Senators fire longtime AHL head coach Troy Mann

The Ottawa Senators have fired Troy Mann as head coach of the Belleville Senators, their AHL affiliate.
The team announced the surprise move in a news release issued late Thursday night.
"While a change at the head coach position during the season is not an ideal scenario, we felt it was necessary to deliver improved team performance," Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a news release.
Mann had been Belleville's head coach since 2018 and is credited with helping the franchise's young players develop. Some of those players, such as Drake Batherson and Josh Norris, are now NHL stars.
The timing of the move—late at night after a 5-3 win over the Rochester Americans and just before the team embarks on its all-star break—raised some eyebrows.
The Belleville Senators are in sixth place in the AHL’s North division with a record of 17-22-3-1. Assistant coach David Bell will take over as Belleville's interim coach for the rest of the season.
“A change like this is a difficult decision, but we are aligned internally and feel this is necessary for the short and long-term growth of the players in our organization as well as the cohesion in systematic play between Ottawa and Belleville,” Belleville Senators general manager Ryan Bowness said in the news release.
"I want to thank Troy and his family for their contributions to the Belleville community.”
Mann's brother Trent Mann is an assistant general manager with the Ottawa Senators.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Donald Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

BREAKING | Ottawa gives final approval for Rogers $26B purchase of Shaw
Rogers Communications Inc's $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday, more than two years after the deal was first announced.
Police find 6 bodies, including 1 child, in St. Lawrence River
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
BREAKING | Oscar Pistorius denied early release from 13-year prison sentence: parole board
The parents of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman Oscar Pistorius shot dead 10 years ago, still believe he is lying about their daughter's killing and opposed the former Olympic runner's application for parole, their lawyer said Friday.
House abandoned by couple who 'disappeared' years ago nightmare for neighbour on upscale street
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole not seeking re-election, leaving this spring
Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole says he will not seek re-election and plans to resign his seat this spring. The Ontario MP led the Conservatives and served as official Opposition leader from August 2020 until February 2022, when a majority of his caucus voted to remove him from the post.
Trump's indictment in New York: Here's what to know
The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Donald Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.
Lack of data on transit violence amounts to 'blanket of ignorance': Researcher
Canada needs standardized data on violence on transit systems to help tackle issues ranging from a lack of mental health supports to eroding public trust, say researchers, citing the recent stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto station as the latest example of random attacks on commuters.
'Nova Scotians' sense of safety was rocked': RCMP failures dominate inquiry's final report into 2020 mass shooting
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.