Bryan Murray on Paul MacLean's future: 'I don’t have a definite answer'

It's been a tough season for the Ottawa Senators. They currently sit six points out of a playoff spot and just lost 23-goal scorer Bobby Ryan to a season-ending injury.

Now it appears Paul MacLean's reign as head coach is in question after Bryan Murray declined to offer a concrete answer when asked about the 2013 Jack Adams Award winner's future.

“I don't have a definite answer to that," Murray told TSN 1200's Ian Mendes. "But Paul's got a contract going forward. He was Coach of the Year last year and I don't know what happened this year necessarily as far as performance is concerned,” 

The Senators entered the 2013-2014 campaign full of confidence after making an unexpected appearance in the playoffs in a lockout-shortened season, but they struggled from the start after only managing four wins in their first 14 games of the season.

"We thought this team was better. We thought we had enough skill here to offset a couple of little things we were missing last year – and it didn't work out," Murray said.

While it seems unlikely MacLean gets fired in the offseason, if Murray's able to make quality additions to the team through free agency and trades, the leash will be short on MacLean if they start next season with the same poor results.