Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[DaveMatthew]

See zero issues with Branny playing 3rd pairing lhd minutes medium term. Only need is upgrade to Hamonic/Holden/Zaitsev until JBD/Thomson are ready.

DJ does, though. Under 9 minutes yesterday and 3 shifts in the 3rd.

Exaggerate much? Did I say Kleven was Sanderson, what are you going on about? Heatherington would be a stop gap until Kleven is ready & nobody knows where his game is at for next season, but I expect he will start in Belleville for a while. JBD is proving to be a solid defenceman & could end up staying on the top pairing with Chabot. Hamonic is doing alright & could return for another yr although if he does they should be looking to upgrade on him & they have a 1st rd pick in Thomson waiting for his shot.

When Zub returns they could put him with Holden to create a shutdown tandem which they haven't had all yr & bench Brannstrom. But Holden is 35 yrs old & his role will need to be replaced at some point & Heatherington seems like a likely transition piece until Kleven is NHL ready. Kleven is already as big as Holden, tougher than Holden, more mobile than Holden & really only needs to learn the NHL game. He's not Sanderson or JBD, I never said he was, he's a 3rd pairing shutdown defenceman who is there to prevent goals & we shouldn't expect him to be a pt producer because he's not. He will be a better version of Holden, he's a shutdown D.

This plan is fine if we want to remain a team that finishes anywhere betweee 20th-30th in the overall standings.

But if we actually want to win games, the D core needs significant upgrades beyond swapping Holden for Heatherington/Kleven,

 

[DaveMatthew]

Noticed that after I posted and edited, my bad.

I have liked JBD with Chabot so far, I think he might fit in that role and we should explore that until the trade deadline, Zub with Sanderson is worth trying too imo. Upgrading a bottom pairing with competent guys should be much easier.

I'd like to keep DeBrincat, I think if the cap goes up like was rumoured that might be possible even with adding better D.

I like JBD. It's early, but he's shown that he's an NHL defenseman. A top 4 guy on a playoff team, though? I don't think so. He should be playing 16-18 minutes a night on a solid 3rd pairing. That's his ideal slotting. With development, he can certainly turn into a top 4 guy by the age of 25 (In 2-3 years). No shame in that.

I'd love to keep Debrincat as well. But realistically, to upgrade the D we'll need to leverage the trade market, and you have to give to get. I'd rather maintain strength down the middle than on the wings.

 

[ksens]

I'd love to keep Debrincat as well. But realistically, to upgrade the D we'll need to leverage the trade market, and you have to give to get. I'd rather maintain strength down the middle than on the wings.

Dorion should be doing none of this though.

These are all to-do items for new management after new ownership flushes current management and coaching staff.

 

[aragorn]

Chabot - JBD
Sanderson - Hamonic
Holden - Zub

DJ does, though. Under 9 minutes yesterday and 3 shifts in the 3rd.



This plan is fine if we want to remain a team that finishes anywhere betweee 20th-30th in the overall standings.

But if we actually want to win games, the D core needs significant upgrades beyond swapping Holden for Heatherington/Kleven,

They have been trying to improve the defence since the end of last season. They have yet to do it, whether it's because they can't find the right partner or the right deal or the right term or money, who knows. I imagine they will try again at the TDL but it could come down to another transition piece from a team wanting to move on from an aging vet or expensive piece.

IMO JBD is here to stay he seems to play a very good solid defensive game & maybe they have another in Thomson, who knows, they will need to get him in games again to see if he has improved. Brannstrom IMO is the guy that needs to be replaced right now & hopefully when Zub returns they bench Brannstrom.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Dorion should be doing none of this though.

These are all to-do items for new management after new ownership flushes current management and coaching staff.

Yes, agreed.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

He gets punished far morE harshly than anyone else. It wasn’t even that bad of a mistake. The center did absolutely nothing there to help. Those board battles happen and get lost by many teams. But there’s usually not 4 mistakes to follow each lost four battle where the puck ends up in your net. And then the bench gets shortened. And Chabot gets run into the ground. I said in the other chat. Is he afraid of losing ? Cuz….

But that’s DJ.

That's also the culture in Ottawa. Small players are put under the microscope and every little mistake is dramatically magnified, with constant calls to trade them.

DJ definitely is the perfect avatar for this culture. Had Brannstrom made half as many mistakes as Josh Brown or Zaitsev made/make, he'd be long gone.

 

[Sens Vader]

not firing DJ is sending the message that this is acceptable.

Winning organizations have standards. Have some too.

 

[GCK]

I think the fanbase is frustrated because we're no longer saying "tough loss but it's Tampa a much better team". We're now saying "tough loss but it's New Jersey a much better team".

New Jersey!

The New Jersey team that has been rebuilding far longer. The team that drafted first overall the year we lost the ECF. The team that has 2 first overall picks. I’m as frustrated as the next person but it’s comparing apples to oranges.

 

[bicboi64]

The New Jersey team that has been rebuilding far longer. The team that drafted first overall the year we lost the ECF. The team that has 2 first overall picks. I’m as frustrated as the next person but it’s comparing apples to oranges.

F*** NJD

They've literally had 2 first overall picks, a 4th overall, and a 2nd overall in the last 5 drafts.

 

[DaveMatthew]

The New Jersey team that has been rebuilding far longer. The team that drafted first overall the year we lost the ECF. The team that has 2 first overall picks. I’m as frustrated as the next person but it’s comparing apples to oranges.

Far longer?

Their first top 5 pick of the "rebuild" was in 2017. Ours was in 2018.

Prior to that, both teams were in purgatory (not good enough to win, but not rebuilding).

The difference is that NJ realized Shero and Hynes weren't getting it done, and in 2020, changed course to Fitzgerald and Ruff. We've stuck it out with Dorion and DJ.

It's been 5 years of rebuilding here. Apples to oranges? Please. When can we judge progress. After 7 years? 10?

And sure, we weren't lucky enough to get a 1st overall pick. But we've had plenty of luck ourselves, like Byfield going before Stützle and Kotkaniemi before Tkachuk.

 

[GCK]

That's also the culture in Ottawa. Small players are put under the microscope and every little mistake is dramatically magnified, with constant calls to trade them.

DJ definitely is the perfect avatar for this culture. Had Brannstrom made half as many mistakes as Josh Brown or Zaitsev made/make, he'd be long gone.

I disagree. Fans and the org are being extremely patient with Debrincat while he is ice cold.

 

[StoicSensFan]

I disagree. Fans and the org are being extremely patient with Debrincat while he is ice cold.

If this is DeBrincat ice cold, we're in for a treat

 

[Big Muddy]

When do you think NJD rebuild really started though? If we fire Dorion, does that mean our rebuild no longer started in 17/18? Jersey has been building toward this for a while,

2015 fired DeBoer (akin to us canning Boucher imo), drafted 6OA
2016 drafted 12 OA (traded back with us)
2017 Drafted 1st OA (we went to the conference finals)
2018 drafted 17th OA
2019 drafted 1st OA
2020 drafted 7 OA
2021 drafted 4 OA
2022 drafted 2 OA

I'd say their rebuild started before ours and like us they've hit some bumps, unlike us they opted to makes some changes in leadership along the way. Right now, their top two scorers come from before we started our rebuild, one of them a first OA the other a diamond from the 6th round, their third scorer is a 1st OA from year two of our rebuild. They've been suffering longer than us.


New Jersey is 3rd league wide in pts%, their a much better team than a lot of teams this year, tampa included.

The New Jersey team that has been rebuilding far longer. The team that drafted first overall the year we lost the ECF. The team that has 2 first overall picks. I’m as frustrated as the next person but it’s comparing apples to oranges.

I also think other teams like Detroit & Buffalo have been rebuilding for quite a few years as well and are relatively comparable in that sense to New Jersey. GMs, coaches & management teams might have been replaced or changed, but those teams have been effectively rebuilding for quite some time imho. I think the fact that the teams like this have finished low in the standings over the last several years distracts from the fact that they've been drafting & adding some good pieces little by little over the years.

 

[TonySoprano11]

The dude hasn't been fired yet? What dirt does he have on Dorion??

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Imagine being Dorion and watching this coach turn your $8 million #1 d-man into sawdust throughout the years, and your response is a shrug.

 

[GCK]

Imagine being Dorion and watching this coach turn your $8 million #1 d-man into sawdust throughout the years, and your response is a shrug.

Imagine owning the team and watching this player that Dorion paid 64M.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Imagine owning the team and watching this player that Dorion paid 64M.

Dude has been run to the ground by this coaching staff for the past 4 years. He has nothing left to give. He has lead the league in the ice time since they were hired. No f***ing player can last that long without some repercussions.

 

[LevelingSolo]

I am a little surprised none of the Ottawa insiders are talking about any potential change or if Dj is on the hot seat

I mean guys like Garrioch, Mendes, Simpson, etc

 

[GCK]

Dude has been run to the ground by this coaching staff for the past 4 years. He has nothing left to give. He has lead the league in the ice time since they were hired. No f***ing player can last that long without some repercussions.

That’s making excuses for the player. Yes he is overused but he’s been horrid

 

[DaveMatthew]

I am a little surprised none of the Ottawa insiders are talking about any potential change or if Dj is on the hot seat

I mean guys like Garrioch, Mendes, Simpson, etc

The media in Ottawa has always walked on eggshells when it's come to coaches and management. They'll happily rip into players, but when someone criticizes a coach? Dean Brown will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that they cannot be faulted for anything. All their decisions are the right decisions. (He'll happily criticize a coach of another team, though).

 

[Gil Gunderson]

I am a little surprised none of the Ottawa insiders are talking about any potential change or if Dj is on the hot seat

I mean guys like Garrioch, Mendes, Simpson, etc

They never have. I don’t remember much smoke before Maclean and Boucher were fired.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Chabot - JBD
Sanderson - Hamonic
Holden - Zub

They have been trying to improve the defence since the end of last season. They have yet to do it, whether it's because they can't find the right partner or the right deal or the right term or money, who knows. I imagine they will try again at the TDL but it could come down to another transition piece from a team wanting to move on from an aging vet or expensive piece.

IMO JBD is here to stay he seems to play a very good solid defensive game & maybe they have another in Thomson, who knows, they will need to get him in games again to see if he has improved. Brannstrom IMO is the guy that needs to be replaced right now & hopefully when Zub returns they bench Brannstrom.

We can talk about the defence on paper all we want, and Dorion has to do a better job, but we're also constantly seeing coaches with even worse D-squads and injuries get a lot more out of what they have. Even if we had four top-4 dmen, I'm not convinced at all that we'd play much better. I just don't think DJ Smith knows how to coach at the NHL level, simple as that.

I'm sure he's a great guy in the room, but that's about it. Has there been a coach in NHL history that has had a longer leash than him?

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

That’s making excuses for the player. Yes he is overused but he’s been horrid

Nobody is making excuses, those are the realities. You can clearly see that he is exhausted and making mistakes that a tired player makes.

I blame the coach for keep playing him those minutes and blame the GM for not providing the coach enough options on the backend.

 

[GCK]

Nobody is making excuses, those are the realities. You can clearly see that he is exhausted and making mistakes that a tired player makes.

I blame the coach for keep playing him those minutes and blame the GM for not providing the coach enough options on the backend.

The pass he made to Stone came on the first 2 minutes of the game. It’s not exhaustion, he has been bad since day 1 of the pre season. People like Chabot and are looking to find excuses for him.

 

[Micklebot]

Interesting stat I came across

Sv% while leading: 85.48, 29th in the league
Sv% while trailing: 92.12, 5th in the league