General managers have multi-pronged and stress-inducing duties in today’s NHL. They’re ultimately responsible for the quality of the product on the ice and constantly have to keep an eye to the future.

They have to do all of that within a strict budget and put their managerial reputations on the line every time they sign, trade for or draft a player. Which makes you wonder why Bryan Murray wants to take another crack at the job at the age of 68. But we’re guessing Murray has a keen interest in repairing a mess that was largely of his own making and kudos to him for that.

But there is one area of the job where Murray is simply going to have to show more acumen. If he doesn’t, he and the Senators are doomed to fail once again.

There are a good number of managers in the NHL who are of the opinion that the single most important contribution a GM can make, and where he has the most impact, is his choice of a head coach. Drafts, signings and trades are usually done by more of a committee, even though the GM ultimately takes responsibility for all of them, but the man he hires behind the bench is often a much more solitary and subjective choice.

And so far with the Ottawa Senators, Murray is 0-for-3 in that department. In fact, the only person he seems to have been able to find to coach this team to any success is himself.

Since taking the Senators job in 2007, Murray has hired John Paddock, Craig Hartsburg and Cory Clouston. The only one who had any measure of success at all was Clouston and since he was simply promoted from Binghamton, you could argue it was an easy and convenient choice to make. But if you’re using this past season as a benchmark, it was ultimately a failed choice.

Murray cannot afford to make that same mistake again. He must find someone out there who matches the identity of this team and can coax maximum performances out of everyone on the roster.

Ken Hitchcock is still out there and is itching to get back into the coaching game. He would be an even more abrasive taskmaster than Clouston, but the difference is Hitchcock comes with more than 500 career victories, a Stanley Cup and two Olympic gold medals as an assistant coach.

The Senators should hire him before someone else does.