[In-Depth] Hartsburg's Hard Times

As an avid participant on HFBoards, a recent thread was created on whether or not the Senators should fire Craig Hartsburg.  Here's my take.

To me this thread seems like a "fickle fan" thread started by someone who doesn't truly understand the state of the Senators and why they are losing games.  This is just my opinion on the matter.

To begin with, we must go all the way back to the Cup run.  Ah yes, the Cup run.  Those were good days weren't they?  Well yes and no.  The Senators go on their cup run under the guidance of Brian Murray as head coach.  He did not preach any kind of defensive responsibility and was pretty content to simply outscore the opposition and win games.  Our skill guys were playing at the top of their game and it looked like no one could touch them.  Obviously we lost that year to Anaheim, but the point here is that we did not win the cup, and the system used was a laissez fair approach of the letting the skill guys put pucks in the net.

During the offseason John paddock was hired as head coach for the Ottawa Senators as Brian Murray took the GM position (John Muckler was fired).  John Paddock had previously coached many of the players in Binghamton during the lockout, and seemed like a real "players" coach.  What he turned out to be was a bad fit for the club, letting the locker room turn to shambles whilst not showing enough discipline.  It eventually led to his firing and the move of Brian Murray back to the head coach position.  So that's now two head coaches in two years.  When Brian Murray hired Craig Hartsburg he made him the third head coach in three years for the Senators.

The team is now on coaching style number three and its in stark contrast to the previous two coaches in Ottawa.  Craig's system is a defensive 1-2-2 with neutral zone trapping, back-check pressure by the forwards and defensive accountability.  It's even more defensive than under Jacques Martin.  As with any change, there is an adjustment period that needs to take place and that's what is currently happening.  It is easier to go from a defensive style of play to an offensive one, than the inverse.  This is because the latter requires more hard work, skating and accountability.  Currently the Senators are lacking in the hard work some nights, but starting to transition over.

The other thing working against Craig is the real merry-go-round of coaches in Ottawa lately.  If the players expectations are that a coach won't stick, why would they bother buying into his system?  The longer Craig sticks around, the more the expectations will change and players will begin to either conform, or get shipped out.

All this is to say that it is extremly premature to be calling for the firing of Craig Hartsburg.  The Senators are currently lacking players in certain positions (2 top 6 forwards, 2 top 2 defence) and that is not Craig's fault.  It is also not Craig's fault that the players are taking time to buy into a new system, especially when their expectations are that he probably won't last.  The worst thing the Senators can do right now would be to fire Craig and start the merry-go-round again in Ottawa.  If Craig was the right coach for the team in August, he's the right coach for the team in March.  I also don't buy this business that the team can't become a defensive team.  It just takes hard work and attention to detail.  If the players aren't willing to work hard, they will never get the proper results.