Ottawa Senators fans have watched a quiet transformation unfold at the Canadian Tire Centre over the past two seasons, and the architect of that change is a coach who doesn't seek the spotlight — he just wins.
Travis Green, in his second year behind the Senators bench, has guided Ottawa through a bruising, injury-riddled campaign to secure back-to-back Stanley Cup playoff appearances for the first time in nearly a decade. His three words — 'We're going to make it' — became something of a rallying cry during the darker stretches of the season, and the team believed him.
Navigating Adversity
The 2025–26 season was never supposed to be easy. Key forwards missed significant time, the power play sputtered through long stretches, and a brutal stretch in February saw Ottawa drop six of eight games. Plenty of coaches would have tinkered endlessly, panicked with line combinations, or lost the room.
Green did none of that.
Instead, he leaned on structure — tight defensive-zone coverage, disciplined neutral-zone play, and a clear identity that filtered down from the coaching staff through every player in the lineup. Veterans bought in. Young players like Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig thrived in clearly defined roles. The result was a resilient team that found ways to grind out points when the offense wasn't clicking.
A Culture Shift
Those who cover the team daily point to something harder to quantify: the Senators actually believe in themselves now. That confidence doesn't come from nowhere — it's built in practice, in film sessions, in honest conversations after bad losses.
Green has been praised by players for his directness. He tells them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, and backs it up with detailed preparation. The team's defensive metrics improved markedly in the second half of the season, a sign that his systems are taking root.
Jack Adams Conversation
The talk around Green's name surfacing in the Jack Adams Award conversation — given annually to the NHL's top coach — isn't idle chatter. Coaches are judged on results relative to expectations and roster constraints. Delivering consecutive playoff appearances with a roster still building toward its window, through injury and inconsistency, is exactly the kind of accomplishment voters notice.
He joins a short list of coaches who've quietly outperformed their rosters this season, and Ottawa fans would argue he's right at the top of it.
What's Next
With the playoffs approaching, Ottawa enters the post-season with momentum, a goaltender playing some of the best hockey of his career, and a coach who has earned the trust of his players completely.
For a franchise that spent years cycling through coaches and systems without a consistent identity, Green represents something different — stability. And in the NHL, stability is currency.
Whether or not the Jack Adams hardware ends up in Ottawa, the city's hockey fans already know what they have. A coach who said they'd make it, and meant it.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
