The truth, Marc Crawford concedes, is that he and Guy Boucher have been coaching in Switzerland in the past few years, outside the National Hockey League environment.
"But you follow it so closely when you're not in it," Crawford said Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Boucher had been formally introduced as Ottawa Senators head coach and Crawford had been announced as associate coach.
"Guy probably watched hundreds of (NHL) games this year and, at the end of the year this year, I made a point of touring the National Hockey League. I went to all seven Canadian cities and I watched about 11 or 12 games live, really trying to get a feel for what's happening in plain view.