Ottawa Senators Fire Head Coach John Paddock
Posted February 27, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
John Paddock is out as head coach of the Ottawa Senators and Bryan Murray is back in.
The struggling NHL team fired Paddock and assistant coach Ron Low on Wednesday, one day after Ottawa’s second straight shutout loss.
Murray, who led the Senators to the Eastern Conference title last year, will continue to perform his duties as general manager. His first game as head coach this season will come Thursday night in Philadelphia.
Paddock was in his sixth season with the Senators organization and posted a 36-22-6 record in his lone season as head coach. The Senators won 15 of their first 17 games and were first in the Eastern Conference until last weekend, when they were passed by New Jersey.
Things got especially bad on Monday when the Senators were beaten 5-0 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a game Paddock called a “total embarrassment.” Ottawa followed that up a night later with a 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Assistant coach Greg Carvel, goaltending coach Eli Wilson, conditioning and player development coach Randy Lee and video coach Tim Pattyson remained on staff.
Paddock, 53, joined the Senators in 2002 as head coach of the club’s AHL affiliate in Binghamton.
Low, 57, was in his fourth season with the Senators organization and first as assistant coach, having served his first three years as goaltending coach and pro scout.
Murray, 65, has coached more than 1,300 games in the regular season and playoffs. He has a regular-season coaching record of 100-46-18 with Ottawa.
Murray began his NHL coaching career with the Washington Capitals on Nov. 11, 1981. He remained at the helm of the Capitals for over eight seasons and won the Jack Adams Award in 1984 as the NHL’s coach of the year.
Murray promoted Paddock to the head coaching job last July, filling the vacancy created when Murray took over as GM after John Muckler was fired. Paddock had served as Murray’s assistant for two seasons before getting the promotion, which came 12 years after his last NHL head coaching job with the Winnipeg Jets.
Paddock spent less than four years as coach of the Jets. He has also been an assistant GM with the Flyers and director of pro scouting with the New York Rangers.
Photo Credit: Phillip MacCallum, Getty Images Sport
