The Ottawa Senators have fired yet another head coach in hopes of helping the struggling team turn around after a series of losses.
Craig Hartsburg was fired Sunday night, just 48 games into his first season behind the team's bench. Cory Clouston, who was promoted from the team's farm club, the Binghamton Senators, is replacing Hartsburg on an interim basis.
Clouston, 39, said he got the call Sunday night while watching the Super Bowl.
The coaching shakeup comes after the Sens lost 7-4 to the Washington Capitals on Sunday, the latest in a series of dismal performances.
"We kept hoping there would be some change in our performance, which didn't seem to be taking place," general manager Bryan Murray said during a news conference Monday morning.
Although Hartsburg did not attend the news conference, Murray said the coach understood the nature of the position and knew he wasn't being paid to lose.
Clouston, who coached his first Sens practice Monday afternoon, will be the fourth head coach to lead the team since they appeared in the Stanley Cup final in 2007.
"When I spoke to the guys, I said: 'we're all in this together,'" Clouston told reporters on Monday.
"When you look at the big picture, I'm very confident in myself and the biggest thing is, I believe in the guys in the dressing room."
Ottawa currently sits 13th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 17-24-7 record. They are 14 points out of eighth spot and appear destined to miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
The coaching change comes less than a week after owner Eugene Melnyk held a news conference to say that he still believed in the team.
Rumours of a potential move first surfaced in December while the world junior championship was being held in Ottawa. Reports suggested that Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson might replace Bryan Murray as GM while Canadian coach Pat Quinn would relieve Hartsburg.
Melnyk responded by issuing a statement that said he had "made no decisions with respect to personnel changes," which was hardly a vote of confidence.
Only two seasons ago, the Senators were among the elite of the Eastern Conference, piling up 105 points and reaching the Stanley Cup final for the first time. They were beaten in five games by Anaheim.
The momentum carried into the following season, when the Sens won 15 of their opening 17 games. Since then, they have a losing record and barely managed to hang on for a playoff spot last spring.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Terry Marcotte and files from The Canadian Press
