FanHouse

When replacing a coach who didn't get the job done, sports franchises have two general choices.

They could hire the fresh-faced coach who lacks a track record but has spent enough time learning the craft to be worth a look. They could also hire the experienced head coach who is only available because he failed with a different team.

Sometimes, you need the fresh face. Take the Anaheim Ducks as an example, as Randy Carlyle had never been an NHL head coach before taking over the Ducks and leading them to a Stanley Cup.

There are other times that the retread works better. Mike Keenan (Rangers in 1994) would potentially qualify, though it's hard to argue he was an abject failure in Philadelphia or Chicago. Peter Laviolette and Larry Robinson were a couple other retread hires who won Cups recently.

With that in mind, the Ottawa Senators went one direction, while the Florida Panthers took the other fork in the road. The Senators were reportedly close to hiring Peter DeBoer from Kitchener of the OHL. DeBoer certainly qualifies as a fresh face, having never been an NHL head coach. He's an experienced, accomplished hockey coach, but not at this level.

The DeBoer hiring never happened. Ottawa went in a different direction, hiring former Blackhawks head coach Craig Hartsburg. He's had success with the Canadian World Junior teams the last two years, along with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. However, his track record in the NHL is less than good. That said, he's four years removed from his last NHL job, and almost a decade from the last time he was a head coach. To be fair to Hartsburg and the Senators, maybe he has learned something in that time that will help him succeed as an NHL head coach this time around.

DeBoer didn't get the Ottawa job, but he wasn't done with NHL opportunities. As the Senators were making the Hartsburg hire official, DeBoer found work with a potentially emerging Eastern Conference team. Not only do the Florida Panthers have some nice young players and a quality goaltender, but it's a lot nicer in Miami during January than it is in Ottawa.

''I was really pleased when Peter decided on our organization,'' general manager Jacques Martin said. ''It's a sign that this organization is making strides and having quality people and moving forward.''

The Panthers tried the retread approach with Martin as a head coach, but he couldn't get the franchise over the hump. DeBoer brings them a fresh face. Not only that, but the Panthers are getting a guy who has proven he can work well with young players. Florida's young talent isn't as young as the young talent in the OHL, but he's a better fit for this organization than an NHL coach who has cut his teeth mentoring and working with older players.

To sum things up, the Senators have made a questionable hire, as Hartsburg didn't do anything with previous NHL opportunities. The Panthers brought in an unproven guy, but someone who appears to fit their current roster very well.

In three years, perhaps the final analysis will show that the Panthers were the ones who screwed up, here. On the surface, though, I'd have to give them the nod.