Ottawa Senators bring longtime broadcaster Pierre McGuire into front office

NHL analyst and former head coach Pierre McGuire is joining the Ottawa Senators as senior vice president of player development.

McGuire won a Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992, later moving up to head coach with the Hartford Whalers. He was a Senators pro scout between 1994 and 1996 before going into radio and TV

The 59-year-old has been a broadcaster in both Canada and the United States since 1997, known in part for a deep knowledge of player's paths to the NHL, an offbeat sense of humour and the occasional gaffe.

"When you do the TV job that I had the privilege of doing for over 20 years, you get to see a lot behind the scenes of what works with each organization in the league and what doesn't work, what players are trending up, what players are trending down," McGuire told reporters.

"I've been around it so long and when you work inside the glass or between the benches, however you want to describe it, you're in the game."

"His experience will be instrumental as we continue to build an elite team," Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said in a news release.

"Pierre's knowledge of the game and its players is highly regarded and I am confident that he will positively assist our team as it progresses to the next level."

McGuire joins the Senators the week before both the Seattle Kraken expansion draft and the NHL entry draft, where the Sens have the 10th overall pick.