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

[BondraTime]

Wrister is still better than most...

You're not setting up a guy for wristers from the point or halfwall on the PP though

 

[JD1]

I think relative to expectations it was pretty disappointing, we had a pretty light, home game heavy, start to the season, though arguably the qoc was above average. Add to that expectations were that we had turned the corner and were supposed to be a playoff team.

The road trips did kill us though, I'll give you that for sure, it was all just a bump in the road until they derailed everything.

There's statistically a negligible opportunity to make the playoffs with those two 0-5 stretches. You're left trying to post 95 points in 71 games. That in itself isn't that hard, but it's sure not likely for a team that also went 0-10 in a 10 game road stretch.

Look where we are now and what 7 points would do for our chances. We blew multi goal leads in some of those games. A good portion of it was goaltending

Those were really dark times for me. Completely disillusioned

 

[KnuckChuckinTkachuk]

We need to win the next 3 and then we'll be 10 points back of Detroit for the last WC spot with the same amount of games played.

So that's 5 games back in baseball terms.

After that, if the Sens pull half of what the Oilers did (so an 8 game winning streak) they have a shot at playoffs, especially if teams in the Easts (TOR, WSH, PIT, NYI, NJ) continue to sputter.

Not likely but not impossible. It would take a Hamburgler like run but honestly, this team has the talent to do it.

 

[Tuna99]

There's statistically a negligible opportunity to make the playoffs with those two 0-5 stretches. You're left trying to post 95 points in 71 games. That in itself isn't that hard, but it's sure not likely for a team that also went 0-10 in a 10 game road stretch.

Look where we are now and what 7 points would do for our chances. We blew multi goal leads in some of those games. A good portion of it was goaltending

Those were really dark times for me. Completely disillusioned

a massive history this season would be to get the road record to .500%

Can’t make the playoffs with a losing road record. Doesn’t happen

Leafs are barely .500 at home it’s their road record that’s saved them this season. Ottawa needs some of that

 

[Slippy]

We need to win the next 3 and then we'll be 10 points back of Detroit for the last WC spot with the same amount of games played.

So that's 5 games back in baseball terms.

After that, if the Sens pull half of what the Oilers did (so an 8 game winning streak) they have a shot at playoffs, especially if teams in the Easts (TOR, WSH, PIT, NYI, NJ) continue to sputter.

Not likely but not impossible. It would take a Hamburgler like run but honestly, this team has the talent to do it.

By my very simple quick math, the Sens would need to go 26-8 to have a chance at the final spot.

 

[HSF]

love seeing SDPN say that Keefe was outcoached by Martin

So nice actually having a legit NHL head coach

Stuztle wasn't going so his role was reduced. Under Smith that would not have happened

It wasn't really a horrendous start. The first 0-5 road trip was games 24-28. The second one was games 33-37. At game 22, we were 11-11. Not a hot start, but certainly not horrendous either.

Its a bad start if you want to make the playoffs with how home heavy and rest between games the schedule was

 

[DJB]

Remember when we had a couple of prominent posters defending that clown DJ Smith trying to argue he “wasn’t as bad as he was being portrayed “?

Yeah you know who you are

 

[Xspyrit]

This below is what I call turning a corner. Sure, last night wasn't their best collective effort but they were literally missing their first pairing that has been Elite for a while now.

Oh and by the way, small sample size but among 202 pairings with at least 100 ES minutes together, Chychrun-Sanderson has the best xGF% (67%) in the NHL this season, they should absolutely be together so Chabot could have Zub and continue to raise his game

Team stats since January 13th (12 GP) :

Points% : 4th
ROWs : 3rd (only Oilers and Stars have more)
GF/GP : 1st
GA/GP : 26th
PP% : 23rd
PK% : 3rd
Shots/GP : 2nd
SA/GP : 8th

Advanced stats since January 13th (All Strengths) :

CF% : 5th
SF% : 4th
xGF% : 2nd (9th in GF%)
SV% : 30th

Too bad rookie GM Dorion and rookie coach DJ weren't fired earlier, we would be in a much better situation

And you forgot to add another "much" at the end

And to think I knew we were going nowhere fast with them after 8 games in 2020-21... 4 seasons down the drain... and it's not about making the playoffs, it's about building a team cohesion and playing the right way

Let's see how the draft goes. Maybe we get a cornerstone with a high pick or win the lottery and this is seen as a blessing.

Having Pierre Dorion and DJ Smith at the helm all those years will NEVER be seen as a blessing. Keep in mind we're going to lose a 1st round pick by 2026 too and our first this year is going to be 10th+ OA. Bruins first will also be very late. In no way, shape or form this team still tanking can be seen as a positive.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Remember when we had a couple of prominent posters defending that clown DJ Smith trying to argue he “wasn’t as bad as he was being portrayed “?

Yeah you know who you are

You know that 2 things can be true at the same time, right? Not every coach who gets fired is a clown who doesn't know anything about coaching. You've baked this down to the lowest common denominator so you can use it to attack people. Try to be better than that.

 

[swiftwin]

Remember when we had a couple of prominent posters defending that clown DJ Smith trying to argue he “wasn’t as bad as he was being portrayed “?

Yeah you know who you are

He's not as bad as he's being portrayed.

He reached his due date and we moved on. Not the first good coach to get fired, won't be the last.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

You know that 2 things can be true at the same time, right? Not every coach who gets fired is a clown who doesn't know anything about coaching. You've baked this down to the lowest common denominator so you can use it to attack people. Try to be better than that.

You literally attack people on here all the time lmao.

He's not as bad as he's being portrayed.

He reached his due date and we moved on. Not the first good coach to get fired, won't be the last.

He reached his due date a year before he was fired.

 

[BoardsofCanada]

I was one who defended DJ. I am still not convinced the team's troubles were all on him. The players couldn't execute and and we got putrid goaltending.

That said, the team looks a lot more confident under Martin (over the last 10 games). They're still not as tight defensively as I'd like them to be but there's a swagger to their game that wasn't there earlier this season. I will eat crow and say that if we had Martin right from the beginning, we'd probably be contending for a playoff spot.

I still think DJ is a fine coach. Look at the fact that LA picked him right up. But Jacques Martin is next level. I'd be up for Martin to extend and we take a swing at it with him next year.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Remember when we had a couple of prominent posters defending that clown DJ Smith trying to argue he “wasn’t as bad as he was being portrayed “?

Yeah you know who you are

You mean the same people that defended Eugene Melnyk and Pierre Dorion? I am sensing a pattern here.

 

[swiftwin]

You mean the same people that defended Eugene Melnyk and Pierre Dorion? I am sensing a pattern here.

Has anyone even defended Melnyk?

 

[Alf Silfversson]

He reached his due date 2-3 years before he was fired.

FTFY

 

[L'Aveuglette]

FTFY

Fair

 

[Xspyrit]

He reached his due date a year before he was fired.

A year? Am I the only one who thinks 3+ years? Same for Dorion

FTFY

That's more like it

I still think DJ is a fine coach. Look at the fact that LA picked him right up.

They picked him up as an assistant coach, not the same job, and the role he should have had even here.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

A year? Am I the only one who thinks 3+ years? Same for Dorion

I think it became obvious before last season. 2-3 seasons ago people still believed DJ could get these kids headed in the right direction.

They picked him up as an assistant coach, not the same job, and the role he should have had even here.

Exactly, and they picked him because LA's head coach worked with him before with the Leafs.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

I wonder if Brady still dislikes Jacques based on that 2 second clip of him looking at Jacques in the locker room and from what posters said.

 

[DJB]

He's not as bad as he's being portrayed.

He reached his due date and we moved on. Not the first good coach to get fired, won't be the last.

Yeah you are the 2nd person to quote tweet me saying exactly this. Someone else did it weeks ago… probably our most arrogant Sens board poster.

Im not going to argue about DJ when his results speak for themselves.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

He's not as bad as he's being portrayed.

He reached his due date and we moved on. Not the first good coach to get fired, won't be the last.

If DJ punted a baby you'd justify his actions somehow.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

He's not as bad as he's being portrayed.

He reached his due date and we moved on. Not the first good coach to get fired, won't be the last.

I don't know if that can be said with such certainty. He didn't get results and hasn't yet in the NHL. He seems like a nice guy, his peers seem to consider him qualified, and he got the job, but he didn't get results here that make this any sort of indisputable fact. He still needs to prove he can be a winning coach at the NHL level, which is usually the measure of what is a good coach is.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

If DJ punted a baby you'd justify his actions somehow.

Come on. That's just not true.

He would only be on board if DJ punted a baby UNDER PIERRE DORION'S DIRECTION.

Important distinction.

 

[BondraTime]

DJ was definitely not as bad as was made out to be here.

He wasn't a good head coach, he got no help, we got what we got, should have been let go 2 years ago.

The reason the Sens were not doing well was not that we had DJ Smith as a coach. They've had multiple 10 game heaters with him as well

 

[Tuna99]

I don't know if that can be said with such certainty. He didn't get results and hasn't yet in the NHL. He seems like a nice guy, his peers seem to consider him qualified, and he got the job, but he didn't get results here that make this any sort of indisputable fact. He still needs to prove he can be a winning coach at the NHL level, which is usually the measure of what is a good coach is.

Former coaches ranked

Jacques Martin
Bryan Murray
Paul Maclean
Guy Boucher
Dave Cameron
Cory Clouston
Roger Nielsen
DJ Smith
Jon Paddock
Ric Bowness
Dave Allison
Marc Crawford
Craig Hartsburg