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Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

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Should the Sens fire DJ Smith?

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When Tourigny was asked to weigh in on the uncertainty surrounding Smith’s future in Ottawa, the Arizona head coach was very candid.
“I don’t want to be arrogant, but it will be their loss. Because D.J. Smith will be in the NHL as a coach for a long time,” said Tourigny. “Wherever he goes, everybody will love him. The players. His bosses. His fellow coaches. I think Ottawa is fortunate to have him.”
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Boy, can't wait to hear how the anti-DJ crowd spin this one up.
 
Micklebot said:
Lol, not just friends, DJ is Tourigny's assistant for the tournament, would be a really awkward moment if he said no comment when asked about DJ for the article...
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A lot of the comments are about personality and energy.. All fun all positive all good. I have zero doubt DJ is great to work with and he works hard and I think that many teams would like DJ as an assistant.
 
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“I’ve never been given that opportunity to coach what most of the league would say is a playoff hockey team,” says Smith. “When I hear people say ‘but he hasn’t made the playoffs in four years,’ I say ‘hang on.’ We weren’t supposed to be even close for the first three years. And this past year, we wanted to be close. And we were eliminated with three games left.”
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DJ is 100% correct here.

It's funny in a way. You read some threads on here and people are ranting and raving about how dumb Dorion is for waiving Balcers and Wolanin, how stupid he is for acquiring players like Josh Brown and Erik Gudbranson, and how he can't build an NHL roster. Pop over to a different thread and the exact same people are tearing a strip off of DJ for not being able to succeed with a roster they've already conceded is trash.

Normally you'd think you can't have it both ways, but apparently you can.
 
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Ouroboros said:
DJ is 100% correct here.

It's funny in a way. You read some threads on here and people are ranting and raving about how dumb Dorion is for waiving Balcers and Wolanin, how stupid he is for acquiring players like Josh Brown and Erik Gudbranson, and how he can't build an NHL roster. Pop over to a different thread and the exact same people are tearing a strip off of DJ for not being able to succeed with a roster they've already conceded is trash.

Normally you'd think you can't have it both ways, but apparently you can.
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I've never been given that opportunity either. I've coached a lot. Could I do it if I was? I am going to say probably not .. I don't have the depth of experience and knowledge needed and Could DJ? DJ would be ahead of me no question. Did DJ show anything you'd like to see improved in his time here? Any holes? Its a good time to ask if he is the right guy? We can ask and offer opinions but they mean absolutely nothing one way or another. If its your job to run the hockey team, you have to ask it and hopefully you can rationalize your answer one way or another.

You really background checked posters taking those positions? lol
 
Could we not try and get a coach who might, you know, exceed expectations, especially if we're going to keep aiming low?
 
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A. Dorion didn't make any bad moves and DJ's coaching was inadequate.

B. Dorion made enough bad moves and DJ's coaching was as good as could be expected with what he had to work with.

Those are the two acceptable options.

Unacceptable would be somewhere in between .. a little of this , a little of that or some of this and some of that.
 
Sens of Anarchy said:
A. Dorion didn't make any bad moves and DJ's coaching was inadequate.

B. Dorion made enough bad moves and DJ's coaching was as good as could be expected with what he had to work with.

Those are the two acceptable options.

Unacceptable would be somewhere in between .. a little of this , a little of that or some of this and some of that.
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Idk, I think there are lots of mitigating factors the last two years that help explain our performance

Dorion definitely didn't build a roster that could compete the first two years.

Year three had some potential but between Murray not working out along with some health issues (Covid outbreak and injuries) no coach was getting this team past the holes in our roster.

This past year was the season I expected DJ would finally get the opportunity to show his worth. I think health got in the way a bit, Norris in particular was a big loss.

Does that mean I think DJ was perfect, heck no. I definitely found there was room for improvement. But we played 14 different d this year, and 7 different goalies. We had a rookie centering our 2nd line all year. You got to play the cards you're dealt, but sometimes you get dealt a losing hand and just need to accept it and cut your loses.
 
Ouroboros said:
DJ is 100% correct here.

It's funny in a way. You read some threads on here and people are ranting and raving about how dumb Dorion is for waiving Balcers and Wolanin, how stupid he is for acquiring players like Josh Brown and Erik Gudbranson, and how he can't build an NHL roster. Pop over to a different thread and the exact same people are tearing a strip off of DJ for not being able to succeed with a roster they've already conceded is trash.

Normally you'd think you can't have it both ways, but apparently you can.
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Yeah it seems like a lot of people's issues with DJ stem from their own unrealistic expectations (that didn't match the organization's expectations), and the habit of attributing any sort of consistent error to the head coach (which can sometimes be the case, but often is far from the only culprit, especially with young inexperienced players).

Despite what some may tell you here, DJ 100% met expectations this season. He actually did so while missing significant pieces too (don't give me that "all teams have injuries" bs, not many teams lose a guy like Josh Norris for the entire season and aren't impacted by it), which in my eyes means he actually exceeded expectations (even if only by a little).

There are many signs that DJ is in fact, a fairly competent NHL coach, but many choose to ignore those signs because everyone needs a whipping boy. DJ has earned a crack with this roster to start next season. If the team starts to play below expectations, then you find a new coach.
 
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Micklebot said:
Idk, I think there are lots of mitigating factors the last two years that help explain our performance

Dorion definitely didn't build a roster that could compete the first two years.

Year three had some potential but between Murray not working out along with some health issues (Covid outbreak and injuries) no coach was getting this team past the holes in our roster.

This past year was the season I expected DJ would finally get the opportunity to show his worth. I think health got in the way a bit, Norris in particular was a big loss.

Does that mean I think DJ was perfect, heck no. I definitely found there was room for improvement. But we played 14 different d this year, and 7 different goalies. We had a rookie centering our 2nd line all year. You got to play the cards you're dealt, but sometimes you get dealt a losing hand and just need to accept it and cut your loses.
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I agree its not that simple but I also think those jobs are of the nature that fans will be critical. Neither one are on the top rung in the NHL. Both have made mistakes. DJ is an honest guy and he admits to learning a lot on the job here. Big ownership change happening there will no doubt be changes to management and coaching at some point. I was reacting to the post above about posters criticizing both and I was trying to make a point that it's plausible that both can be at the same time and both men privately would probably admit to that. DJ has a lot of positives about him. Is he the right guy for the next step? Do you want someone that has taken teams to the playoffs and won.

I would like to see a change in both positions. I think its about going to the next level and I think there is enough water under the bridge to make the call. And I recognize DJ never had the opportunity to show what he could do with a playoff caliber team, including this past year. But not having had the opportunity doesn't mean he's the right guy .. here is where you get a difference of "fan opinion". I think there have been enough holes to want a change. I think he brings a lot of positives but I want someone that is more detail oriented. I more strongly want to see a change at GM without going into detail.
 
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DJ getting fired if they don’t start 6-4 or better. Down the stretch we saw games where the sens looked unstoppable, and then other games where they couldn’t sustain any offensive pressure.

To me that’s on the coach. The potential is there, and we see it. If the coach can’t harness that regularly, he’s gotta go. At least one player has voiced publicly how much they didn’t like playing for him.
 
Random Comment said:
DJ getting fired if they don’t start 6-4 or better. Down the stretch we saw games where the sens looked unstoppable, and then other games where they couldn’t sustain any offensive pressure.

To me that’s on the coach. The potential is there, and we see it. If the coach can’t harness that regularly, he’s gotta go. At least one player has voiced publicly how much they didn’t like playing for him.
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Del Zotto, right?
 
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Random Comment said:
DJ getting fired if they don’t start 6-4 or better. Down the stretch we saw games where the sens looked unstoppable, and then other games where they couldn’t sustain any offensive pressure.

To me that’s on the coach. The potential is there, and we see it. If the coach can’t harness that regularly, he’s gotta go. At least one player has voiced publicly how much they didn’t like playing for him.
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The last few years we have started slow, and then did get hot down the stretch when we had been de-facto eliminated. I think it is a big red flag that the team seems to play worse the more the games matter.
 
Ice-Tray said:
This stuff has been pretty obvious about DJ and the team for a long time now.

It’s not really a surprise to see a guy who wins in Juniors and becomes an up and coming assistant coach, then makes it to head coach in the NHL. It’s also not a surprise how the vocal minority from this fan base treats him. they generally treat everyone like shit, unless we trade them away and then they can be used against the team.

Perhaps it was Melnyk who ruined these fans. Perhaps it’s just the way they are.

It’s always the same armchair coaches/GM saying the same stuff year after year. They coach kids and watch a lot of hockey, and therefore know all about NHL coaching, and what the team needs. They lack virtually all of the relevant information, but have all the right answers, of course. You know, those people; blowhards.

These posters get slapped down by players and pros constantly, and simply move goalposts, change narratives, and downplay comments from professionals that don’t fit. It’s enough to make Trump blush.

Every fan base has these posters, and they are all experts at everything, and being right is the most important thing.

But as usual, they are wrong. Generally speaking, as long as the team is fully ignoring these fans and typically doing the opposite, the team will continue to trend in the right direction.

Big ol’ eye roll for the endless experts….
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You exemplify the same characteristics of those you call vocal minorities who think their experts by saying the same thing every single year ;)
 
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DJ has 4 years as an assistant coach and 4 years as head coach in the nhl.
Tourigny has 3 years as an assistant and 1 year as head coach.
Both were assistants to Julian last year for Canada.
Tourigny is Head Coach for Canada this year and DJ is an assistant.
 
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Loach said:
DJ has 4 years as an assistant coach and 4 years as head coach in the nhl.
Tourigny has 3 years as an assistant and 1 year as head coach.
Both were assistants to Julian last year for Canada.
Tourigny is Head Coach for Canada this year and DJ is an assistant.
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I don't think this means much. Tourigny has been head coach of Team Canada for an International tournament, and has a much longer history with Hockey Canada than DJ Smith. He was even formally hired by them on a 1-year contract to act as coach for several international tournaments.
 
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Ouroboros said:
DJ is 100% correct here.

It's funny in a way. You read some threads on here and people are ranting and raving about how dumb Dorion is for waiving Balcers and Wolanin, how stupid he is for acquiring players like Josh Brown and Erik Gudbranson, and how he can't build an NHL roster. Pop over to a different thread and the exact same people are tearing a strip off of DJ for not being able to succeed with a roster they've already conceded is trash.

Normally you'd think you can't have it both ways, but apparently you can.
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I think this discounts the fact the team looked like absolute shit in must win games. They didn’t t show up when they needed to and got blown out in the most important stretch of games on the season by non-playoff teams.

Everyone loves passion and DJ brings that so poeple will be swayed by his plea - but DJs team looked like shit when it mattered the most at the end of the season when they had a real chance to make the playoffs.

You want to appeal for your job - make the playoffs and let the hockey do the talking. DJ is a talker. He needs his work to speak for itself, so he can just simply say “this is my team and we made the playoffs” and you keep your job. End of story
 
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Tuna99 said:
I think this discounts the fact the team looked like absolute shit in must win games. They didn’t t show up when they needed to and got blown out in the most important stretch of games on the season by non-playoff teams.

Everyone loves passion and DJ brings that so poeple will be swayed by his plea - but DJs team looked like shit when it mattered the most at the end of the season when they had a real chance to make the playoffs.

You want to appeal for your job - make the playoffs and let the hockey do the talking. DJ is a talker. He needs his work to speak for itself, so he can just simply say “this is my team and we made the playoffs” and you keep your job. End of story
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I think the reason they performed so poorly in the playoff race was because it was their first time in a playoff race. Giroux played well, because he’s been there before. It’s a consequence of falling out of it in November every year.
 
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