Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[DJB]

One day closer

 

[Micklebot]

Dorion knows this, he does know hockey, but the fact that the above quote was said at all is mind numbingly stupid.

To be fair, it's not a quote, it's Garrioch summarizing his interpretation of what Dorion said. I remember a Dorion interview around the time that might be what Garrioch is referencing and it was Dorion saying two years gave them flexibility which is a bit more reasonable. Tbh, my impression at the time was the Dorion interview sounded like a justification after the fact as opposed to a planed outcome, but that's speculation on my part.

 

[bert]

FIRE DJ SMITH RN!!!!!!!!!!! Your team is ruining my man Brinksy's career

View attachment 613112

In a what world plug like Austin Watson gets more 5 on 5 ice time what a young star player like Alex DeBrincat?
Not to mention Brassard, Motte and Joseph, all 4 got more ice time what DeBrincat.

In 60 minutes of ice hockey he gives under 9 minutes of 5 on 5 ice hockey to your best player...
No wonder he can't score, he isn't playing... he is not just some PP specialist for crying out loud!!!!!

FIRE THAT MORON DENIS JOSEPH SMITH RIGHT F NOW!!!

FYI last time Hawks played against Ducks; DeBrincat scored 1+1
and had 19 and change 5 on 5 minutes..... total about 22 minutes
Hawks won that game 4-2.

Jesus take a log off the fire. He's been given plenty of opportunity. He's playing well but honestly not finishing.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Jesus take a log off the fire. He's been given plenty of opportunity. He's playing well but honestly not finishing.

Not to mention he's 6th on the team in EVTOI this year, a list that includes 3 dmen and he's only behind Stutzle and Giroux for forwards in that category. It's the usual "what's the most recent thing that happened extrapolated into the whole year" kind of critical thinking that seems to be a forte for this forum.

 

[BondraTime]

FIRE DJ SMITH RN!!!!!!!!!!! Your team is ruining my man Brinksy's career

View attachment 613112

In a what world plug like Austin Watson gets more 5 on 5 ice time what a young star player like Alex DeBrincat?
Not to mention Brassard, Motte and Joseph, all 4 got more ice time what DeBrincat.

In 60 minutes of ice hockey he gives under 9 minutes of 5 on 5 ice hockey to your best player...
No wonder he can't score, he isn't playing... he is not just some PP specialist for crying out loud!!!!!

FIRE THAT MORON DENIS JOSEPH SMITH RIGHT F NOW!!!

FYI last time Hawks played against Ducks; DeBrincat scored 1+1
and had 19 and change 5 on 5 minutes..... total about 22 minutes
Hawks won that game 4-2.

DeBrincat is closer to 10 than 1 on our best players list.

 

[Bileur]

Can someone explain to me, like I’m 5, what Parker Kelly has done to immunize himself from being a healthy scratch?

Parker Kelly Stats And News

Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Parker Kelly.

www.nhl.com

I get that he’s decent on the PK, we have a lot of that in our bottom 6. He’s somewhat physical, less so than Kastelic or Watson but somewhat. He doesn’t seem to finish hits with as much gusto as last year and seems to be going through the motions a little.

He doesn’t agitate much anymore which is very disappointing. I don’t understand what is going on there, he was a ball of hate before. The ability he showed last season to draw penalties and attention from the other team seemed really useful.

That little play yesterday where he put it softly off the boards and couldn’t clear the zone pissed me right off. Where is the determination? This guy needs to be playing every game like it’s his last or his NHL chance will likely be over this summer.

1 assist, 0 goals in 19 games just isn’t enough IMO. I don’t know if he’s injured, or going through something personally, but he needs to sit and think about what he needs to do to stay et this level.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

To be fair, it's not a quote, it's Garrioch summarizing his interpretation of what Dorion said. I remember a Dorion interview around the time that might be what Garrioch is referencing and it was Dorion saying two years gave them flexibility which is a bit more reasonable. Tbh, my impression at the time was the Dorion interview sounded like a justification after the fact as opposed to a planed outcome, but that's speculation on my part.

Here is what Bruce said in an article

Dorion said he talked about multiple scenarios with Zub’s agent. The club wanted to go two years with Zub because they want to make room for Jacob Bernard-Docker and Lassi Thomson plus the Senators have No. 5 pick Jake Sanderson coming out of the University of North Dakota after next season.

I remember listening to the interview .. this is a fair summary imo... I do not recall "flexibility" being mentioned.
I never understood 2 years based on the info provided. $ probably was a big driver here.. walking him to UFA being the cheapest option. And here we are ... I would call it a mistake not to sign him longer 2 years ago if that option was on the table now as I did then.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Can someone explain to me, like I’m 5, what Parker Kelly has done to immunize himself from being a healthy scratch?

Parker Kelly Stats And News

Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Parker Kelly.

www.nhl.com

I get that he’s decent on the PK, we have a lot of that in our bottom 6. He’s somewhat physical, less so than Kastelic or Watson but somewhat. He doesn’t seem to finish hits with as much gusto as last year and seems to be going through the motions a little.

He doesn’t agitate much anymore which is very disappointing. I don’t understand what is going on there, he was a ball of hate before. The ability he showed last season to draw penalties and attention from the other team seemed really useful.

That little play yesterday where he put it softly off the boards and couldn’t clear the zone pissed me right off. Where is the determination? This guy needs to be playing every game like it’s his last or his NHL chance will likely be over this summer.

1 assist, 0 goals in 19 games just isn’t enough IMO. I don’t know if he’s injured, or going through something personally, but he needs to sit and think about what he needs to do to stay et this level.

Agreed.

I had such high hopes for this kid. Thought he'd be a mainstay on the 4th line for half a decade at least, but he has been really disappointing this season.

 

[cudi]

Can someone explain to me, like I’m 5, what Parker Kelly has done to immunize himself from being a healthy scratch?

Parker Kelly Stats And News

Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Parker Kelly.

www.nhl.com

I get that he’s decent on the PK, we have a lot of that in our bottom 6. He’s somewhat physical, less so than Kastelic or Watson but somewhat. He doesn’t seem to finish hits with as much gusto as last year and seems to be going through the motions a little.

He doesn’t agitate much anymore which is very disappointing. I don’t understand what is going on there, he was a ball of hate before. The ability he showed last season to draw penalties and attention from the other team seemed really useful.

That little play yesterday where he put it softly off the boards and couldn’t clear the zone pissed me right off. Where is the determination? This guy needs to be playing every game like it’s his last or his NHL chance will likely be over this summer.

1 assist, 0 goals in 19 games just isn’t enough IMO. I don’t know if he’s injured, or going through something personally, but he needs to sit and think about what he needs to do to stay et this level.

he works hard!

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

I don’t think I want a coach that is liked.

Respected maybe, even a little feared.

Anyway, maybe I’m too old school for the league these days.

Brian Murray was , I think, liked and respected and feared a little.

 

[GCK]

I'm not sure big roster moves are needed to see big improvement. Our center depth is promising long term, they just don't have the experience yet. Chabot, Zub and Sanderson are all top 4 guys, we just need one more.

Hire Julien or other high end coach
Trade for one of Carlo, Parayko, Pesce, ext
Maybe get a more defensive oriented 3rd pair LHD instead of Brannstrom
Upgrade 3rd line LW with more of a two way guy, ideally a physical presence (I'm assuming Formenton never wears a sens jersey again)

Roster after Norris returns:

Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson
Giroux-Stützle-DeBrincat
???-Pinto-Joseph
Motte-Kastelic-Gambrell

Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Carlo or other
Holden/upgrade-JBD/Thomson

The real question is how much it will take to sign DeBrincat, some are suggesting 9 mil, but at the same time assuming he won't command a strong return. Fiala got under 8, that should be our benchmark in negotiations,

Quick math in my head puts that roster over the cap even if it goes to 86.5M

 

[Micklebot]

Quick math in my head puts that roster over the cap even if it goes to 86.5M

We'd have to dump Zaitsev and bridge Pinto but it's doable with DeBrincat at 8.5, Zub at 5, Pinto at 4, and a 2 mil upgrade on Motte. If we replace the 2 mil upgrade with Greig we give ourselves a bit more room and can potentially fit Parayko instead of Carlo or Pesce type contracts. Any savings you get off Zub, or Debrincat would obviously help too, and higher and it hurts. Certainly goes out the window if we trade for Myers though, lol.

Alternatively you can move out Joseph to make room (might have to in order to land the upgrades we want) and replace him with someone like Sokolov, a bit of a downgrade granted, but shaves off another 2 mil.

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

Oh obviously not. JBD should be on the 3rd pair for the foreseeable future and Thomson in the AHL.

Dorion knows this, he does know hockey, but the fact that the above quote was said at all is mind numbingly stupid.

Whichever way you look at it (Zub would only sign to UFA/Team only wanted him to bridge JBD and Thomson/Pushing the can down the road with a prayer) the 2 year signing was pretty dumb.

I remember saying at the time, “good to get him under contract, we’ll sign him later”. That doesn’t look like a wise opinion to hold.


Oh I’m with you there. Have had coaches I loved, and coaches I wanted to get to love me.

The coaches I wanted to get to love me were undoubtedly better coaches.

Don't worry BT, I love you.

 

[Micklebot]

Can someone explain to me, like I’m 5, what Parker Kelly has done to immunize himself from being a healthy scratch?

Parker Kelly Stats And News

Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Parker Kelly.

www.nhl.com

I get that he’s decent on the PK, we have a lot of that in our bottom 6. He’s somewhat physical, less so than Kastelic or Watson but somewhat. He doesn’t seem to finish hits with as much gusto as last year and seems to be going through the motions a little.

He doesn’t agitate much anymore which is very disappointing. I don’t understand what is going on there, he was a ball of hate before. The ability he showed last season to draw penalties and attention from the other team seemed really useful.

That little play yesterday where he put it softly off the boards and couldn’t clear the zone pissed me right off. Where is the determination? This guy needs to be playing every game like it’s his last or his NHL chance will likely be over this summer.

1 assist, 0 goals in 19 games just isn’t enough IMO. I don’t know if he’s injured, or going through something personally, but he needs to sit and think about what he needs to do to stay et this level.

I've been pretty disappointed with him, but he kills penalties (2 mins a game), draws a lot of penalties in the limited icetime he gets (1st in 5v5 penalties drawn per 60, 2nd in raw penalties drawn) and hits a bunch - 5th in raw hits, 3rd per 60 all strengths, 2nd per 60 at 5v5.

 

[Chainshot]

I thought the title was "Free DJ Smith" and I wanted to post "...to a good home." But I see it was just me misreading this and I wholeheartedly endorse tying a can to him and kicking him down the road.

 

[Micklebot]

Is it just me that finds it kind of funny that DJ plays Brannstrom more on the PK than on the PP? I mean, I've actually found Brannstrom decent on the PK, so whatever, but kind of defies expectations...

 

[Loach]

He LOVES 4th liners
What can we do?

It's like a back up goaltender becoming a head coach...and then playing the backup all the time. Lol

 

[Bileur]

Is it just me that finds it kind of funny that DJ plays Brannstrom more on the PK than on the PP? I mean, I've actually found Brannstrom decent on the PK, so whatever, but kind of defies expectations...

Im not surprised at the PK time, particularly given the comments the team has made about Brannstrom’s improvement on the PK and the injuries/declines from our D but I am surprised about the low PP time.

 

[Bileur]

I've been pretty disappointed with him, but he kills penalties (2 mins a game), draws a lot of penalties in the limited icetime he gets (1st in 5v5 penalties drawn per 60, 2nd in raw penalties drawn) and hits a bunch - 5th in raw hits, 3rd per 60 all strengths, 2nd per 60 at 5v5.

I looked at those numbers too, he’s less prolific in hits and blocks fewer shots per 60 than last season. His hits also seem less impactful, this season we’ve had quite a few big hits on the forecheck from Watson and Kastelic while Kelly just seems to finish a little less hard than last year. He still hits guys but doesn’t seem as mean.

On the PK, he’s decent but I don’t think he’s a big enough upgrade on Gambrell or Kastelic to justify him having a locked in roster spot while the other two rotate.

It just seems like a regression from him. After last season I was hoping we might have a new Jarkko Ruutu on our hands. A really useful 4th line agitator and key penalty killer. You knew every time Jarkko was on the ice because something was happening, Kelly did that last season too. The agitation seems to have dissipated. Right now he looks very replaceable.

I want him to do well and be locked in to the 4th LW spot, but needs to do more to actually earn that.

 

[Micklebot]

I looked at those numbers too, he’s less prolific in hits and blocks fewer shots per 60 than last season. His hits also seem less impactful, this season we’ve had quite a few big hits on the forecheck from Watson and Kastelic while Kelly just seems to finish a little less hard than last year. He still hits guys but doesn’t seem as mean.

On the PK, he’s decent but I don’t think he’s a big enough upgrade on Gambrell or Kastelic to justify him having a locked in roster spot while the other two rotate.

It just seems like a regression from him. After last season I was hoping we might have a new Jarkko Ruutu on our hands. A really useful 4th line agitator and key penalty killer. You knew every time Jarkko was on the ice because something was happening, Kelly did that last season too. The agitation seems to have dissipated. Right now he looks very replaceable.

I want him to do well and be locked in to the 4th LW spot, but needs to do more to actually earn that.

Last year he drew 1.38 penalties per 60 at 5v5, this year he's at 3.37
Last year he threw 19.81 hits per 60 at 5v5 this year he's at 18.3, not a significant difference
Last year he got about 55 seconds of PK, this year he's around 2 mins a game
He's giving the puck away about half as much as last year, while keeping about the same rate of takeaways.

He is blocking fewer shots per 60 but that's not always a bad thing.

To me the biggest difference in his game is on the offensive side, he's not getting as many shots through.

Again, I haven't been happy with him, I'd rather Kastelic in the lineup myself.

 

[BondraTime]

We have to play him on the PK, and we have no room on the PP.

Neither Chabot or Thomson kill penalties, or have high minutes already, that only leave 4 guys for the PK.

 

[Bileur]

Last year he drew 1.38 penalties per 60 at 5v5, this year he's at 3.37
Last year he threw 19.81 hits per 60 at 5v5 this year he's at 18.3, not a significant difference
Last year he got about 55 seconds of PK, this year he's around 2 mins a game
He's giving the puck away about half as much as last year, while keeping about the same rate of takeaways.

He is blocking fewer shots per 60 but that's not always a bad thing.

To me the biggest difference in his game is on the offensive side, he's not getting as many shots through.

Again, I haven't been happy with him, I'd rather Kastelic in the lineup myself.

Interesting that the stats are pretty similar when you isolate 5 on 5 stats. What site do you use to get the isolated options?

 

[Micklebot]

Interesting that the stats are pretty similar when you isolate 5 on 5 stats. What site do you use to get the isolated options?

Natural statrick is what is used.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Im not surprised at the PK time, particularly given the comments the team has made about Brannstrom’s improvement on the PK and the injuries/declines from our D but I am surprised about the low PP time.

What about his offensive play so far has made you think he's earned more of a look on the PP?

Just for context, Sanderson, at 20 games in to his career, is already 4 points away from matching Brannstrom's entire PP production for his whole career as a Senator.

 

[Cosmix]

DJ and Dorion are going no where.

The team is for sale!! Per Sportsnet and tsn radio, the move is happening fast. A new owner my be in place by season's end... with the sale being finalized as early as January and the transfer being immediately or after some time. (payment may be in installments and full handover may not occur until the final balloon payment is made)

If so;
1) who fires DJ? Dorion! And what hire another coach? Maybe some big dollar one and tell the incoming owner, here you go; you are now on the hook for 5 x 5 for this coach that you did not hire...really!!!! I guarantee you, Bettman himself has sent a "make no moves" order to the Sens.
2) ditto for Dorion..A GM is typically an owner hire. Do you want some owner coming in, bring his new hire with him and having to shell out some 5 x 5 for a gm hired 2-4 months earlier...NEVER.

Endure folks, one more season of toilette and 23/24 will be the start of FYOMS...five years of mediocre success. By this time in 2024 we will be bitching about the new owner, new GM and new coach.

I doubt that Bettman can send a "make no moves" order to any team that has an owner in good standing.

I can see the Senators executive keeping a leash on Dorion to ensure he does make a "Hail Mary" trade to save his head from the guillotine!

I can see the Senators executive approving a DJ firing with a temporary replacement using existing hires (low cost temp action) to try to stimulate the team to play better but I expect a "dead cat bounce" because the causes of the problem (poor performance) is more than coaching and extends to the current ownership, GM, drafting and scouting.