Four hours later...

Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray today announced that John Paddock has been relieved of his head coaching duties. Murray, who will return behind the bench as head coach, will continue to perform his duties as Senators general manager. Assistant coach Ron Low has also been relieved of his coaching duties.

Assistant coach Greg Carvel, goaltending coach Eli Wilson, conditioning and player development coach Randy Lee and video coach Tim Pattyson remain on the staff.

The writing wasn't just on the wall — it was everywhere. Paddock really doesn't have a ton of NHL head coaching experience and was promoted based on his minor-league success, but with so much pressure on one of the league's top clubs, simply hasn't been able to get Ottawa to perform up to some pretty lofty standards after a terrific start.

It's not likely he'll ever get another head-coaching gig after the mess that's gone on the past few months.


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