Craig Hartsburg was fired as head coach of the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night, only 48 games into his first season behind the team’s bench.
The final straw for Hartsburg might have been Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Washington Capitals. After the game, Hartsburg called his team out for not playing hard.
“The thing for us right now is that we have to play the game with a lot more pride than what we started this game with,” Hartsburg told the National Post. “You know what? [Washington] is a great team, and they exposed some things in us, but we have to take a lot more pride in ourselves as a team right from the start of hockey games.”
Hartsburg signed a three-year contract in June of 2008, taking over for current general manager Bryan Murray. His 17-27-7 record has left Ottawa with 41 points, which is the third worst point total in the league.
Prior to his stint with the Senators, the 49-year-old Hartsburg spent five seasons as head coach of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. During that period, he was also assistant coach to Brent Sutter for Team Canada’s 2006 World Junior championship win, before going on to lead Canada to two more junior gold medals as head coach in 2007 and 2008.
Previously, Hartsburg had been at the helm of the Chicago Blackhawks (1995-98) and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (1998-2000).
Hartsburg, a former NHL defenceman, was picked sixth overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1979 NHL draft. The native of Stratford, Ont. had 413 career points in 570 games over 10 seasons with the team.
Recent Comments