Ottawa Senators promote Justin Peters to goaltending coach and re-assign Zac Bierk to scouting role

The Ottawa Senators have made some personnel changes. The team has promoted former Belleville Senators’ goaltending coach Justin Peters to have that same role for the big club. They have also re-assigned former Senators’ goaltending coach Zac Bierk to a scouting and development role elsewhere in the organisation.

“Zac is exceptionally dedicated,” said Senators’ president and general manager Steve Staios. “However, it is our belief that the time has come for a fresh perspective. Justin Peters is highly regarded and will bring strong leadership qualities to our group. He’s deserving of this opportunity. We’re excited to welcome him to Ottawa.”

This move comes as the second batch of personnel changes since Michael Andlauer took over as owner of the team. Earlier in the season, both former head coach D.J. Smith and former general manager Pierre Dorion were relieved of their duties and were replaced by Jacques Martin and Steve Staios, respectively. The team also brought in Daniel Alfredsson as the new assistant coach and fired Davis Payne.

The new management hoped that Martin would be able to bring some stability to the Senators’ bench and some early successes as well. He’s been a positive force but unfortunately it hasn’t translated on the ice yet. One of the biggest reasons for that is the struggles of Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg between the pipes.

The move to promote Peters seems to be a smart one as he’s done great work with Mads Sogaard, Leevi Merilainen, and Kevin Mandolese in Belleville. All three goalies have a save percentage better than .900 and the team has benefited greatly from the stability in the crease.

The main thing will be for Peters to work with Korpisalo and help him get his confidence back. So far this season, Korpisalo has a 3.70 GAA and .884 SV% along with the third-worst goals saved above expected in the NHL.