Ottawa Senators: The Great Coaching Gamble

On Februray 27th, Bryan Murray dropped the axe on then coach and good friend John Paddock. There had been controversy with regard to how Paddock had handled Ray Emery as well as a few bumps (a 7 game winless streak and a few of the 3 game variety) after an amazing 15-2-0 start to the season.

Given Ottawa's subsequent drop in the standings and the dire nature of their grip on a playoff spot, I decided to look at the numbers.

Since Murray took over behind the bench the Sens are 6-8-2, 14pts in 16 games with a -9 goal diff.

Similarly (and eerily) in John Paddock's last 16 games before being relieved by Murray, the team was 6-9-1, 13pts in 16 games with a -9 goal diff.

John Paddock was fired after consecutive shutouts to Toronto (5-0) and Boston (4-0). The Sens are on a current scoreless streak against Boston (4-0) and Montreal (3-0) and play their final 2 games against Toronto and Boston.

I guess the question will be, was it worth the gamble?  Or was the gamble hiring Paddock in the first place after Murray managed to take the team to the Cup finals in the 2007-08 season?

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