Guy Boucher Named Head Coach of Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators were in the hunt for a new head coach after firing Dave Cameron on April 12, and on Sunday, the team announced it had agreed on a three-year deal with former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher.

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk commented on the decision to hire Boucher in the team release:

"

Over the past three weeks, Pierre Dorion and our hockey operations staff have undertaken a thorough and comprehensive search for our next head coach. Following a detailed evaluation of all coaching candidates, there was overwhelming consensus that Guy was our top candidate. We wanted a great coach and this process yielded our top pick. I couldn’t be happier. On behalf of the entire Senators organization, the great city of Ottawa and our fans, I want to welcome Guy, his wife Marsha and their three children, Vincent, Mila and Naomi.

"

The Senators have undergone a shake-up since finishing the regular season eight points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. General manager Bryan Murray stepped down and was replaced by assistant GM Pierre Dorion, who fired Cameron just two days later.

Ottawa has missed the postseason in two of the past three years. The one time it did qualify during that stretch, the 2014-15 campaign, it got eliminated in the first round.

Per Chris Stevenson of NHL.com, Dorion made it clear that expectations are much higher: "For us not making the playoffs was simply unacceptable. I wasn't hired here to bring the team to the playoffs, but to succeed in the playoffs."

Clearly, the Senators believe Boucher is the man to reach that level of success, as he steered the Lightning to an Eastern Conference Final appearance in the 2010-11 season.