Sens' Green says he's a 'much better coach today' than when he was with Canucks

With NHL training camps just around the corner, new Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green spoke to the media on Thursday as he prepares for his first season behind the bench in the nation's capital. 

Despite having expectations to compete for a playoff spot, the Sens struggled once again in 2023-24, finishing with just 37 wins and 78 points for seventh in the Atlantic Division. The Senators haven't qualified for the postseason since 2017 when they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. 

With the team struggling, long-time general manager Pierre Dorion was fired and replaced by Steve Staios in early November of last season. Six weeks later head coach D.J. Smith was let go and replaced by Jacques Martin for the rest of the season on an interim basis. 

In May, Green, who coached the last 21 games for the New Jersey Devils to close the season following the firing of Lindy Ruff, was named the 14th head coach in Senators' franchise history. 

This will be Green's second official head coaching stint after the 53-year-old native of Creston, B.C. coached the Vancouver Canucks for just over four seasons from 2017 to 2021. Green led the Canucks to one playoff appearance during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season before he was fired 25 games into the 2021-22 campaign.

Green joined New Jersey's coaching staff ahead of last season.

"As you go along you become more comfortable in what you do," Green told the media. "I strongly believe I'm a much better coach today than I was six years ago when I first started in Vancouver. I think that comes with anything in life. Whatever job you're doing, you get better as you do it more if you're open to learning and growing and having a growth mindset."

Now tasked with getting the Senators back into contention, Green says all players on his team have areas they can improve in, highlighting the importance of young players taking the next step in their career. 

"The willingness to be honest and how they need to improve, where they need to improve," explained Green. "Each player is different. They all have different areas where they need to improve. That's going to be a big part of our team getting better...is our young players becoming better hockey players with age. Having more consistency in their game."

Update on Josh Norris 

One of those young players is 25-year-old centre Josh Norris. 

Norris scored 16 goals and 14 assists over 50 games last season after appearing in just eight contests the year prior due to a shoulder injury. 

The American, who was selected by the San Jose Sharks 19th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft before being traded to Ottawa as part of the Erik Karlsson blockbuster, suffered more shoulder injury problems last season and underwent surgery in late February. 

Green insists that Norris is doing well and should be ready for training camp in a few weeks. 

"He's doing great. His summer conditioning, summer strengthening is going along as expected and he's in a great frame of mind right now whenever I've talked to him," Green said. "Expectations are that he'll be ready for camp." 

Norris has scored 70 goals and 53 assists over 183 career games with the Senators. 

Green excited to coach Linus Ullmark

The most notable addition for the Senators this summer was acquiring goalie Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Mark Kastelic, goalie Joonas Korpisalo, and a 2024 first-round pick

The 31-year-old Ullmark was one of the better goalies in the NHL last season as he shared the net with Jeremy Swayman.

Ullmark posted a 22-10-7 record with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage over 40 games. 

"Coaches like good goalies that stop a lot of pucks and he's done that," remarked Green.

Ullmark has a career 2.51 GAA in 247 career appearances with the Buffalo Sabres and Bruins. 

Green is excited about the stability Ullmark is expected to bring to Ottawa. 

"When I spoke to him I was impressed with his maturity level as a person, but also as a player with what he's learned over the years. I think he's going to bring a lot of valuable experience," Green said. 

The Swede is entering the final season of a four-year, $20 million contract and will be free agent at the end of the season. 

Ottawa opens their preseason schedule on Sept. 22 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.