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Dorion sat down with Senators coaches Tuesday to review the season and to talk about where the organization was headed. Crawford’s contract expires July 1, as do those of assistants Rob Cookson, Martin Raymond, goalie coach Pierre Groulx and video coach Kris Young. Right now, all five will have to play the waiting game.

The Senators were 7-10-1 record during Crawford’s stint as interim head coach, and he’ll have a formal interview for the post in the coming weeks. At this point, he has as good a shot as anybody, but Crawford also has to find a way to make this group play better defensively if he’s to have a realistic chance.

“Marc did a really good job and we’re really happy with what he brought,” Dorion said. “At the same time, I think we owe it to our fans, the organization and our players to make sure we hire the best available coach.

“But definitely there are things that Marc did, and I’m not going to get into details, that we really liked and a few things he can do better. But, with his experience, he definitely is going to be a candidate for us.”

Given the fact the Senators will be built around the likes of defenceman Thomas Chabot and forwards Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, Drake Batherson and Alex Formenton (down the road), they’ll be looking for someone to help the young players develop and help the team improve defensively.

That might be Crawford, it might be somebody else, but Dorion described what he wanted in a candidate.

“We have a younger group of players, so a good teacher (is important),” Dorion said. “We have more players that we’d call millennials. We’re not going to ask the coach if he knows what Fortnite is, but I think it’s important to be able to relate to our players and, at the same time, bring some kind of structure to our team that’s needed.

“Or a different type of structure that’s needed and will help us move this rebuild as quickly as possible.”

It’s only 156 days until training camp starts in September. There may still be snow on the ground, but hope always springs eternal around the NHL at this time of year.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sungarrioch

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