Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[Micklebot]

Perhaps he’s healthy. We need confirmation. Regardless jbd should have been in yesterday

Or just not called up and left Heatherington here.

 

[cudi]

Or just not called up and left Heatherington here.

at least he got an NHL salary while he was here at least. Good for him lol

 

[Sens Vader]

Can’t ignore 3 straight seasons of terrible starts.

You get the benefit of the doubt the first time, maybe the second. Not this time.

Fire him now don’t wait

 

[slamigo]

My concern is that with the team for sale there may be an embargo on major personnel moves (i.e. dismissing DJ, which is unfortunately necessary).

It’s not hard to envision new owners => new hockey ops => new GM => new coach.

The playoff dream may amazingly already be over, but if there’s any such embargo it pretty much guarantees it.

These are my thoughts exactly. No real coaching change until new ownership and mgmt team in place. Until then, enjoy Zaitsev and the 4th line.

 

[SENATOR]

I thought DJ is already fired. He never fixed anything, always depends in his mind on hot garbage vets for 4 years. Can not win meaningful games No structure. No accountability from players. Fringe guy can swing wildly for a puck and taking someone head off. It is a problem.DJ is a rookie coach, who does not develop himself. Just horrible. Some coaches need at least 5- 10 years in a league to be decent with winning % over 550. But you need 580% to be considered a playoff coach.

 

[Sun God Nika]

Sens are going to be getting a ownership change within the year . Any reputable coach will stay away until the new owner brings in their own GM who will want to bring in their own coach

 

[Bileur]

I get that some are saying these losses/mistakes aren’t strictly DJ’s fault. Yes, player execution is important.

That said, DJ has been here for three years. The Sens keep making the same execution errors (on top of other coaching issues). It is clear that DJ doesn’t have the answers to get this fixed. It’s almost irrelevant whether he is at fault or not, the fact remains that he’s not the guy to fix the problem.

Time for a change.

 

[Que]

I missed the last two games because of inventory *shudders* but you gotta sacrifice for that 1.3% shrink.

I voted no but I am beginning to worry the players may start giving up on DJ soon and then he has to go.

We have a goal differential of 0, and Darryl Sutter’s Flames are at -1.

It’s all chemistry.

And Zaitsev…

 

[slamigo]

We need another Uber ride to find out what the players really think of the coaching staff.

 

[Tuna99]

Summer of Pierre didn’t continue.

It’s funny because a hot start really helps
Him secure his job with the new owners if he’s delivering a winning product the community believes in. Dorion just can’t get it all together and on the same page, his team is always springing a leak somewhere

 

[umma gumma]

I really hate how easily teams can gain entry into our zone, and then how easy it is for them to set up a cycle. Every team we play seem to have no problem with this, yet we struggle to do the same to them with same consistency.

 

[Tuna99]

I really hate how easily teams can gain entry into our zone, and then how easy it is for them to set up a cycle. Every team we play seem to have no problem with this, yet we struggle to do the same to them with same consistency.

 

[TheNewEra]

Sens are going to be getting a ownership change within the year . Any reputable coach will stay away until the new owner brings in their own GM who will want to bring in their own coach

this is the part that sucks because i agree, our best option might be promoting mann

 

[Cosmix]

We should just ride out the current GM and coaching staff until new ownership is in place and can clean house to put their own GM and coaching staff in place. That approach allows the current regime to try to address the problem with the resources they have now; however I would put handcuffs on Dorion so he cannot make any significant trades to try to save his job. If anyone gets terminated, the replacements should only be temps.

 

[ChurchOfAlfie]

The biggest argument for firing DJ is the fact that no argument can be made to keep him.

"The players haven't been good" is not an argument to keep him, it's an argument to have the players shoulder their part of the blame.

"The players like him" (do they?) is not an argument to keep him. He's not paid to be liked.

"The roster isn't good enough" is not an argument to keep him, it's an argument against the front office/ownership.

"Prospective owners will want to install their own hire" is not an argument to keep him, it's an argument for *another* change to be made once the team sells.

Seriously, imagine DJ being asked point blank to defend why he should stay on. What would he say? That he's a good motivator? That his tactics and systems are effective? 220 games of NHL experience would suggest otherwise.

If there's no argument to be made to keep him, he's got to go. Now.

 

[OD99]

Don't be silly.

- Underlying metrics
- It's only preseason
- Z is terrible
- Goaltending sucks

There are loads of excuses, errors er... legitimate reasons this team looks dysfunctional.

 

[Cosmix]

Dorion looked really pissed in the booth tonight.

I’m hoping that this is it.

But we need a totally fresh voice. Can’t be Mann or Cap. Someone with pedigree

I would rather see the Senators President look pissed off.

 

[coladin]

The analytics don’t support firing DJ.

The scores and all losses were with our goalie pulled. There are no blowouts.

The players are still busting their arses.

The only thing supporting firing DJ is the standings. And Dorion won’t fire him with analytics in the top 10.

 

[swiftwin]

There are loads of excuses, errors er... legitimate reasons this team looks dysfunctional.

Can you elaborate on what makes the team look dysfunctional this season?

 

[Bileur]

The analytics don’t support firing DJ.

The scores and all losses were with our goalie pulled. There are no blowouts.

The players are still busting their arses.

The only thing supporting firing DJ is the standings. And Dorion won’t fire him with analytics in the top 10.

I think he will if the Sens are bottom 5 after 25-30 games.

 

[swiftwin]

I think he will if the Sens are bottom 5 after 25-30 games.

I'd be f***ing shocked if we were still bottom 5 after 25-30 games while still having top 10 analytics. I just can't see that happening.

Our standing will go up, or our analytics will drop. Can't have both.

 

[HSF]

lmao people still defending DJ
3rd year in a row with a slow start and we are looking at stats to show that we will improve? hahahhaha

 

[DaveMatthew]

DJ Smith is a guy who walks and talks like someone who’s just happy to be coaching in the league. And good on him for getting to this point. But he’s not an NHL coach. And he’ll never coach another NHL team after this one.

Once again, we’ve dug ourselves a hole that we won’t be able to get out of, after 10 games. And the only guy who seems to have a problem with it is Claude Giroux, who’s been here for 4 months. But he knows what it takes to win at the NHL level. No one else in this organization does. DJ certainly doesn’t.

Does he get fired in the next few weeks? I doubt it.

But the reality is, a new ownership group is not keeping him or Dorion around. No way no how. So it’s just a matter of time. Too bad that yet another season will be wasted.

I’m sure the usual posters will dispute this, just like they argued for months that the team wouldn’t be sold… but we’ll get a fresh management group alongside new ownership. It’s inevitable.

 

[Alex1234]

We should start a pool :

-How many times the analytics drink from the cup on bank street from Argyle to Wellington?

My guess is less then 3

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I think he'll definitely be replaced if the wins dont come and we're in a similar spot around the 20 game mark. Stats or not, the guy needs wins and the easiest change you can make to try to swing momentum is swapping coaches.

That said, I think its still a bit early for it to be expected as if its outlandish it hasnt been done yet, even if there's an argument for doing it sooner than later.