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

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

The amount of damage DJ Smith did to this group of player is sickening.

Yet, there is a contingent of people here that maintain he was the right coach for the rebuild.

Any players pouting must have really loved DJ. Must have viewed him as their best buddy.

but to quote Herb Brooks: “I’ll be your coach, I won’t be your friend.”

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I think there's a combination of things.

Once again we're not really deep enough. Pinto and Joseph are out and you've got guys that should not be in the league playing. 5M in dead cap hurts. A quality 3M player in the lineup would help, so would the leftover 2M in cap space to be able to better manage

Development of some young guys has hurt. Norris missing a year. Pinto missing 1.5 of the last 2.5 years. It means they're still learning when they should be entering their prime. Losing Formenton for nothing hurt. A lot.

And I think with Chabot, we were so thin on D that when bad habits crept into his game, the options to address that weren't really there and the next thing you know, his entire game is bad habits. He plays a lazy game and has for a couple of years

Sorry but which guys shouldn’t be in the league. I know we like to say that. But all teams have some shit players. Relatively speaking

 

[JD1]

Sorry but which guys shouldn’t be in the league. I know we like to say that. But all teams have some shit players. Relatively speaking

Start with Chartier, add Kelly. 58 games played. 3 goals scored.

Pinto and Formenton between them at this point, 20? Even 15?

 

[JD1]

At some point ladies and gentlemen we're going to have to stop blaming DJ Smith and start examining the players we have.

 

[BankStreetParade]

At some point ladies and gentlemen we're going to have to stop blaming DJ Smith and start examining the players we have.

I love how these posters keep talking about how DJ did this in the locker room or how DJ handled that behind closed doors...like, based on what? Who here has direct access to the locker room and coach's meetings that take place? Who here has been privy to conversations between DJ and the players, both individually and as a group? It's being said so definitively like anyone knows what the hell was going on in private. It's not an excuse for DJ - I said he should have been fired at the end of October - but there's no way anyone can say for sure what he was or wasn't saying to the players.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

High rim around and off the boards, flipping it high and out. Those are things you do when you don't have time. Every player and every team does that. And there's nothing wrong with it. It gives you a chance to regroup and better defend to get a clean break out.

What our team does that's bad, and they do this far more frequently than other teams, is have clear possession of the puck and go to make a play that doesn't result in the puck getting out, it results in a loss of possession. And some of it is imo just frustratingly lazy play.

Rimming the puck on the boards and the high flip is just clearing the zone when you have no option. We get in to far more trouble when there's a play to be made, it's attempted, but we f*** it up

Okay so why is it so common for the Sens to be unable to clear the puck from said rim arounds and off the boards? Why has it become a theme and why has it never been rectified? Every team does it but why do the Sens have one of the most difficult times executing a common strategy around the league? If it's a failing strategy why hasn't the strategy been changed?

I agree with you that the players definitely need to be looked at as well. No arguing that.

 

[lancepitlick]

A lot of these young players have done nothing but succeed in their careers and have probably never been told no. Be a youth phenom, get drafted high, instantly be the best player on your NHL team, get PP minutes, put up points, get a massive contract, your coach talks you up, you might make an all-star team, you get a letter on your jersey, the fans love you.

Now, for the first time in their lives, they're being told that they suck and need to change what they are doing. Probably comes as a hard blow to the ego and they may not even believe what they are being told. At a certain point though they need to look at the record of their team and realize they aren't being lied to.

This is one of the major problems when you go scorched earth and trade away every single Karlsson, Stone, Pageau, Paul on the roster. The younger players no longer have to compete for ice time and get handed everything. They never have to learn to play defense or make the right plays. They get all of the PP time and are talented enough to put up points and get a big money contract, all without playing winning hockey.

And to top it off you had a coach that never held them accountable (except Brannstrom for whatever reason). Remember when Spezza was coming up and they made him ride the pine or play in the AHL? Imagine if he was just handed minutes on the PP1 and given an 8-year deal. He wouldn't have been half the player he turned into.

They may have to move on from this entire group and start all over again. GMPD and Melnyk screwed up this franchise big time.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

 

[UglyPuckling]

Upcoming roadtrip: Van, Sea, Edm, Cgy, Buf. Except for the Van game, these are all winnable games against non playoff teams. Win 4/5 and we're back to .500.

Winning 4 of 5 seems very ambitious.

I'd say the only truly winnable games are against Calgary, Buffalo and maybe Seattle. Vancouver and Edmonton are way ahead of us.

Seattle has been playing much better lately. They've won their last 5 games I believe. Edmonton have won their last six games.

We have been getting crushed on these Western road trips over the last several years.

It's sad that we talk about getting back to .500 as a goal. Although that would be modest accomplishment, it would unfortunately still be an accomplishment with the way things are now.

 

[Micklebot]

Upcoming roadtrip: Van, Sea, Edm, Cgy, Buf. Except for the Van game, these are all winnable games against non playoff teams. Win 4/5 and we're back to .500.

EDM is back in the playoff picture base on pts % and has a 14-3 record over their last 17 games, they're playing better than Vancouver right now.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Does anyone have comparisons of the advanced stats for DJ vs. Martin? I know Martin's sample size is much smaller but I wanna see if any progress is being made anywhere cause the eye test feels like we're going backwards.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Does anyone have comparisons of the advanced stats for DJ vs. Martin? I know Martin's sample size is much smaller but I wanna see if any progress is being made anywhere cause the eye test feels like we're going backwards.

Advanced stats are down under Martin I believe

 

[Sting]

I wouldn't be surprised if advanced stats are down. It's pretty clear you have a set of players who have bought in and a set who haven't. The team doesn't play like one unit the way the best teams do. It's sad that the year is a complete write-off but it's for the best.

To think that Pierre/DJ/most of our core just assumed we'd be in playoff contention is hilarious. It's as if they thought the league was easy or something. We all know this team has been lacking an identity under DJ and it definitely shows.

 

[Tuna99]

Advanced stats are down under Martin I believe

I hope word doesn’t get out we are a bottom 5 NHL team

At some point ladies and gentlemen we're going to have to stop blaming DJ Smith and start examining the players we have.

Big time feel Martin has a team concept but has put the top players under the microscope. So we have what we asked for, accountability for the top players to become 200 foot players

 

[Burrowsaurus]

One thing Jacques has to fix is how these guys play after a win or two wins. It’s hilarious how these guys go into pie relaxation after winning

 

[DylanSensFan]

EDM is back in the playoff picture base on pts % and has a 14-3 record over their last 17 games, they're playing better than Vancouver right now.

I'd chalk Edmonton in as a loss. I get to watch them pretty closely and our team would have to play their best game ever, with tight checking defence to even hope to eke out OT.

 

[Micklebot]

Advanced stats are down under Martin I believe

Sample is a bit small, we've played above average competition, though even taking that in account it hasn't been great.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Sample is a bit small, we've played above average competition, though even taking that in account it hasn't been great.

How did you split the stats?

 

[Micklebot]

How did you split the stats?

Natural statrick lets you look at game by game stats or you can look at stats over a date range by clicking on 'more filters', last x number of team games is also an option. I only did a cursory look tbh, but it's pretty apparent even without doing a deep dive

 

[BankStreetParade]

Natural statrick lets you look at game by game stats or you can look at stats over a date range by clicking on 'more filters', last x number of team games is also an option. I only did a cursory look tbh, but it's pretty apparent even without doing a deep dive

Thanks! I was using moneypuck and could not figure out how to isolate by date.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Johnson: Canada didn't have the game breaker at this tournament that they've had in the past

JR is joined by TSN NHL and World Junior analyst Mike Johnson to discuss Canada's loss to Czechia in the quarterfinals, they tee up the semi-finals today and they look at the Sens in Seattle tonight.

www.tsn.ca

Mike Johnson around 12 minute mark is asked about Jacques Martin's message
"Not surprised at Jacques comments. He was brought in to identify or confirm the issues that were also there under DJ Smith."
"Its not surprising he would identify players tendencies need to change because he's a smart coach and he would see it the same way we all see it"
"What does he do to get them to change?" "What happens from here going forward is where it gets interesting"
JR asks if its problematic re Jacques title as interim coach wrt players saying he's not going to be here why should I do what he asks;
"Perhaps ; If that's how it goes you have a massive problem with the players."

On Tkachuk: "1. its really hard for a captain to impact that significant a change" 2."Some of the problems Ottawa has Brady has in his game. He is not a very good defensive player"

 

[otown]

At some point ladies and gentlemen we're going to have to stop blaming DJ Smith and start examining the players we have.

I think it is a useful exercise to reflect on how you got there and to avoid those mistakes in the future but in the end, every shift is going to be important for these players moving forward and changes are going to come. Jacques won't hold back on his analysis!

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Any players pouting must have really loved DJ. Must have viewed him as their best buddy.

but to quote Herb Brooks: “I’ll be your coach, I won’t be your friend.”

I wonder...how much of it is loving DJ, and how much of it is knowing the expectations are now on their shoulders? The kids got to play in the NHL for a couple years with very little in the way of pressure and expectation and getting massive contract and bypassing the bridge deals...almost the easiest life you can imagine in the NHL. Now they're expected to earn their position on the team and those big contracts...mistakes actually mean something.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

I guess DJ was really something that was part of the core too....

 

[Ghost of Jody Hull]

I guess DJ was really something that was part of the core too....

We used to have stars (Karlsson, Stone, Anderson) who got pissed off when the team made decisions that hurt their ability to win.

We now have stars who get pissed off when the team makes decisions to help them win.