OTTAWA -- The Senators have fired coach Paul MacLean after an 11-11-5 start.
MacLean is the first NHL coach to be fired this season.
Assistant coach Dave Cameron is considered the leading candidate take over on an interim basis.
Ottawa was 10th in the Eastern Conference through 27 games this season under MacLean.
The Senators made the playoffs in each of MacLean's first two seasons behind the bench before missing last year following the departure of longtime captain Daniel Alfredsson.
An overtime comeback victory Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks was not enough to save MacLean's job.
MacLean's defensive tactics allowed opponents easier entry into the defensive zone and caused the Senators to play difficult games in which they were outshot often.
This season Ottawa is being outshot 34.4 to 28.8 per game.
MacLean won the Jack Adams Tropy as NHL coach of the year in 2013 after leading a team ravaged by injuries to Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson to the playoffs.
