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

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coladin said:
The severity of the punishment doesbn't change the fact that they already knew he was guilty and kept him on. For this reason, this falls on management as well. I agree he needed to be fired, but they should have had a better plan to make sure that Staios could do the GM job with the ability to fire DJ when the season required it. In hindsight, they had enough to go by to not bring Dorion/DJ back, and i guess the late sale and delays possibly slowed that aspect.
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You're missing the point, the severity of the punishment correlates to the severity of the infraction. They knew he screwed up but not the details of how much, do you fire someone who screwed up without first knowing how badly they screwed up? Or do you wait until you have all the details before taking proportionate action?
 
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coladin said:
Don't get me wrong. Love Alfie and Martin. but seriously. I don't know how old you are, but anyone around at that time said he was a good coach to get them into the playoffs, but got badly outcoached in most matchups and even though Ottawa was favoured, he lost the coaching battle way more often than not. No pulse. no fire. We know these things, right?

It's just funny to me that our glory days of guys like Martin and Alfie, Phillips were truly about underachieving in the playoffs, and chokers. Yet we glorify them now
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I’m mid 30’s, I joined the site a year after he left in 05, but was obviously following hockey and the Sens long , long before that. I absolutely remember Martin, his criticisms, and what his time here did for the team and its players.

We’re looking to get to the playoffs right now. Martin isn’t likely the long term coach. That’s perfectly fine with me if he can teach our players what it takes to make the playoffs and play a structured, detailed game. It literally exactly what this group needs.

This is a lottery team looking to get someone to help them become a playoff contender. Not a playoff contender looking to become a cup contender.

This team isn’t a cup contender, right now it’s not even a playoff contender. Martin can hopefully help to get over that hump and teach the guys we have how to play.
 
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Ghost of Jody Hull said:
I don't think that's what's been reported.

What's been reported is that they knew there was an investigation taking place, but were told by the former owners that it was "not an issue." For all they knew, it was a minor miscommunication that would be cleared up rather than intentional misconduct that would cost the team a 1st rounder.

Andlauer didn't know whether Dorion was guilty until he received that 70-page report from the NHL.

He fired Dorion later that week.
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are you not troubled by Andlauer's "that was the last straw".

did it not have you thinking; okay, what was straw 1 to straw, second to last.

I got a strong sense that the Month that those two were together, was not overly easy.
 
Beech said:
are you not troubled by Andlauer's "that was the last straw".

did it not have you thinking; okay, what was straw 1 to straw, second to last.

I got a strong sense that the Month that those two were together, was not overly easy.
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I think Andlauer had made the decision, before even closing on the team, that Dorion was not going to be extended at the end of the season.

But he was hoping that he could make it through the season, with supervision from Staios, and handle some of the day-to-day busywork that every GM needs to do. As he said, the front-office was already thin, so I don't think he loved making it even thinner, even if the guy he was keeping wasn't in the long-term plans.

But after Dorion's incompetence moved from being "rumours by angry fans on Twitter" to "validated in an official report from the NHL", he couldn't keep him on, even for the season to do paperwork.

And that goes back to my original point. I don't think there was all that much urgency because I don't think Andlauer and Staios thought this team, as currently constructed, was ready to be competitive.

They probably thought it'd be an 80-84 point team, and prior to this roadtrip, that's what we were trending towards. But when we fell below even that, and the toxicity around the coach became too much, they had to move away from him too.

It's kind of crazy. Andlauer came in and was going to give both Dorion and DJ way more benefit of the doubt than anyone who's followed this team wanted. The diginity of a soft exit - a mutual parting after the expiration of their contracts. But within a couple of weeks or months, they still forced him to fire them.

It's like if you became the new manager of a sales team, and you had one rep who hadn't hit his quota in years. But you tell him, "Listen, man, just make your calls, update your records, and don't do anything stupid, and we'll keep you on until Q4. That buys you time to find a new job." And then HR walks into your office and tells you that a video has surfaced of that sales rep shitting in a coworker's drawer. You're left with no choice!
 
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Not sure if it was posted before but the Sendes article on DJ Smith is a great read. (possibly paywalled)

theathletic.com

Mendes: D.J. Smith may be gone, but he deserves your respect on the way out the door

Smith deserves every bit of fair criticism that lands at his feet, but he doesn't deserve the toxicity that has been flung in his direction.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

The best part was how Melnyk told DJ not to speak to Mendes, but DJ told Mendes he disagreed with the directive and gave him his personal cell. They had a healthy respect for each others' professionalism, with Mendes specifically saying that DJ was the most professional person he had ever dealt with in sports.
 
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coladin said:
The severity of the punishment doesbn't change the fact that they already knew he was guilty and kept him on. For this reason, this falls on management as well. I agree he needed to be fired, but they should have had a better plan to make sure that Staios could do the GM job with the ability to fire DJ when the season required it. In hindsight, they had enough to go by to not bring Dorion/DJ back, and i guess the late sale and delays possibly slowed that aspect.
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coladin said:
The severity of the punishment doesbn't change the fact that they already knew he was guilty and kept him on. For this reason, this falls on management as well. I agree he needed to be fired, but they should have had a better plan to make sure that Staios could do the GM job with the ability to fire DJ when the season required it. In hindsight, they had enough to go by to not bring Dorion/DJ back, and i guess the late sale and delays possibly slowed that aspect.
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Did they already know the extent of Dorion's negligence (or worse)?

Also, I'm unclear on your position regarding a better plan. Staios is doing the GM job and he did fire DJ (I'd have preferred during the summer or earlier in the season as it was required in November in my opinion).
If I recall their hands were tied until until mid to late September.

Beech said:
are you not troubled by Andlauer's "that was the last straw".

did it not have you thinking; okay, what was straw 1 to straw, second to last.

I got a strong sense that the Month that those two were together, was not overly easy.
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Maybe he saw all the trades and bad signings as straws.
 
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Opening face off we set up a neutral zone trap. F1 chasing and F2 and F3 came back right away . Brady specifically came right back to the blue line so it seems we will clog the neutral zone and slow everyone doen
 
We are also carrying the puck in and setting up with control in the O Zone as opposed to needlessly just dumping it in.

Also noted very short shifts which is good
 
DJB said:
We are also carrying the puck in and setting up with control in the O Zone as opposed to needlessly just dumping it in.

Also noted very short shifts which is good
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Brady and Timmy have the most to learn and based on their emotional levels I hope the #1 thing Alfie and Martin show them is how to deal with your emotions and keep a level head.

Brady fought last night which is fine, but his team lost and collapsed in the 3rd. Spend that energy on keeping your team emtional level even, don’t fight just skate away and show your bench the most important thing is winning the game and not winning the moment. It’ll show your teammates to focus on winning habits and play the long game. Walt was tough and a game changer but he never won a Cup because he never played a 200 foot game. Brady plays like his Dad
 
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Ghost of Jody Hull said:
I think Andlauer had made the decision, before even closing on the team, that Dorion was not going to be extended at the end of the season.

But he was hoping that he could make it through the season, with supervision from Staios, and handle some of the day-to-day busywork that every GM needs to do. As he said, the front-office was already thin, so I don't think he loved making it even thinner, even if the guy he was keeping wasn't in the long-term plans.

But after Dorion's incompetence moved from being "rumours by angry fans on Twitter" to "validated in an official report from the NHL", he couldn't keep him on, even for the season to do paperwork.

And that goes back to my original point. I don't think there was all that much urgency because I don't think Andlauer and Staios thought this team, as currently constructed, was ready to be competitive.

They probably thought it'd be an 80-84 point team, and prior to this roadtrip, that's what we were trending towards. But when we fell below even that, and the toxicity around the coach became too much, they had to move away from him too.

It's kind of crazy. Andlauer came in and was going to give both Dorion and DJ way more benefit of the doubt than anyone who's followed this team wanted. The diginity of a soft exit - a mutual parting after the expiration of their contracts. But within a couple of weeks or months, they still forced him to fire them.

It's like if you became the new manager of a sales team, and you had one rep who hadn't hit his quota in years. But you tell him, "Listen, man, just make your calls, update your records, and don't do anything stupid, and we'll keep you on until Q4. That buys you time to find a new job." And then HR walks into your office and tells you that a video has surfaced of that sales rep shitting in a coworker's drawer. You're left with no choice!
Click to expand...

agree with 99.999% of this take…. Just one tiny detail…

Still believe that the intention was to play out their first season, as owner and POHO… evaluate every aspect of the team, including personnel and were going to wait until the offseason, when their preferred “guys” became available to make changes in the GM and Head Coach positions….DJS by not picking up the (team) option year on his contract, and by firing PD whose contract did not expire until the end of the 2024/25 season

again, great post.
 
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