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The doomed coaches of the Ottawa Senators often spoke of the privilege of the position.

Repeatedly over the past few seasons, newly fired head coach Dave Cameron and his predecessor, Paul MacLean, would say they come to work every day honoured to hold down one of only 30 NHL head coaching jobs.

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Now that they are both outside of that select group of 30, both men can appreciate the ‘M’ Factor that any prospective new head coach of the Senators must consider.

The Melnyk Factor.

While outgoing general manager Bryan Murray faces the bulk of the criticism for the Senators’ “coach graveyard” scenario (five coaches fired since 2008), let’s not forget that owner Eugene Melnyk has presided over more coach firings than his GM.

It was Melnyk who dumped head coach Jacques Martin in a fit of pique after the Senators lost the 2004 Eastern Conference quarter-final series to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Prior to Game 7 of that series, Melnyk had said publicly, “We’re going to kill ’em.”