Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[Micklebot]

We lack the depth to hand key injuries, and have been out a top pair F and our number one center for most of the year,

A different coach might have been better able to mitigate the loses of Norris, Chabot and Zub, but this roster was always going to be vulnerable to injuries to those guys.

If we'd had injuries on the wings and depth D we'd have been much better off imo. The combination of losing Norris, out best two way center, and Zub, our best defensive Dman, was probably too much to handle regardless f the coach though since we don't have the personnel to backfill those roles.

* Not trying to absolve DJ, I think he's part of the problem too, I just think it runs deeper than DJ

 

[coladin]

We lack the depth to hand key injuries, and have been out a top pair F and our number one center for most of the year,

A different coach might have been better able to mitigate the loses of Norris, Chabot and Zub, but this roster was always going to be vulnerable to injuries to those guys.

If we'd had injuries on the wings and depth D we'd have been much better off imo. The combination of losing Norris, out best two way center, and Zub, our best defensive Dman, was probably too much to handle regardless f the coach though since we don't have the personnel to backfill those roles.

* Not trying to absolve DJ, I think he's part of the problem too, I just think it runs deeper than DJ

It is incredible how healthy the bottom 6 have been. Not wishing for anyone to get hurt, but it is truly incredible

 

[L'Aveuglette]

We lack the depth to hand key injuries, and have been out a top pair F and our number one center for most of the year,

A different coach might have been better able to mitigate the loses of Norris, Chabot and Zub, but this roster was always going to be vulnerable to injuries to those guys.

If we'd had injuries on the wings and depth D we'd have been much better off imo. The combination of losing Norris, out best two way center, and Zub, our best defensive Dman, was probably too much to handle regardless f the coach though since we don't have the personnel to backfill those roles.

* Not trying to absolve DJ, I think he's part of the problem too, I just think it runs deeper than DJ

Dude, please stop with these excuses.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

What do you expect when nobody in the media actually presses him on anything. Why is a 6-12-1 coach getting buttered up in the post-game presser?

There are many problems with the media in Toronto/Montreal, but at least their prominent media guys aren't saying shit like "Well you gotta feel like you deserve better" when the team is basically in dead last for 4 straight years.

Because the likes of Gord Wilson and boo boo are asking him the tough questions.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Because the like of Gord Wilson and boo boo are asking him the tough questions.

Listening to the postgame interview you'd think we're a .500 team who's run into a bit of bad luck and not practically dead last in the entire league. Like, there's not even a hint of frustration on both sides.

 

[GCK]

What do you expect when nobody in the media actually presses him on anything. Why is a 6-12-1 coach getting buttered up in the post-game presser?

There are many problems with the media in Toronto/Montreal, but at least their prominent media guys aren't saying shit like "Well you gotta feel like you deserve better" when the team is basically in dead last for 4 straight years.

Lol. What do you realistically expect them to ask.

 

[GCK]

Listening to the postgame interview you'd think we're a .500 team who's run into a bit of bad luck and not practically dead last in the entire league. Like, there's not even a hint of frustration on both sides.

The post game interviews are like a conversation at a funeral. DJ sounds extremely frustrated to me.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Lol. What do you realistically expect them to ask.

How about "3 goals in 3 games with this calibre of forwards. It can't just be because of unlucky bounces, can it?".

Maybe we wouldn't get the same stock answer for once, maybe we would. At least try not throwing an underhand pitch once in a while.

 

[GCK]

How about "3 goals in 3 games with this calibre of forwards. It can't just be because of unlucky bounces, can it?".

Maybe we wouldn't get the same stock answer for once, maybe we would. At least try not throwing an underhand pitch once in a while.

The answer to your question would be

“The guys are getting chances but it’s just hasn’t been going in and they are really gripping their sticks. We just need to get a couple to go in and start feeling good about ourselves again”

Does that make it any better?

 

[BankStreetParade]

Where's all the "Brady drags his team into the fight" posters? I know there's some really convenient excuses right now with coaching but just wondering if there's any cause for concern?

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Where's all the "Brady drags his team into the fight" posters? I know there's some really convenient excuses right now with coaching but just wondering if there's any cause for concern?

Why is coaching a "convenient excuse". For some reason Dorion and DJ are the only people you refuse to accept any blame for and I have no idea why. You also pretty much shat on one who dared to question Melnyk as an owner too before this season.

The only coaches who have longer tenure than DJ right now all made the playoffs last year and four have Cups. This team risks absolutely nothing by letting him go. He's not going to prove them wrong in another organization because his resume shows that he's done nothing at the pro hockey level and he's not getting another head coaching gig.

 

[Big Muddy]

Dude, please stop with these excuses.

I think both of you are right.

A coaching change could help us and DJ is probably not the best coach. Its also true that we have been impacted by injuries. Norris and Zub are key players for our team and losing them impacted us.

Having said that, even if we fire the coach and get a better one, are all of our problems resolved? Are we a team that could go deep in the playoffs?

If we get a new coach and get one good RD, are we a deep playoff run team? My guess is we still aren't there yet.

So, our issues are likely larger and run deeper. Even if we replace the coach, some key injuries could derail us. I think we are further away than we like to think, and one fix isn't sufficient to get us where we need to be. JMHO of course.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Where's all the "Brady drags his team into the fight" posters? I know there's some really convenient excuses right now with coaching but just wondering if there's any cause for concern?

We're 6-12-1. Very much a concern as far as I'm concerned. But that narrative was always bullshit. No one player can make his teammates play hard. You need a group of leaders who lead by example and support the coaching staff in motivating their teammates.

I'm not saying we don't have that group. Right now we're seeing a complete lack of focus and questionable work ethic from the whole team, right up to the coaches.

There could be, and likely are, a myriad of reasons why we're last in the league but the buck stops with the guys in charge. That's DJ and Pierre.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Where's all the "Brady drags his team into the fight" posters? I know there's some really convenient excuses right now with coaching but just wondering if there's any cause for concern?

I think it's fair to say there are a multitude of reasons for the state of this team.

1. DJ Smith is a terrible coach
2. Tkachuk, Stützle and Batherson, despite putting up decent offensive numbers, are atrocious defensively
3. Chabot, when he was playing, was doing so like a #4 defenseman instead of a #1
4. The goalies have been bad
5. DeBrincat has had the finish of Erik Condra
6. Zaitsev, Holden and Hamonic have played like they don't belong in the NHL (and they probably don't)
7. Much of our bottom 6 is useless (Watson, Kelly) or borderline useless (Joseph, Motte, Gambrell, Kastelic)
8. Brassard is a laughable replacement for Norris

The idea that some are "just" blaming the coach is ridiculous. No one is doing that.

But replacing the coach is a relatively simple action that can be taken. Is it guaranteed to make us better? No. But what's the worst thing that can happen? We'll just keep losing and eventually, a new management group will come in and start a new rebuild.

What's your suggestion? Keep DJ but trade Tkachuk?

Personally, I'd like to see a more hard-ass coach come in and make the core of this team realize that they're not special and that if they want to ever win, they have to get a lot better at the details of their game. No more coddling and telling everyone how much they're trying and it's okay to lose because they're young. And that's what DJ is doing.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Lol. What do you realistically expect them to ask.

When do you expect to resign would be a good question

 

[Micklebot]

Dude, please stop with these excuses.

It's not an excuse, it's a criticism of how this team was constructed.

We needed to shore up the D and we needed to insulate a young group of centers, we did nothing on D and signed a PTO contact to insulate our young centers. As high as I am on Pinto, he had 17 career games going into the season and he along with a PTO signing was our answer if a top 6 center got hurt.

We allowed the 6th most shots last year and thought that would improve by swapping Paul for Joseph and Brown for Motte while doing nothing to shore up the positions most responsible for defense.

But I guess it's easier to say the coach sucks than it is to give a holistic approach to evaluating the teams performance.

 

[DaveMatthew]

It's not an excuse, it's a criticism of how this team was constructed.

We needed to shore up the D and we needed to insulate a young group of centers, we did nothing on D and signed a PTO contact to insulate our young centers. As high as I am on Pinto, he had 17 career games going into the season and he along with a PTO signing was our answer if a top 6 center got hurt.

We allowed the 6th most shots last year and thought that would improve by swapping Paul for Joseph and Brown for Motte while doing nothing to shore up the positions most responsible for defense.

But I guess it's easier to say the coach sucks than it is to give a holistic approach to evaluating the teams performance.

What's interesting is that we have a veteran player that's playing well, who's played 750+ NHL games as a center at an all-star level, yet the coach refuses to play him there, even temporarily so a guy like Pinto can build up some confidence.

Instead, he keeps throwing Brassard out.

Tkachuk - Stützle - Joseph
DeBrincat - Giroux - Batherson

What's the worst thing that can happen?

 

[Alex1234]

TO is doing quite well without arguably their 3 best D and starting G
Not always a personnel issue
Coaching makes the biggest difference over 1 or 2 guys missing

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Where's all the "Brady drags his team into the fight" posters? I know there's some really convenient excuses right now with coaching but just wondering if there's any cause for concern?

Of course there's concern, but you can't fire all the players. Coaches get fired. GM's get fired. Some players get traded, but the first two options almost always come first. I don't get the need for so much loyalty here to guys that have yet to get results.

 

[Micklebot]

4. The goalies have been bad

How bad have the goalies really been? When you pull out EN goals against, our team sv% is 13th in the league with a goalie in net.

 

[Micklebot]

What's interesting is that we have a veteran player that's playing well, who's played 750+ NHL games as a center at an all-star level, yet the coach refuses to play him there, even temporarily so a guy like Pinto can build up some confidence.

Instead, he keeps throwing Brassard out.

Tkachuk - Stützle - Joseph
DeBrincat - Giroux - Batherson

What's the worst thing that can happen?

Giroux hasn't played center in a while now but I've already asked why we haven't tried him there.

DJ certainly is part of the problem.

 

[NyQuil]

Where's all the "Brady drags his team into the fight" posters? I know there's some really convenient excuses right now with coaching but just wondering if there's any cause for concern?

They must be hiding with the “Shane Pinto will overtake Norris and Stutzle and be our number 1 centre by the end of the season” posters.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Giroux hasn't played center in a while now but I've already asked why we haven't tried him there.

DJ certainly is part of the problem.

I sincerely think the average NHL coach would have this team playing .500 hockey right now at the very least. Not a sure-fire playoff team, but we'd be playing meaningful hockey.

Injuries and defence hurt, no question, but there's no excuse for not being as good as Montreal or Arizona right now.

 

[DaveMatthew]

How bad have the goalies really been? When you pull out EN goals against, our team sv% is 13th in the league with a goalie in net.

Sure, but that doesn't tell the whole story. We've given up a lot of shots (34 per game) which helps inflate SV%. But I'd say we've been good for, usually, 1-2 bad goals given up per game. That's not the best, especially for a team that has such a razor thin margin to work with.

Last night was a good example. Cam Talbot had a .914 SV%. Good, if you just look at the number! But the Karlsson goal was soft and a back breaker. Bad!

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Of course there's concern, but you can't fire all the players. Coaches get fired. GM's get fired. Some players get traded, but the first two options almost always come first. I don't get the need for so much loyalty here to guys that have yet to get results.

I find it weird that people have been defending DJ by saying the players are just not getting the job done, yet many of those people seem to find no fault with Dorion's work.

If the coach is doing his job and the players routinely are playing bad then we just have bad players. Who is responsible for acquiring those players?

Either Dorion or DJ, or both, needs to go.