Paul MacLean was back in one of his old haunts.
Instead of being behind the bench, the former coach of the Ottawa Senators was behind the TSN sports desk at the Canadian Tire Centre with host Claire Hanna and former National Hockey League player Frank Corrado, analyzing the club’s efforts against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
The 67-year-old MacLean, who spent nearly full seasons behind the bench from 2011 until he was fired 27 games into the 2014-15 season, was thrilled to be back in a place where he had many fond memories from his years with the organization.
“It’s actually exciting. I haven’t been back here since I left, and that’s my own choice,” MacLean said following the club’s morning skate. “I enjoyed my time here. Being the coach of the Ottawa Senators — next to winning a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings — was one of the highlights of my career.
“It’s something I really take a lot of pride in what we accomplished. I was disappointed in what we didn’t accomplish, but I knew I wouldn’t be living here full-time when I was done. When we left, it was with a heavy heart.”
MacLean, who suited up for 719 games in his NHL career with the St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings, retired five years ago after working as a coaching consultant with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has returned to his home in Antigonish, N.S., with his wife, Sharon.
He posted a 114-90-35 record in 239 games with Ottawa and won the Jack Adams as the NHL’s coach of the year during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, when the Senators finished with 25-17-6 record in 48 games.
But what made that spring most memorable was the club’s first-round playoff series victory over the Montreal Canadiens. It was the second straight year that MacLean led the Senators to the playoffs.
It was the first time in franchise history that the Senators had faced the Habs in the post-season and the off-ice barbs between the two teams were as fun as the club’s victory in five games.
MacLean was reminded that a hit by Senators defenceman Eric Gryba on Lars Eller — who is now a fourth-line centre in Ottawa — in the club’s 4-2 victory in Game 1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal set off what turned out to be an ugly, nasty series against Michel Therrien and the Habs.
Montreal fans were incensed that Eller was left unconscious and bleeding on the ice. Gryba was suspended for two games, but MacLean, who didn’t mind stirring the pot and was also gracious with the media, set off a firestorm when he blamed the hit on Eller on his teammate Raphael Diaz for a bad pass without using his name.
“The player I would really be mad at is Player 61 (Diaz),” he said. “That’s a dangerous place to be.”
Therien said MacLean showed a lack of respect to Eller, but it was Montreal’s Brandon Prust who stole the headlines.
“I don’t care what that bug-eyed, fat walrus has to say,” Prust said of MacLean.
Those were the days on a roster that featured captain Daniel Alfredsson, Kyle Turris, Erik Karlsson, Chris Neil, Mark Stone, Chris Phillips, Sergei Gonchar, Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mika Zibanejad and Craig Anderson.
“That series was what the Stanley Cup playoffs are all about,” MacLean said. “You’ve got two teams that are battling hard, and the coaches are part of it. You’ve got to protect your players and you’ve got to step up for them to make sure or allow them not to be taken advantage of on or off the ice.
“I have great pride that we actually beat the Montreal Canadiens in a playoff series. That was a highlight. It was a clean hit. It was a Scott Stevens special. I take a lot of pride in that series, not for my antics in it, but for the way the players played. Craig Anderson, Kyle Turris, Erik Karlsson and Alfie, everybody that played in that series really played.”
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The club lost in Round 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins that spring and the Senators missed the playoffs the next spring. The late Bryan Murray gave MacLean his walking papers on Dec. 8, 2014, with the club sitting at 11-11-5 and looking like it would miss the post-season again.
Time heals all wounds and that’s why MacLean can look back fondly, and it’s why he was so appreciative to get the chance when Sam Cicerello, a senior producer of live events at TSN, reached out in the off-season.
“I cherish every moment that I was head coach of the Ottawa Senators and I take a lot of pride in it. I appreciated all the people who helped me out — Bryan Murray and Tim Murray, Dave Cameron, Mark Reeds, Pierre Dorion and Tim Pattyson. All the people who were here to help me,” MacLean said.
“It was a wonderful time for me in my life. We really enjoyed it. We liked living here in the Ottawa Valley and everything about it was good, except for that last day. It was only bad that one day.
“But that’s hockey and that’s life.”