Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[Mingus Dew]

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 over the long term.

Fixed.

Statistical aberrations happen. We could absolutely continue losing while having good underlying metrics for another 20, 30, 40, etc. games.

It's probably not going to happen over a full 82 game sample but there is a non-zero chance.

Anyways, positive regression to the mean that comes in game 25 isn't going to matter because we'll be out of the playoff race by then.

 

[Alex1234]

Is there anyone out there who can run an effective powerplay? That alone would make a huge difference. We have the shooters! With every loss DJ is one step closer to the end of the line but as mentioned before the timing and potential turnover to new ownership may be his lifeline for now.

Agree
Problem is the PP Quarterback fumbles the ball every other opportunity

 

[Tuna99]

Brace yourselves for another losing season, team. Unless this is another Boucher situation, in which case he'll be gone by tomorrow.

without crazy Eugene around don't think that happens.

I think it's more like "get your act together or you're both gone"

don't know why Dorion would get a pass to fire his coach when he spend an extra $20 million this year and the team is just as bad and the player decisions is even worse

 

[Alex1234]

Fixed.

Statistical aberrations happen. We could absolutely continue losing while having good underlying metrics for another 20, 30, 40, etc. games.

It's probably not going to happen over a full 82 game sample but there is a non-zero chance.

Anyways, positive regression to the mean that comes in game 25 isn't going to matter because we'll be out of the playoff race by then.

Agree
.633% hockey to make the PO already feels like out of reach

11 games in lol

What a mess of a start

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

 

[DaveMatthew]

You have made quite a few assumptions here that are your opinion I cant get behind RE the bolded. I have to ask how would you know better what it takes to win in this league than DJ? He isnt the type of guy thats going to throw his players under the bus to the media. I guarantee whats going on behind closed doors is very different than what he is saying to TSN1200. If you think throwing your players under the bus to the media is what it takes to win well you're lost on that one. To say he will never coach again is something you absolutely have no clue about either.

I never claimed to know better. But the nice thing about pro sports is that there's a scoreboard. And that scoreboard can be used to judge whether someone is a winner or loser. Right now, it's pretty easy to make the claim that DJ is a loser.

I do know that Claude Giroux knows what it takes to win in this league better than DJ, and he's the only guy that seems to be showing any sense of emotion out there, or in post-game interviews. The rest of the team still seems perfectly fine accumulating "moral victories". Maybe it's different behind closed doors, I don't know, but the hardest part of a rebuild is turning the switch after years of being conditioned to losing, and most of these guys, DJ included, haven't been able to do it. They've essentially eliminated themselves from playoff contention, again, 11 games in. When the pressure is off in January I'm sure they'll rack up a few W's, but who cares?

And no, I can't predict the future, but what about DJ Smith makes him a better coach than Dave Cameron or Paul MacLean? Neither of those guys have coached an NHL team since leaving this organization, so I'll predict that DJ Smith falls in the same boat as them. Wins and losses matter.

He'll be fine as a "good cop assistant" or CHL coach, though.

 

[DJB]

Kiss of death or he’s here to stay until January.

Gulp

 

[Gil Gunderson]

That doesn’t really mean anything.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

It seems pretty likely to me that they'll just let it ride until a new ownership group comes in. From a business perspective, it makes little sense to hire a new guy if new management intends on bringing in their own guy anyway. But man, that's gonna burn through some good will if that's the intent.

 

[McGees]

 

[bert]

I never claimed to know better. But the nice thing about pro sports is that there's a scoreboard. And that scoreboard can be used to judge whether someone is a winner or loser. Right now, it's pretty easy to make the claim that DJ is a loser.

I do know that Claude Giroux knows what it takes to win in this league better than DJ, and he's the only guy that seems to be showing any sense of emotion out there. The rest of the team of the team still seems perfectly fine accumulating "moral victories".

And no, I can't predict the future, but what about DJ Smith makes him a better coach than Dave Cameron or Paul MacLean? Neither of those guys have coached an NHL team since leaving this organization, so I'll predict that DJ Smith falls in the same boat as them. Wins and losses matter.

He'll be fine as a "good cop assistant" or CHL coach, though.

Of course you claim to know better you said 'he doesnt know what it takes to win in this league'.

He is a better coach than Cameron or Maclean in my opinion. His players arent excecuting right now. When you lose one goal games like they have been it means they are in them and they arent doing what it takes to get done. When you are outchancing other teams more games than you're not that means you arent excecuting when you keep losing.

To me Chabot is getting him fired. He has been beyond terrible this year, when your number 1 d man is playing this much this poorly its impossible to win. My complaint here is he isnt sitting him or getting the most out of him. I wonder and I think its worth considering do they need a new D core coach. DJ doesnt run the D core's icetime.

 

[aragorn]

Debrincat shooting% to its norm and Chabot playing to his norm probably improves our record to over 500

Still its fair to question the PP production and not making adjustments to key spots at key moments when players are struggling

People cried about bringing in more skill, they brought in more skill & the skill isn't producing, in fact, it's the skill that is costing us goals against & costing us games while not scoring themselves. They need to stop making big mistakes especially when the goaltender is out of the net & they are trying to get that tying goal.

Stutzle's been the worst player on the PP, without question, and I have yet to see anyone bring his name up as sharing in the blame.

I have, but nobody wants to hear that their favourite player is costing them games. He hasn't been terrible, but he is reckless with the puck sometimes & a few times near the end of the game with the goaltender out which is inexcusable. Chabot & DeBrincat have also given the puck away, but even with all this they have still been in every game.

I expect at some point they will get it together & start winning some of these one goal games, but DeBrincat has to start scoring & Chabot has to be much much better & Zub needs to come back. I also expect that JBD will be a permanent fixture on this defence soon.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Of course you claim to know better you said 'he doesnt know what it takes to win in this league'.

He is a better coach than Cameron or Maclean in my opinion. His players arent excecuting right now. When you lose one goal games like they have been it means they are in them and they arent doing what it takes to get done. When you are outchancing other teams more games than you're not that means you arent excecuting when you keep losing.

To me Chabot is getting him fired. He has been beyond terrible this year, when your number 1 d man is playing this much this poorly its impossible to win. My complaint here is he isnt sitting him or getting the most out of him. I wonder and I think its worth considering do they need a new D core coach. DJ doesnt run the D core's icetime.

What has DJ done to show you that he knows what it takes to win in this league? Has he ever won? As far as I know, he's never been part of a coaching staff that's won a playoff series.

And blaming the assistant is lame. The buck stops with DJ Smith. If he disagrees with the ice time allocation, he can step in and change it. He makes the final decisions about who plays and who plays how much.

Also, I'm not saying that DJ is the only reason for our bad start. There are plenty of others. Chabot has been beyond terrible. For every good play that Stützle has made, he's made a gaffe. DeBrincat is a sniper who's great at shooting right at the goalie's chest. The injuries haven't helped.

But with that said, I don't think he's the guy that will get this team over the hump either. Sometimes a team, even a young team, needs a change in voice to cement home that the philosophy from the last 3 years is no longer accepted. I think this is one of those times.

I think a coach with some experience, pedigree and gravitas would do wonders (basically: the coach version of the Claude Giroux signing).

Realistically, it's inevitable. We're going to be hard-pressed to make the playoffs this season, which means the fanbase won't be happy at the end of the year. A new ownership group isn't keeping this regime around. They'll want to change the conversation, and they'll do it by getting rid of Dorion and Smith. There's zero chance either of these guys are in front of a microphone at the next training camp, saying the same old message, unless we make the playoffs.

The question is... if we continue to struggle for the next couple of weeks, does Dorion try to save his job by firing DJ...

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

People cried about bringing in more skill, they brought in more skill & the skill isn't producing, in fact, it's the skill that is costing us goals against & costing us games while not scoring themselves. They need to stop making big mistakes especially when the goaltender is out of the net & they are trying to get that tying goal.

I have, but nobody wants to hear that their favourite player is costing them games. He hasn't been terrible, but he is reckless with the puck sometimes & a few times near the end of the game with the goaltender out which is inexcusable. Chabot & DeBrincat have also given the puck away, but even with all this they have still been in every game.

I expect at some point they will get it together & start winning some of these one goal games, but DeBrincat has to start scoring & Chabot has to be much much better & Zub needs to come back. I also expect that JBD will be a permanent fixture on this defence soon.

Not going to advocate for less skill. There are lots of mistakes to go around.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Put up or shut up DJ. I don't get the loyalty if he can't do that ~20 games in. Coaches are a dime a dozen and the easiest change you can make to try to turn the tide.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

This is cringe just go about your business

 

[Micklebot]

Stutzle's been the worst player on the PP, without question, and I have yet to see anyone bring his name up as sharing in the blame.

It's weird because he was probably the best guy on the PP last year, seems to have just forgotten what to do out there.

 

[DaveMatthew]

This is cringe just go about your business

I have no doubt that Zaitsev is a "good pro". But he's a bad player. His decisions of where to be, where to play the puck, when to play the puck, etc create chaos.

Is he the sole reason they're losing? No. But there's enough of a sample size to confidently say he's not part of the solution. Both the eye test and analytics are overwhelming.

DJ has a blindspot, that much is obvious.

 

[bert]

What has DJ done to show you that he knows what it takes to win in this league? Has he ever won? As far as I know, he's never been part of a coaching staff that's won a playoff series.

And blaming the assistant is lame. The buck stops with DJ Smith. If he disagrees with the ice time allocation, he can step in and change it. He makes the final decisions about who plays and who plays how much.

Also, I'm not saying that DJ is the only reason for our bad start. There are plenty of others. Chabot has been beyond terrible. For every good play that Stützle has made, he's made a gaffe. DeBrincat is a sniper who's great at shooting right at the goalie's chest. The injuries haven't helped.

But with that said, I don't think he's the guy that will get this team over the hump either. Sometimes a team, even a young team, needs a change in voice to cement home that the philosophy from the last 3 years is no longer accepted. I think this is one of those times.

I think a coach with some experience, pedigree and gravitas would do wonders (basically: the coach version of the Claude Giroux signing).

Realistically, it's inevitable. We're going to be hard-pressed to make the playoffs this season, which means the fanbase won't be happy at the end of the year. A new ownership group isn't keeping this regime around. They'll want to change the conversation, and they'll do it by getting rid of Dorion and Smith. There's zero chance either of these guys are in front of a microphone at the next training camp, saying the same old message, unless we make the playoffs.

The question is... if we continue to struggle for the next couple of weeks, does Dorion try to save his job by firing DJ...

Do you think with the rosters they have had that anyone makes them a playoff team? Give me and HONEST answer. He played in the league he has won at all levels. I do think he knows what it takes relative to anyone posting on here thats for sure.

'Blaming the assistant coachs is lame'. I am blaming both of them, ultimately Capuano is distributing the icetime on D. It doesnt fit your narrative but like most hardcore fans around here you are having a hard time understanding there is more than one person responbible for the losing in this coaching staff. The forward icetime distribution has been good, the D bad. Have you look at this on a micro level too. It isnt an easy thing to wrap your head around I guess. Easy thing to say DJ is the reason they are losing.

I think what has lead to this more than anything is Chabot's development has gone sideways. Now thats on DJ he overplayed him and has never held him accountable for his mistakes. Is thatfireable?... Maybe but I hope to hell people arent going to let Chabot off the hook.

Yes a new voice is probably needed. But your assesments of the coach are bad. You arent in the room, you dont know.

The team has certainly played better than their record do you agree with that?

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Some coaches can work miracles with mediocre rosters, while some can't overcome a few injuries and lose constantly.

Guess which category DJ falls into.

 

[aragorn]

Not going to advocate for less skill. There are lots of mistakes to go around.

I'm not advocating for less skill & it's the mistakes that need to stop by the skilled players.

 

[Sens Vader]

Dorion said the next 10 games are really important

Makes sense, looks like we will know where things stand with DJ at the 20-game mark

 

[Tuna99]

That doesn’t really mean anything.

Dorion prides himself on loyalty; which is a masculine way of never admitting you made a mistake or need to make a change because you’re a man and you made a decision and that decision is final for all the wrong reasons. DJ Smith has put a spell on Dorion and Dorion thinks he’s Al Arbour

 

[L'Aveuglette]

I have no doubt that Zaitsev is a "good pro". But he's a bad player. His decisions of where to be, where to play the puck, when to play the puck, etc create chaos.

Is he the sole reason they're losing? No. But there's enough of a sample size to confidently say he's not part of the solution. Both the eye test and analytics are overwhelming.

DJ has a blindspot, that much is obvious.

One thing's for sure is that DJ is a disaster at evaluating talent.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Do you think with the rosters they have had that anyone makes them a playoff team? Give me and HONEST answer. He played in the league he has won at all levels. I do think he knows what it takes relative to anyone posting on here thats for sure.

'Blaming the assistant coachs is lame'. I am blaming both of them, ultimately Capuano is distributing the icetime on D. It doesnt fit your narrative but like most hardcore fans around here you are having a hard time understanding there is more than one person responbible for the losing. It isnt an easy thing to wrap your head around I guess. Easy thing to say DJ is the reason they are losing.

I think what has lead to this more than anything is Chabot's development has gone sideways. Now thats on DJ he overplayed him and has never held him accountable for his mistakes. Is thatfireable?... Maybe but I hope to hell people arent going to let Chabot off the hook.

Yes a new voice is probably needed. But your assesments of the coach are bad. You arent in the room, you dont know.

The team has certainly played better than their record do you agree with that?

DJ played 45 games in the NHL, never in the playoffs. He hasn't won at this level, as a player or coach.

And judging DJ Smith against a poster on an internet message board isn't what should be happening. He should be judged against the other coaches in the NHL. And I don't think he comes out looking good.

I said there are many people responsible for the losing. And DJ is one of them. But you can't get rid of all the players. You can get rid of DJ and his staff.

And I agree with you, Chabot's regression has been a major factor. Do you see him getting back on track with the current staff in place? I don't.

And do I think this team deserves a couple more W's? Yeah. Do I think we've played all that well? Not really. Game to game, and even period to period, it's been jekyll and hyde.