from Tim Baines of the Ottawa Sun,

When he was hired, the guys with big titles in the Senators organization huffed and puffed about the new guy behind the bench.

"Paul represents a big part of the change we needed to bring to our hockey club," said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. "Bryan and I agreed it was important for him to bring in someone who is a solid communicator, can easily build a strong rapport with our players and has a proven track record of winning NHL games and Stanley Cups. Paul represents all of this."

"He is a competitive person and we expect that our teams will display that same trait night-in and night-out," said Murray.

That all happened. And then it suddenly stopped. In 2012, MacLean was a runner-up as coach of the year and in 2013, the Senators, despite injuries to several key players, battled into the second round of the playoffs.

Somewhere along the way, the magic evaporated. Last season, the Senators finished 11th in the East with a record of 37-31-14. The Senators higher-ups weren't happy. They talked to MacLean and asked him to re-establish strong communication lines, things they thought had been lost along the way.

Maybe the message from MacLean was hollow, maybe some of that passion, the fire in his belly he showed in his first couple of years, was gone.

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