Confirmed with Link: DJ Smith fired, Jacques Martin in as interim, Alfie as assistant

[coladin]

I don't understand why anyone would have wanted to Dorion to make a single additional decision for this franchise. He was fired years late, not six months early.

This is not meant to be a support Dorion take, but since the Dadonov, all he did was sign :

Tkachuk
Batherson
Sanderson
Stutzle
Norris
Giroux
Zub

To excellent team friendly deals and traded for

Chychrun

But do go on...

 

[BondraTime]

I think it was the right call. But the leash was going to be short. And Dorion never got the chance to yank that leash and fire him when the season required it. He had one signing left to do, and the rest of the season has been set up, planned. Dorion being fired should have happened at the end of the season because Staios had no backup plan, and was very slow to move on running the hockey team

Of course he never got the chance, he needed to be fired into the sun. The decision to part ways with Dorion was years late, not early.

He never should have been given the chance to fire Smith, and thankfully he wasn't. The only reason Smith needed to be fired at all this season was because Dorion vouched for him in the summer.

 

[coladin]

So your solution was to let Dorion be in charge or personnel changes behind the bench? When he should have fired Smith over a year ago (at the latest)? What even is this?

If we're firing Dorion at the end of the season for a new GM then how is it different than Staios doing the same thing as interim GM? Except that one is a proven moron, cheat and terrible GM. The other is Steve Staios.

If your argument is that Dorion would have fired Smith earlier, how do you know that he would have? He stuck with Smith for multiple seasons where he should not have. And who would he have tagged to replace Smith for the rest of the year? DJ Smith 2.0? He clearly didn't know how to handle the hiring/firing of coaching staff.

Dorion was incompetent. The sooner he was gone the sooner the team could take a sensible direction.

\Because coaches are human beings too. Why would Staios bring in a lame duck head coach, which he would have to sing for two or three years (or esle why would a coach come here), waste money, only to have the new GM clean house and leave Ottawa paying for a coach who coached 65 games and pay for the next three years?

I don't know if Dorion's hire would have been better, but tell me about the three new coaches and their resumes. A change is sometimes all that is needed, regardless of acumen. But the season would still have a chance. Do you go to games? Buyt tickets? A season ticket holder?

We are back to 2017-2018 nightmare season scenario here. And there are a lot of hockey games to attend and the season is f***ing done already. Again.

 

[RyCam]

There is absolutely no legitimate argument that anyone can put forward for not firing Dorion when the team did.

Dorion is never going to get another GM job in this league, and not only because of his poor performance as GM here, but also because of his incompetence and lying. Dorion's ability to perform in his role as the GM of this team was compromised of his own doing.

 

[Beech]

There was no chance they were firing a coach, a week before camp starts.

while singular (here may be others, but I cannot quickly think of them), Quenville in Chicago!!! took over game 4 or 5 of that first season. So 1 week before camp starts is plenty of race track.

I am sure someone more up on coaching history in the NHL or other leagues could bring up more examples of coaching changes in the very early days of a season (pre-cap, during camp, early in the schedule).

the sequence of events have been puzzling. Almost like Andlauer got caught of guard

Oct 2022.. we hear the team is for sale
Oct 2022.. we hear Andlauer's name (and those of other bidders)
May 2023.. His name is the most solid
June 2023.. He wins the bid
Sept 2023 he takes over

So from May 2023 he is the front runner.. Why did he not put a plan together?

Why not fill out his organizational chart.. Why did Staios not resign from Edmonton in June or July and start working for him in a "shadow GM role"..?

If Staios had, they could have and should have interviewed GM candidates in July and August. And Staios or the front runner for the GM position could have and should have, met/interviewed prospective coaches.

Hand over mid September.... Bam.. changes overnight.

Was the bid so risky that it could still fall apart June to September of 2023 that no one wanted to make moves?

Like I said, it is as if Andlauer got caught off guard. It is as if the sale to handover was not Oct. 2022 to Sept 2023 but August to Sept of 2023.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Every hockey professional would disagree with you. The GM hires the coach. Do you want Staios to get a new GM who immediately fires and brings in his own group regardless of how good Staios hire does? Wow that is a stable and accountable look

Staios is the GM. Therefore, he can hire a coach.

But if Staios decides to relinquish that role and hires a new GM this summer, do you think he'd have carte blanche to do as he pleases? No.

Andlauer has said multiple times that he wants to copy Montreal's structure. Do you think Gorton told Hughes he can hire and fire whichever coach he wants? Of course not.

Brendan Shanahan hired a new GM last summer. That GM inherited a coach. That team is doing just fine. Are they unstable?

I think it was the right call. But the leash was going to be short. And Dorion never got the chance to yank that leash and fire him when the season required it. He had one signing left to do, and the rest of the season has been set up, planned. Dorion being fired should have happened at the end of the season because Staios had no backup plan, and was very slow to move on running the hockey team

Staios had a backup plan. The backup plan was him. He is the GM.

The idea that Dorion should have had the chance to make any more decisions is farcical. New ownership took this team over and thought, "Well, it can't be as bad as the rumours; let's see for ourselves." Within weeks, they learned that it was, in fact, worse than the rumours. It was an unmitigated disaster that they're now trying to clean up.

 

[inthewings]

This is not meant to be a support Dorion take, but since the Dadonov, all he did was sign :

Tkachuk
Batherson
Sanderson
Stutzle
Norris
Giroux
Zub

To excellent team friendly deals and traded for

Chychrun

But do go on...

Yeah, pretty good team he built.

 

[Flamingo]

Sanderson on the bike will be iconic

With that stache and flow, I fully expect him to have the street bike handles turned up.

 

[DaveMatthew]

This is not meant to be a support Dorion take, but since the Dadonov, all he did was sign :

Tkachuk
Batherson
Sanderson
Stutzle
Norris
Giroux
Zub

To excellent team friendly deals and traded for

Chychrun

But do go on...

The team sucks. We're in last place.

Several of those players will be traded, and the team will have to be rebuilt.

The idea of what some of these players are in people's heads vs what they are in reality is significantly different.

Take Josh Norris, for example. That is a terrible contract.

 

[BondraTime]

Legit for a second forgot we traded 7th and 39th overall picks away and have an ECHLer, journeyman 3rd liner rental and double protected late 1st to show for it

Even funnier when you realize the 19 year old D taken with our pick has as many points in the NHL as what we have in return from that trade a year later.

 

[Icelevel]

This would explain a few things if John Gruden is a guy they’re looking at and he wasn’t given permission to talk to them yet.

 

[The Professional]

Wish him well.

This whole mess began with a puffed chest, foolish baravdo move by the organization to part ways with Dorion for something he did two years ago. I am fully convinced that if they did not do that, DJ would have been fired back in November, before Sweden.

Instead, we have lost another season dithering around and while the hires yesterday are good for short term, and non-committal, I am not impressed at all with the new owner/POHO handling of this season. They tried to win a social media game and torpedoed the season instead

I tend to agree with this unfortunately. Good move to get a veteran head coach who is known for his x's and o's and structured defensive systems, but this should have happened at least a month ago while Ottawa still had a positive differential and a million games in hand on other teams, and had room to turn the season around. Now, it's probably too late.

 

[DrEasy]

Wish him well.

This whole mess began with a puffed chest, foolish baravdo move by the organization to part ways with Dorion for something he did two years ago. I am fully convinced that if they did not do that, DJ would have been fired back in November, before Sweden.

Instead, we have lost another season dithering around and while the hires yesterday are good for short term, and non-committal, I am not impressed at all with the new owner/POHO handling of this season. They tried to win a social media game and torpedoed the season instead

Let me get this straight: they shouldn't have fired the incompetent GM for his incompetence that cost us a 1st rounder (and many years of failure, but let's set that aside for argument's sake), but let him fire the coach that he incompetently hired and incompetently wanted to keep, so that he can incompetently hire another coach?

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

There was no chance they were firing a coach, a week before camp starts.

Why is changing a coach made out to be some sort of catastrophic decision. Changing the coach before the season started would have been better than doing it mid season regardless of when the season starts.

Andlaur and Staios weren't even convinced themselves that DJ was the guy hence going out and getting Martin to advise in a senior role.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Complain, Complain, Complain lol

Timing could be off starting with later take over. I think Dorion and DJ should both have been history for a while. We turned a BIG page , we rid ourselves of toxic waste and a good guy but limited coach. This is a positive. Getting Alfie and Jacques in the fold is a positive. Things will get better with this new regime even if they don't exactly meet your schedule. Most everyone had too high expectations for this group entering the season. Reset . Move on.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Empathy. Something a lot of people don’t have.

Nice work, Ian. Smith did deserve to be fired, but he seemed like a real stand up guy.

 

[coladin]

Staios is the GM. Therefore, he can hire a coach.

But if Staios decides to relinquish that role and hires a new GM this summer, do you think he'd have carte blanche to do as he pleases? No.

Andlauer has said multiple times that he wants to copy Montreal's structure. Do you think Gorton told Hughes he can hire and fire whichever coach he wants? Of course not.

Brendan Shanahan hired a new GM last summer. That GM inherited a coach. That team is doing just fine. Are they unstable?



Staios had a backup plan. The backup plan was him. He is the GM.

The idea that Dorion should have had the chance to make any more decisions is farcical. New ownership took this team over and thought, "Well, it can't be as bad as the rumours; let's see for ourselves." Within weeks, they learned that it was, in fact, worse than the rumours. It was an unmitigated disaster that they're now trying to clean up.

What do you mean "if" he relinquishes his GM role? The guy doesn't want to be the GM. He pretty much stated it from day one. You are doing what you ttypically do, deal with semantics which are not based in reality. The reality is Staios wants absolutely nothing to do with being the GM of the Ottawa Senators and will not hire a coach . He has said as much and the interim hirings work perfectly within his timeline.

They had to hire a new GM because the old GM left when they could not agree on a contract extension. That never happens and yes, Keefe was inherited but also great consternation on whether Treliving was going to keep him. Again, we all know the situation around Dubas leaving, but again you are not bringing up any points in good faith.

 

[Beech]

Let me get this straight: they shouldn't have fired the incompetent GM for his incompetence that cost us a 1st rounder (and many years of failure, but let's set that aside for argument's sake), but let him fire the coach that he incompetently hired and incompetently wanted to keep, so that he can incompetently hire another coach?

funny, when you put it that way.. it does not sound as good as Coladin (LOL)

 

[DaveMatthew]

What do you mean "if" he relinquishes his GM role? The guy doesn't want to be the GM. He pretty much stated it from day one. You are doing what you ttypically do, deal with semantics which are not based in reality. The reality is Staios wants absolutely nothing to do with being the GM of the Ottawa Senators and will not hire a coach . He has said as much and the interim hirings work perfectly within his timeline.

They had to hire a new GM because the old GM left when they could not agree on a contract extension. That never happens and yes, Keefe was inherited but also great consternation on whether Treliving was going to keep him. Again, we all know the situation around Dubas leaving, but again you are not bringing up any points in good faith.

When asked about a timeframe around hiring a new GM, Staios said the one thing the club does not want to do is “rush into anything.” Staios: “To be quick, and trying to make decisions quickly, without having all the information, I don’t think that would be the right thing to do.”

Maybe he hires a new GM in the summer, if there's a candidate he likes. Maybe he waits. Maybe the candidate he ends up liking the most is himself.

His quotes around hiring a GM sound an awful lot like Kyle Dubas' when he got to Pitt. Guess who Dubas hired? Dubas.

Right now, the team has a GM. And as he said yesterday, he's comfortable in that role, with the people he has around him.

Keeping Dorion around was simply untenable. It's wild that you think he should still be here. Wild.

Does it suck that the season is down the drain? Sure. But I think Andlauer and Staios had a much different evaluation of this roster than a lot of fans (and certainly Dorion). They didn't think we were close, that's why they're not operating with as much urgency as some want. They realized there needs to be a reset. It's not "win now". It's mitigate as much damage as they can and regroup in June.

 

[maclean]

Complain, Complain, Complain lol

come for the complains, stay for the lols

 

[coladin]

Let me get this straight: they shouldn't have fired the incompetent GM for his incompetence that cost us a 1st rounder (and many years of failure, but let's set that aside for argument's sake), but let him fire the coach that he incompetently hired and incompetently wanted to keep, so that he can incompetently hire another coach?

Yes.

Chances are this team would be playing much better, bercause none of the players give a f*** about Dorion. Only you guys do . What he did two years ago was a fireable offence...but right then and there was stupid, and just a show for the Ottawa fans to soak in this new regime. What it really did was neuter Staios from firing DJ a month ago, when we had all those games in hand. He was going to get fired, no matter what, but there was no planning for how to run this team. No backup plan . They figured this team was going to be good, and they were naive and caught with their pants down when this season went to shit before Sweden. It was obvious.

So they brought in a coach who was talking to AJ every Wednesday and his glory days amounted to no Cups with this frnachise. And they brought in a HOFer with no coaching experience to play keepaway with the children. Fine for interim? I guess? The far and away oldest coach in the league may have a heart attack from all the travel he now has to do, but ok

Maybe he hires a new GM in the summer, if there's a candidate he likes. Maybe he waits. Maybe the candidate he ends up liking the most is himself.

His quotes around hiring a GM sound an awful lot like Kyle Dubas' when he got to Pitt. Guess who Dubas hired? Dubas.

Right now, the team has a GM. And as he said yesterday, he's comfortable in that role, with the people he has around him.

Keeping Dorion around was simply untenable. It's wild that you think he should still be here. Wild.

Does it suck that the season is down the drain? Sure. But I think Andlauer and Staios had a much different evaluation of this roster than a lot of fans (and certainly Dorion). They didn't think we were close, that's why they're not operating with as much urgency as some want.

okie dokie

 

[BondraTime]

Yes.

Chances are this team would be playing much better, bercause none of the players give a f*** about Dorion. Only you guys do . What he did two years ago was a fireable offence...but right then and there was stupid, and just a show for the Ottawa fans to soak in this new regime. What it really did was neuter Staios from firing DJ a month ago, when we had all those games in hand. He was going to get fired, no matter what, but there was no planning for how to run this team. No backup plan . They figured this team was going to be good, and they were naive and caught with their pants down when this season went to shit before Sweden. It was obvious.

So they brought in a coach who was talking to AJ every Wednesday and his glory days amounted to no Cups with this frnachise. And they brought in a HOFer with no coaching experience to play keepaway with the children. Fine for interim? I guess? The far and away oldest coach in the league may have a heart attack from all the travel he now has to do, but ok

Everything Staios and Andeluer have said tells me they did not think this team was good, quite the opposite.

The went out of their way to tell everyone this team had a long way to go before the season started.

 

[BigRig4]

This is not meant to be a support Dorion take, but since the Dadonov, all he did was sign :

Tkachuk
Batherson
Sanderson
Stutzle
Norris
Giroux
Zub

To excellent team friendly deals and traded for

Chychrun

But do go on...

He was a slugger. Had some homeruns and had some absolute whiffs. It'll be interesting to look back on his legacy in 5 years.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Everything Staios and Andeluer have said tells me they did not think this team was good, quite the opposite.

The went out of their way to tell everyone this team had a long way to go before the season started.

It was pretty obvious from the get-go. Only @coladin doesn't get it.

The messaging from day 1 was "we have a lot of work to do". Not, "we're ready and expect to win."

They did everything they could to temper expectations.

 

[coladin]

funny, when you put it that way.. it does not sound as good as Coladin (LOL)

Beech, they knew the investigation was ongoing in the summer and a decision was expected on what the punishment was going to be. They knew he f***ed up. They just didn't realize that it was going to be forfeiture of the 1st round pick. So , Andlauer and Staios still kept Dorion around with that information.