’s name has been added to the mix as a GM candidate, presumably as a tandem with Pat Quinn as coach.

According to former NHL coach Pat Burns (interviewed today on CKAC Corus Sports radio), Pat Quinn has told him he’s not interested in a GM’s job anymore, but would seriously consider a coaching offer with the right team.

If the ‘brain trust’ model SENShobo suggests is in play for Eugene Melnyk, he could ‘re-arrange’ his executive team, bringing in, for example, Nicholson and Quinn.

Titles like ‘Director of Hockey Operations’ and ‘Director of Player Development’ are useful in this case.

Theoretically, if Nicholson came aboard, Bryan Murray could be asked to ‘move laterally’ while Craig Hartsburg could be retained as ‘associate coach’ while Pat Quinn could become a ‘Special Consultant’ or even ‘Head Coach’. 

A precedent was set in Chicago with Scotty Bowman (who was a key element in Detroit’s brain trust) land Joel Quenneville brought in.

This led to speculation that GM Dale Tallon was on a short leash, and that Denis Savard’s performance was also being monitored. As the season has gone on, Tallon’s position has apparently been strengthened.

The word on Savard was that he was asked to change the way he was coaching and follow Bowman’s advice. When he didn’t, he was removed from the coaching post and given a job as ‘Special Ambassador’. 

This way of making changes without firings ensures that contracts don’t have to be paid off, and provides better optics to those outside looking in.

Mr Melnyk is a shrewd businessman and he is probably considering all his options very carefully.

Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 01/06/09 at 03:34 PM ET