Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[Micklebot]

Ok... So if coaching isn't the issue, what did Dorion et co decide was the issue?

 

[Senator Stanley]

Ok... So if coaching isn't the issue, what did Dorion et co decide was the issue?

Prepare to hear a lot about our injuries.

 

[Super Cake]

Dorions head is so far up Smiths ass that the Sens could go on a 30 game losing streak and Dorion still wouldn't blame coaching.

At this point, i hope new ownership cleans house. Get rid of Dorion and our entire coaching staff.

 

[Micklebot]

Prepare to hear a lot about our injuries.

I think that's a valid reason to a point. But even taking into account injuries, the remaining roster is better than teams with better records.

When a team has a weakness, whether due to injuries or not, the coach needs to adjust to mitigate it. We have plenty of scoring punch, and despite the complaints about it even the pp is getting goals, we need to make adjustments to bring down the goals against at some point.

 

[swiftwin]

Looks like Trotz is ready to go. Doubt it ends up here with the ownership situation hanging in the air, but it answers some questions about his desire to return.

Trotz says he hasn't received offers, but would consider a return

Though he has yet to receive any formal offers from teams, Barry Trotz has made it clear that if the right job offer came his way, he would strongly consider getting back behind the bench.

www.sportsnet.ca

I would 100% dump DJ for Trotz in a heartbeat.

I can't see why Trotz wouldn't want to coach here, especially if new ownership throws $$$ at him. This team is built like a Trotz team.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I would 100% dump DJ for Trotz in a heartbeat.

I can't see why Trotz wouldn't want to coach here, especially if new ownership throws $$$ at him. This team is built like a Trotz team.

It's such a no brainer for all parties imo.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Well, you are just making a blanket assuming on who replaces him, but yes you fire him regardless because, again, you show you have NHL standards as a franchise.

If its an interim coach you give it to Mann imo

The house will be completely swept clean.

Mann would be the best option I guess but he's another unproven guy.

I'm fine with firing DJ just to make it clear we won't tolerate bottom feeding I just am pessimistic about what happens afterwards. Dorion can't be allowed to pick another coach.

Darkest timeline is that DJ gets replaced by like Trotz or Julien and then Dorion is fired in the offseason and next season there is tension between new GM and the coach and we're Vancouver.

I was thinking two as well. Realistically a top 5 pick is pretty likely at this point considering how hard the teams schedule is. There is a good chance that this team is 7-13-1 by the end of the road trip. Atleast its a good year to be bad.

Yeah maybe we can squeak a few OT losses out of the other ones but I doubt it.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Prepare to hear a lot about our injuries.

Or starts blaming the players.

 

[Micklebot]

Or starts blaming the players.

The players he acquired?

 

[RickyLafleur]

He's right, Pierre is the issue and everyone he brings on board underperforms.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Potential Excuses:

Injuries
Tough schedule
Bad luck
Ghosts
Obama
Mercury in retrograde

 

[Micklebot]

Potential Excuses:

Injuries
Tough schedule
Bad luck
Ghosts
Obama
Mercury in retrograde

I for one am far too captivated by that Netflix special Obama produced with the guy from Adam ruins everything to focus on anything these days so I can understand...

 

[NyQuil]

I could also see Dorion saying "coaching is not an issue" right up to the moment where he fires DJ Smith.

It's sort of the standard line of any GM.

Not to say that I think he'll fire Smith, but if he was thinking about it, he'd say the exact same thing.

 

[BondraTime]

The team is just one giant excuse after another.

Every team has injuries, every team has faults, every team has complaints about coaching.

Sens are no different than any other. They’ve lost a 1b Center and a 2/3 D, and now their top D.

Marchand, McAvoy, Blackwood, Oshie, Orlov, Ehlers, Backstrom, Wilson, Muzzin, Brodie, Corelli, Foote, Cernak, Perinivich, Bortozzo, Oleksiak, Groubouer, Atkinson, JVR, Ellis, Couturier, Palat, Hartman, Greenway, Iafallo, Kane, Yamamoto, Vrana, Boqvist, Voracek, Laine, Werenski, Nickushin, Byram, Girard, Landeskog, S. Jones, Patches, TT, Kylington, Duclair, Drysdale, etc.

These are just some of the guys missing, or were missing, throughout the league, they are all difference makers.

Sens are missing some great players, so are almost every other team in the league.

 

[coladin]

Is there something they can do to to fix the PP at the very least? It's absolutely costing us games.

PP is 12th in the league

 

[Flamingo]

I'm starting to think that the problem is hustle without the puck. The players seem to have a "contain" mindset instead of an "overtake and hog-tie" mindset. It's why we give up zone entries so easily and why other teams sustain o-zone possession against us for so long. I've noticed defensive zone positioning adjustments recently, with the wingers leaving less room for the points, and it hasn't changed the outcome very much. It's not a system problem. It's a problem of the coach not motivating the players to track & overtake on the backcheck, in small-area battles, etc.

 

[LevelingSolo]

Unbelievable, fire both of them

 

[L'Aveuglette]

I think that's a valid reason to a point. But even taking into account injuries, the remaining roster is better than teams with better records.

When a team has a weakness, whether due to injuries or not, the coach needs to adjust to mitigate it. We have plenty of scoring punch, and despite the complaints about it even the pp is getting goals, we need to make adjustments to bring down the goals against at some point.

Not a valid excuse at all unless you ignore literally every other team has multiple injuries and don't go on major losing streaks. I might be on board had Chabot been injured for longer but before that it simply wasn't that bad.

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Only Ottawa gets injured.
Only Ottawa gets covid.
Only Ottawa dealt with the pandemic.
Only Ottawa has a tough schedule.

 

[Micklebot]

Not a valid excuse at all unless you ignore literally every other team has multiple injuries and don't go on major losing streaks. I might be on board had Chabot been injured for longer but before that it simply wasn't that bad.

Of course injuries are a valid reason, it just doesn't explain the full extent of our issues.

There's no catch all single reason that explains everything, it's always going to be a multitude of variable that combine to yield the end result.

 

[NyQuil]

The only real statistic I can think of that kind of sums up the team is the one around giving up late goals in periods.

Analytically, statistically, we don't look as bad as our contemporaries in the standings.

Our GF/GA isn't that bad. We are scoring goals. Our goalies aren't great but not terrible.

We just seem so mentally fragile. It appears as if we have to pepper the opposing team with scoring chances to generate a goal while one breakdown ends up in the back of the net. Crippling momentum shifts at the worst of times.

A lot of this is obviously anecdotal - who can forget Giroux's laugher from the centre line against Vegas. Nevertheless, we managed to lose that game.

How about the big lead against Tampa that just evaporated in short order?

The easy answer is that we just aren't very good. And that's fine - it explains a lot. But the manner in which we lose remains frustrating because of the sheer number of "close" games.

 

[Emrasie]

When i watch the team , they don't quit, they are on the battle almost every game, they are good players but at the end of it they lose. They are getting used to lose and it's the sad part of it. Dj seems like a good person but he is not a NHL coach and he will never be.
Waiting the end of the season like that...Again. It's really the worst. They will play for what in January? Individuals stats?
Be brave Dorion, fire Dj.

I was excited at the start of the season, now i just watch, expecting nothing. And we are in November=/

 

[JackieDaytona]

They can’t protect a lead for shit. They can’t generate goals in high pressure situations, like 6 on 5, towards end of games or periods etc. they are having a real difficult time matching or setting intensity when it’s direly needed. Overall lots of their stats look ok, but they fall down or don’t step up at the worst or most urgent times and it’s costing games and points.

It’s odd because in previous seasons I always had the sense that they were a tough team to play against even if they were outmatched wrt skill experience and so on. While I think we’re seeing the trials that a young team goes through, I am not getting that same sense this season, not consistently and not out of the team outside a few notable players (Brady giroux most regularly).

It is frustrating as f*** as a fan, and to hear Dorion say that it has little to do with coaching exacerbates that frustration.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

I could also see Dorion saying "coaching is not an issue" right up to the moment where he fires DJ Smith.

It's sort of the standard line of any GM.

Not to say that I think he'll fire Smith, but if he was thinking about it, he'd say the exact same thing.

The thing is, if this team wants ticket sales to not completely go down the shitter, they might want to not piss off the fanbase who largely wants DJ gone by saying "coaching is not the problem" in public. Just another example of Dorion completely misreading things once again. They've completely destroyed all the good will they built this summer in one month lol.

Going to be a long, depressing season.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Only Ottawa gets injured.
Only Ottawa gets covid.
Only Ottawa dealt with the pandemic.
Only Ottawa has a tough schedule.

Yes but have you considered:

Inflation
The vibes might be off
Brady keeps going "Goblin Mode"
Pete Davidson is dating Emily Ratajkowski
Joe Biden
War in the Middle East
Climate change