A familiar coaching name is suddenly impossible for Senators fans to ignore
The timing is almost too convenient to ignore.
Patrick Roy was let go by the New York Islanders in early April, replaced by Peter DeBoer on April 5. The Islanders finished 43-34-5, missed the playoffs entirely, and that was the end of Roy's run on Long Island.
Three weeks later, the Ottawa Senators just got swept in four games and their fanbase is already saying the same name out loud.
It is purely hypothetical at this point. Travis Green has not been fired. Nobody from the Ottawa organization has made any public move.
But the conversation around Roy and Ottawa is not new. His name has been connected to the Senators before, and a first-round sweep has a way of making those conversations feel a lot more urgent.
The numbers from this series are not easy to explain away.
Tim Stutzle, the supposed engine of this team at $8.35 million per season, went held scoreless through three games before tonight and finished minus-2 across the series.
Brady Tkachuk played four games as captain and produced nothing. Zero points. Minus-3.
Thomas Chabot, the number-one defenseman on an $8 million deal, went minus-5.
Shane Pinto finished minus-3 with no points. Three of Ottawa's top-paid players vanished when the lights were brightest.
Roy's reputation as a demanding presence is exactly what this Senators locker room might need
Linus Ullmark saved .931 across his playoff starts and gave this team a chance to win every single night.
The goalie was fine. The problem was everywhere else.
That is where Roy becomes an interesting name to drop seriously. His reputation as a demanding, confrontational presence behind the bench is not a rumor. It is documented history. He coached the Colorado Avalanche from 2013 to 2016 and won the Jack Adams Award in his very first season. His players did not coast. They knew what was expected, and they delivered or they heard about it.
Is that what Ottawa needs right now? Maybe. A team with this much talent going held scoreless collectively in a playoff series is not a systems problem. It is a mentality problem.
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Green was hired by GM Steve Staios in May 2024. This was his first full season behind the Ottawa bench. A 44-27-11 regular season is not a disaster. Finishing ninth overall with 99 points showed real progress.
But a sweep at home, with two franchise players disappearing completely, is a harder thing to defend.
Roy is 60 years old and has been away from NHL head coaching since he resigned from Colorado nearly a decade ago. There are real questions about whether he wants to coach again, whether Ottawa fits his situation, and whether Staios even wants to make that kind of high-profile, high-personality hire.
None of those questions have answers today.
What does have an answer is the playoff result. Five goals in four games. A captain who went minus-3. A number-one center who produced nothing.
Roy or not, something about this team needs to change. And right now, he is sitting at home with no job and a track record that Ottawa fans find hard to stop thinking about.
Staios has a long summer ahead of him. This one will not be quiet.
| POLL | ||
1 HOUR AGO | 38 ANSWERS A familiar coaching name is suddenly impossible for Senators fans to ignore Should Steve Staios pursue Patrick Roy as Ottawa's next head coach? | ||
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APRIL 25, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Sebastian Aho | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Drake Batherson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sidney Crosby | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brock Faber | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rickard Rakell | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mikko Rantanen | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Carter Yakemchuk | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Denver Barkey | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Matthew Boldy | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Cozens | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Connor Dewar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Miro Heiskanen | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Travis Konecny | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kristopher Letang | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Robertson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||