Sens Fire Strength & Conditioning Coach

Buried under an article containing mostly Dany Heatley-related speculation was this little tidbit:

The Senators have fired strength and conditioning coach Adam Douglas after just one year on the job.

Chris Schwarz, another local strength and conditioning specialist, replaces Douglas. Schwarz has spent the past two years as the strength coach of the New York Islanders.

This should not come as a surprise. When Cory Clouston took over behind the bench, the man was shocked at how the poor level of conditioning that his players displayed. Nick Foligno admitted this back in February:

"(The practices are) a little tough, but I think they need to be," he said. "I think we need to realize we have to get our conditioning back up to a certain level.

...

"I think that, yeah, it was the fault of some guys, too. We've got to take it upon ourselves to get in the gym whenever possible."

Perhaps the most interesting part of this development is its timing. Most of the articles on Heatley's trade request have quoted Clouston's comments about Heatley not moving his feet enough in his pressure system, and this seems a way of Bryan Murray showing his faith in Clouston's system and opinions.

To be quite honest, it seems like a good idea. Until Clouston came in with his hard practices, the team simply did not seem to be able to keep up with the opposition like they could under former conditioning coach Randy Lee. They seemed tired and almost lazy at times. They certainly had a quicker stride to them under Clouston, and not all of that can be attributed to his system.