Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Come on, guys. We're not stupid here.

If the problem was 100% one thing, it would've been fixed a long time ago. We all know that.

Part of it is coaching. Part of it is injuries. Part of it is inexperience with higher expectations***. Part of it is simply not being quite as talented as we think they are.

Multiple things need to be fixed with this roster and organization. Changing the coaching staff over the summer should be a part of that process.




*** I say inexperience with higher expectations because I'm not willing to continue to use the "we're so young!" excuse. We have a lot of guys with 200+ NHL games played now. But, a lot of that time was with no expectations in Ottawa. Once you're off your ELC, any age related excuses should be off the table.

 

[DueDiligence]

It took the NHLs 2nd best record over what? 2 months? To get us where? let’s see…3 or 4 meaningful games? lol (don’t get me wrong I loved them) but how about a reality check.
We are currently picking 11th.
We picked 7th last year, 10th the year before.

For many posters here that was Sens goal this year. Mission accomplished!

 

[Micklebot]

I'll preface this with stating that I think it is time for a coaching change, but not because I think DJ is terrible, rather because I think the team has for the most part learned what they can from him.

Who went into this year thinking we'd be neck and neck in the standings with Florida (122 pts last year), Washington (100 pts), Calgary (111 pts) and well ahead of the blues(109 pts) come March? The reality is it's a tough league and there are 31 other teams with the same goals, parity is king and the gap between being a bad team and a great one isn't as big as some think.

We had a lot of ground to make up to be competitive, and frankly we have been competitive despite some key injuries and not being able to secure that final piece of the top 4 until the deadline. Set your expectations realistically and this season went how it should all considered.

Next year, I hope we have a new coach that can take us to the next level, that's not an indictment on DJ, just a team that needs to learn different lessons than what he teaches.

 

[Loach]

Just listening to the 32 Thoughts. That bit on DJ was interesting.

 

[Sens Vader]

Just listening to the 32 Thoughts. That bit on DJ was interesting.

What did they say?

 

[Big Muddy]

DJ's future here is most likely tied to the Sens sale.

They're now floating July dates. That means Dorion does the draft and draft trading. It also means he does the summer roster overhaul

Seems unlikely to me that if Dorion does the draft and a roster overhaul in the summer, they fire him before the season starts. And if Dorion is here, seems likely that DJ is here.

I have mentioned a few times that I expect the dates to slip, but is the July date when all of the legal details are finalized? I was just thinking that maybe the winning bidder might know they are the winning bidder before July so they could start to roll on a few things. That is definitely the more optimistic viewpoint, and I'm NOT banking on it - just thinking out loud.

 

[Ice-Tray]

For many posters here that was Sens goal this year. Mission accomplished!

For some posters there will never be a reasonable expectation. Regardless of how close they get there will be the same posters complaining that we didn’t get even closer.

Just is what it is.

I see no point in trying to pick at fans who feel that the season has been an overall success in terms of growth. Doesn’t mean folks aren’t disappointed in how the team responded over the last few games, rather some fans understand that winning is a process that this team needs to learn. Sucks? Yes, disappointing season? No.

We are so much better than we were last year, and have finally reached the middle ground where challenging for the playoffs is a realistic expectation going forward. To me that’s awesome to see.

Its a shame that the team hasn’t met your personal expectations on the year, and it’s a shame that being in the hunt for the playoffs and 9th in the conference to start the month in March isn’t good enough for you. 4-5 games so far of truly being in the playoff hunt isn’t good enough in terms of growth off last year I guess.

 

[Big Muddy]

Our collective sv % is .904, Carolina's is .907.

Our ES goal differential is our issue - worse than Arizona and tied with MTL. Do you think we should be better than them given our roster? MTL save percentage is .901, Arizona is .906, so it's not shittier goaltending that's causing this issue.

With or without Norris, we cannot score 5 on 5. A team with a healthy Brady, Bath, Stu, Giroux, and Debrincat, shouldn't be this bad In this category.

Yes, ES & 5v.5 scoring has been an issue. Whether Norris can fix that next year, we'll have to see. I hope for the best. But, this does need to improve to be a playoff team next year.

 

[Loach]

What did they say?

This is on the players and not DJ. It's the players job to be ready to go to work, not DJ. Uses himself as an example that he (Friedman) doesn't need the producer to make sure he's ready to work. Later on says early in his career covering the Raptors his boss told him "If you aren't ready to work, I'll get someone who is." Lol..so yah you did need it Fried. I need to listen to it again, noisy at work.

 

[Big Muddy]

If we sign DeBrincat to an 8 year deal similar to Fiala's, does it become a long term move?

I didn't see Talbot as a big acquisition, more of a safety net to play 1a to Forsbergs 1b, not a long term move, your right, but not one that signals playoffs or bust. He didn't move the needle much imo. I saw it more of an indictment of what the team thought of Gus, which imo was a mistake but it is what it is.

It would be. But, the timing of the Debrincat extension would be a critical factor. It would have been nice to have an extension in place already. But, there could be different reasons that this hasn't happened yet.

Edited - to clarify it was a Debrincat extension.

 

[LevelingSolo]

This is on the players and not DJ. It's the players job to be ready to go to work, not DJ. Uses himself as an example that he (Friedman) doesn't need the producer to make sure he's ready to work. Later on says early in his career covering the Raptors his boss told him "If you aren't ready to work, I'll get someone who is." Lol..so yah you did need it Fried. I need to listen to it again, noisy at work.

Man what dirt does DJ have on the media lol?

This guy get's a bigger pass then any previous coach for this organization

 

[Burrowsaurus]

York and Ryan also make the point that the Sens best players are young and inexperienced. They are panicking under pressure as young players inevitably do. Things are happening a mile a minute and mistakes happen. It's not from a lack of coaching or tuning the coach out, they just aren't ready yet. They're close, but they need to continue to mature.

Listen at the 15 minute mark. Bobby Ryan says this is not a coaching issue. He guarantees DJ is going over the mistakes with them, but in the moment, in the chaos when things are happening at light speed, young players will make poor decisions.

And for the posters who are saying DJ doesn't hold them accountable. What does this mean? You want DJ to sit Chabot, Batherson and DBC? You honestly think we would be a better team with these guys sitting?

I can accept this. It’s also a by product of being part of a rebuild and pretty much only knowing rebuildsnin your career. Chabot debrincat and chychrun have been around for a while and only know losing and getting paid to not win essentially. Lots of learning going on. At least I hope

Man what dirt does DJ have on the media lol?

This guy get's a bigger pass then any previous coach for this organization

Well I think theyre talking about the last 3 losses in particular. And I do agree. The players weren’t ready to go and didn’t pick up as the game went on

 

[Loach]

Man what dirt does DJ have on the media lol?

This guy get's a bigger pass then any previous coach for this organization

Give it a listen. He never said "I spoke with a former player/coach/manager etc" like he usually does. This was an opinion piece. Like Ottawa management talking through the media.

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

Yes, ES & 5v.5 scoring has been an issue. Whether Norris can fix that next year, we'll have to see. I hope for the best. But, this does need to improve to be a playoff team next year.

Our 5v5 goal differential (-25 right now) is worse than last year despite improvements to the team. Norris can't fix that, team needs a new coach.

 

[Cosmix]

I'll preface this with stating that I think it is time for a coaching change, but not because I think DJ is terrible, rather because I think the team has for the most part learned what they can from him.

Who went into this year thinking we'd be neck and neck in the standings with Florida (122 pts last year), Washington (100 pts), Calgary (111 pts) and well ahead of the blues(109 pts) come March? The reality is it's a tough league and there are 31 other teams with the same goals, parity is king and the gap between being a bad team and a great one isn't as big as some think.

We had a lot of ground to make up to be competitive, and frankly we have been competitive despite some key injuries and not being able to secure that final piece of the top 4 until the deadline. Set your expectations realistically and this season went how it should all considered.

Next year, I hope we have a new coach that can take us to the next level, that's not an indictment on DJ, just a team that needs to learn different lessons than what he teaches.

I am hoping for more than a new coaching staff.

It would be. But, the timing of the extension would be a critical factor. It would have been nice to have an extension in place already. But, there could be different reasons that this hasn't happened yet.

Talbot will be 35 in July. Too old but ok for a backup.

 

[Big Muddy]

Our 5v5 goal differential (-25 right now) is worse than last year despite improvements to the team. Norris can't fix that, team needs a new coach.

OK. And, I think I said I don't care how it gets done, just that it needs to happen.

I am hoping for more than a new coaching staff.


Talbot will be 35 in July. Too old but ok for a backup.

I was referring to Debrincat in my post, not Talbot.

 

[Silencio]

I think we have to have some realistic expectations of when management change will occur, if it happens. Some of you seem like you're expecting the new owners to stride into the CTC on day one and dramatically dispose of DJ and Dorion like Paul Giamatti in Billions:

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I think we have to have some realistic expectations of when management change will occur, if it happens. Some of you seem like you're expecting the new owners to stride into the CTC on day one and dramatically dispose of DJ and Dorion like Paul Giamatti in Billions:

People are just trying to will what they want into existence. It will be a process for sure, with no guarantees of which way they will go.

 

[DueDiligence]

We are so much better than we were last year, and have finally reached the middle ground where challenging for the playoffs is a realistic expectation going forward. To me that’s awesome to see.

Its a shame that the team hasn’t met your personal expectations on the year, and it’s a shame that being in the hunt for the playoffs and 9th in the conference to start the month in March isn’t good enough for you. 4-5 games so far of truly being in the playoff hunt isn’t good enough in terms of growth off last year I guess.

1) Are the Sens truly better? Their record in their final 62 games last season was 29-27-6. Their record this year so far : 33-29-4 . If you think they are so much better then you have set a really low bar.

2) Are they truly in the playoff hunt? Or are they hanging around like 3-4 other teams and have less than a 10% chance of making them.

You can paint a glowing picture all you want but the team is only marginally better than last year and with a lot more talent added. I 'm glad you think they are awesome but in reality they've underachieved.

 

[Micklebot]

1) Are the Sens truly better? Their record in their final 62 games last season was 29-27-6. Their record this year so far : 33-29-4 . If you think they are so much better then you have set a really low bar.

2) Are they truly in the playoff hunt? Or are they hanging around like 3-4 other teams and have less than a 10% chance of making them.

You can paint a glowing picture all you want but the team is only marginally better than last year and with a lot more talent added. I 'm glad you think they are awesome but in reality they've underachieved.

It's bizarre that someone can watch last year vs this year and not see a significant difference

We finished last year with 73 pts and are currently projecting to finish with around 87-90

We finished last year with a minus 40 goal differential and are pacing this year at about -5 or 6

They've achieved pretty much exactly what was expected of them prior to the season beginning, and far more than most thought possible after a disastrous first quarter of the season marred by a string of 1 goal loses.

 

[Relapsing]

Look at DJ, making line changes ahead of the Edm game to try and get the pinto line going.

 

[Golden_Jet]

When your goal is to not make the playoffs, and also not to be in last place - that’s not a goal, it’s an excuse. The goal is mediocrity

Lol goal not to make playoffs; lots of hyperbole today.

 

[SquidNasty]

What did they say?

I transcribed it yesterday:

Pretty interesting stuff from Elliot Friedman on his podcast today.

You know, Ottawa lost the math. I know it's a very difficult road for them, and I just bet they're going to look around and say: boy, we just could not keep the emotional firepower going, we didn't have it against Vancouver and Calgary like we did against the Rangers, Detroit and Columbus. That's going to cost them at the end of the year.

And you know it was funny, I was having a text conversation with someone about DJ Smith on Sunday night and they were like: this is on the coach, this is on the coach. You know what I say? No it's not. It's not. And I know that
Kelly Hrudey feels this way, Bieksa feels this way, even though I didn't play in the NHL, I feel this way. It is my job, Jeff, to get motivated for what I'm supposed to do. I don't need you or Amil (producer)... When we hit record on this podcast, I know I need to be there. If you can't be up for it, eventually we'll have to go find someone else that will. I don't think you can blame the coach for that, I think it just shows the emotion of just how hard this is, how difficult it is to be great 82 games a year, you have no room for error when you're chasing the playoffs, but ultimately I think the players have to be ready to play. For whatever reason the last couple of nights, the Senators just didn't have that great emotion and edge. And if I was wearing a Senators jersey, I'd be saying that's not on the coach, that's on me.

 

[DueDiligence]

It's bizarre that someone can watch last year vs this year and not see a significant difference

We finished last year with 73 pts and are currently projecting to finish with around 87-90

We finished last year with a minus 40 goal differential and are pacing this year at about -5 or 6

They've achieved pretty much exactly what was expected of them prior to the season beginning, and far more than most thought possible after a disastrous first quarter of the season marred by a string of 1 goal loses.

As I pointed out previously, in the last 62 games of the 21-22 season the Sens were 29-27-6 . Their goal differential over that period was minus -9. Most people would see that after a disastrous start in 2021-22 the Sens turned it around in the last 3/4 of last season and that should be the baseline of what people's expectations should be based on for this season.

 

[Sens Vader]

This is on the players and not DJ. It's the players job to be ready to go to work, not DJ. Uses himself as an example that he (Friedman) doesn't need the producer to make sure he's ready to work. Later on says early in his career covering the Raptors his boss told him "If you aren't ready to work, I'll get someone who is." Lol..so yah you did need it Fried. I need to listen to it again, noisy at work.

That’s kinda strange because I don’t think anybody ever really criticizes the work ethic or effort of the team.

People back DJ because he seems like an awesome guy, being liked will get you far in this world.

I’m excited to see a new coach come in once ownership arrives.