Management Coach DJ Smith - Part 2

[aragorn]

I guarantee you DJ will get hired again. He did an excellent job on the rebuild and got many of the young players to where they are today.

Obviously it will depend on how the team does next yr, but they were playing a very entertaining style all yr & it was really the injuries to this team & specifically to both goalies that derailed their season, I think most hockey people realize that. Keith Tkachuk gave DJ cudos indirectly when he said "look at how those kids in Ottawa are playing" compared to how Florida was playing which basically turned Florida's season around & they started playing much harder. Stutzle broke out last yr as an elite player, Tkachuk proved that he can be one of the leading scorers in the lead along with all the other great things he does, Giroux had one of his best seasons scoring ever, Sanderson broke out & showed us he has elite potential, Pinto had a very good season for a first yr player, basically since he was hurt the entire yr before & has a very bright future.

DJ had a myriad of problems all yr long that he had to overcome (Norris injury, playing with rookie goalies, Chabot/Zub injury) & he dealt with it as best as his lineup could IMO. People also complain about a certain play where Tkachuk is outside the blueline along the wall which we now know is a strategic play & we saw other teams using it specifically the two in the SC finals. Maybe Andlauer brings in new people & maybe he stays the course & watches how this team evolves under this coach & GM to see where it goes which I think is more likely. We'll see soon enough.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

But the players like DJ because he’s super nice to them!!!

 

[swiftwin]

But the players like DJ because he’s super nice to them!!!

But I was told that having fun and having good vibes in the locker room totally not important...

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

But I was told that having fun and having good vibes in the locker room totally not important...

he started having fun because he started winning.

sorta different from having good vibes and getting hammered while losing, crumbling under pressure and quitting on the backcheck.

 

[JD1]

he started having fun because he started winning.

sorta different from having good vibes and getting hammered while losing, crumbling under pressure and quitting on the backcheck.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet he started having fun again because he was healthy

 

[Micklebot]

If I was a betting man, I'd bet he started having fun again because he was healthy

I imagine both elements factored in.

 

[Tragedy]

But I was told that having fun and having good vibes in the locker room totally not important...

Kind of deliberately misconstruing his point, no?

Eichel is finally happy and having fun at the rink because he's not stuck in Buffalo losing and not being allowed to get surgery he wanted.

This has nothing to do with having super mega fun time vibes with the coach

 

[aragorn]

I though it was a good playoff, Florida went on a good run before they got derailed by injuries & Vegas put together a big tough team that just needed a push forward & Cassidy was brought in for that. he did the same for Boston when he he became HC there.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I though it was a good playoff, Florida went on a good run before they got derailed by injuries & Vegas put together a big tough team that just needed a push forward & Cassidy was brought in for that. he did the same for Boston when he he became HC there.

Ya Florida is one of those cases where they just killed themselves too much getting there and ran out of juice and bodies. I remember Boucher musing about that after the game 7 loss in the context of had we moved on instead. "The juice was squeezed". We had no playable 4th line and multiple major injuries.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Ya Florida is one of those cases where they just killed themselves too much getting there and ran out of juice and bodies. I remember Boucher musing about that after the game 7 loss in the context of had we moved on instead. "The juice was squeezed". We had no playable 4th line and multiple major injuries.

Have to think the long layoff hurt them as well but at the end of the day they just were not as deep top to bottom. Vegas had the size, scoring, 4 line depth and a really good Dcorps.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Have to think the long layoff hurt them as well but at the end of the day they just were not as deep top to bottom. Vegas had the size, scoring, 4 line depth and a really good Dcorps.

For sure. The layoff isn't long enough to cure injuries, so it is really just a negative beyond a couple days of R&R.

You said it though, they just looked so thin by the end of it in comparison to Vegas. You could see it coming the whole series that FLA just couldn't win a 7 game series against them. I saw it as a slam dunk, similar to the NBA finals, but for different reasons.

 

[Beech]

Ya Florida is one of those cases where they just killed themselves too much getting there and ran out of juice and bodies. I remember Boucher musing about that after the game 7 loss in the context of had we moved on instead. "The juice was squeezed". We had no playable 4th line and multiple major injuries.

Cinderella teams do often win. The amount of #7 or 8 teams that have won in all sports is small. Every 10 years or so, some low ranked playoff teams pops through, but that is the extreme exception.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Cinderella teams do often win. The amount of #7 or 8 teams that have won in all sports is small. Every 10 years or so, some low ranked playoff teams pops through, but that is the extreme exception.

Yes, lots of cinderella teams go on runs, but they typically lose in the end I find. Miami Heat just did it 2 out of 3 years. Biggest competition for the Nuggets this year was from the Lakers, who went on a similar run. Our runs in 2007 and 2017 feel that way. Nice runs, but we were outclassed in the end and were definitely the underdog on both occasions.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Yes, lots of cinderella teams go on runs, but they typically lose in the end I find. Miami Heat just did it 2 out of 3 years. Biggest competition for the Nuggets this year was from the Lakers, who went on a similar run. Our runs in 2007 and 2017 feel that way. Nice runs, but we were outclassed in the end and were definitely the underdog on both occasions.

I didn’t find 2007 a Cinderella run, since the first 3 rounds were dominate 5 game series each.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I didn’t find 2007 a Cinderella run, since the first 3 rounds were dominate 5 game series each.

Ya thats fair. I would agree, but I think the thought for me was always there that we were mostly a one line team offensively and for me at least, always assumed Emery would let us down when push came to shove.

When we drew Anaheim, I was not the least bit confident and pretty much went in assuming a loss.

 

[Beech]

Yes, lots of cinderella teams go on runs, but they typically lose in the end I find. Miami Heat just did it 2 out of 3 years. Biggest competition for the Nuggets this year was from the Lakers, who went on a similar run. Our runs in 2007 and 2017 feel that way. Nice runs, but we were outclassed in the end and were definitely the underdog on both occasions.

my apologies.. Cinderella teams DO not often win... I am sorry. I needed to proof my post better.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Was incredible goaltending a big reason for Florida's playoff run, yes, but they had a very similar record to Toronto in the second half of the season. Not really a cinderella team if you look past the final standings.

 

[JD1]

They say the nhl is a copy cat league

2 of the last 3 winners iced playoff lineups way over the cap from having a star player on ltir.

How do we duplicate that?

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

They say the nhl is a copy cat league

2 of the last 3 winners iced playoff lineups way over the cap from having a star player on ltir.

How do we duplicate that?

Josh Norris can get injured again. it frees $8M to get a top player or two.

 

[BankStreetParade]

They say the nhl is a copy cat league

2 of the last 3 winners iced playoff lineups way over the cap from having a star player on ltir.

How do we duplicate that?

It's even better that it's 2 tax free states with players lined up to go play there. Parity!

 

[Micklebot]

They say the nhl is a copy cat league

2 of the last 3 winners iced playoff lineups way over the cap from having a star player on ltir.

How do we duplicate that?

I mean, we've got a pretty solid track record of long term injuries to key players every year, and if that fails, theres always the Tonya Harding method...

 

[JD1]

I mean, we've got a pretty solid track record of long term injuries to key players every year, and if that fails, theres always the Tonya Harding method...

"Take a knee" meant a whole other thing in her generation

 

[SENStastic]

Yes, lots of cinderella teams go on runs, but they typically lose in the end I find. Miami Heat just did it 2 out of 3 years. Biggest competition for the Nuggets this year was from the Lakers, who went on a similar run. Our runs in 2007 and 2017 feel that way. Nice runs, but we were outclassed in the end and were definitely the underdog on both occasions.

We dominated the first 3 rounds in that 2007 run, but got crushed by Anaheim in the finals. Also did well during the season, we were a pretty competitive team. That year wasn't a cinderalla run at all.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Lost in a lot pf this is the fact that this team was 26th in 5 on 5 scoring this season, and it’s not like we were great defensively either. Not sure you manage that with this roster.

 

[TonySoprano11]

Not a chance Smith gets another head coaching job in the NHL after this. Capuano, his assistant had a 227-192-64 record in NY with 4 playoff appearances in 6 seasons. Despite his much greater success he never got and never will get another HC role, he is forever an assistant coach.

Paul MacLean was 114-90-35 with 2 playoff appearances in 3 seasons. He most likely will never get another HC gig and has bounced around as an assistant coach.

How will DJ Smith at 120-139-32 with ZERO playoff appearances in four seasons get another HC job somewhere? No one is going to care that it was a rebuild. Successful coaches lead their teams out of rebuilds, DJ has not.