Proposal: Fire DJ Smith

[BoardsofCanada]

I find all these posters who claim they can see a lack of structure in DJ's coaching pretty funny. Like you can see and understand the game better than an NHL head coach. We're all very impressed with how smart you are.

It's not for nothing that players often go on to look better outside of Ottawa.

I'd like some examples of players that have gone on to thrive under different coaching:

Colin White
Logan Brown
Sanford
Dadanov
Balcers
Borowiecki

None of them have looked any better on their new teams.

Nick Paul leveled up in Tampa but that is just him entering his prime rather than better coaching.
Anthony Duclair looked great in Miami last season but he showed great potential here in Ottawa too.
Pageau has been good with the Islanders, but he was good with us too.

EDit: I forgot about Filip Gustavsson. He is putting it together in Minny. Not sure if that is coaching or just a deeper team in front of him.
I also forgot about Demelo who has been solid in Winnipeg. But again, I would argue he was a solid d-man here in Ottawa as well.

 

[Beech]

Oct 7 to Oct 31: 9 games played, 8 points...intermediate schedule (5 games against playoff teams, 4 non)
Nov 1 to Nov 30: 14 games played, 9 points..very weak schedule (3 playoff teams, 11 non )
Dec 1 to Dec 31: 14 games played, 18 points..intermediate schedule (7 playoffs, 7 non)

they were done in by Nov 1 to Nov 30...14 games against weak opponents and only 9 points. One f'ng 14 game stretch against weak opponents that did them in. They needed to feast on them..they needed ~ 18-19 points from those 14 games..It was against minnows.

those 9 to 10 points lost ended their season.. Imagine if they had 47 and not 37 points, they would be comfortably in. Tied with T bay for 3rd.

18 points in their last 14 games. That is a 105 point projected season. And against a balanced schedule.

Another season lost thanks to 14 games in November. We need to ban that month.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Oct 7 to Oct 31: 9 games played, 8 points...intermediate schedule (5 games against playoff teams, 4 non)
Nov 1 to Nov 30: 14 games played, 9 points..very weak schedule (3 playoff teams, 11 non )
Dec 1 to Dec 31: 14 games played, 18 points..intermediate schedule (7 playoffs, 7 non)

they were done in by Nov 1 to Nov 30...14 games against weak opponents and only 9 points. One f'ng 14 game stretch against weak opponents that did them in. They needed to feast on them..they needed ~ 18-19 points from those 14 games..It was against minnows.

those 9 to 10 points lost ended their season.. Imagine if they had 47 and not 37 points, they would be comfortably in. Tied with T bay for 3rd.

18 points in their last 14 games. That is a 105 point projected season. And against a balanced schedule.

Another season lost thanks to 14 games in November. We need to ban that month.

One correction
8 games played in October
4-4 record.

 

[bert]

I find all these posters who claim they can see a lack of structure in DJ's coaching pretty funny. Like you can see and understand the game better than an NHL head coach. We're all very impressed with how smart you are.



I'd like some examples of players that have gone on to thrive under different coaching:

Colin White
Logan Brown
Sanford
Dadanov
Balcers
Borowiecki

None of them have looked any better on their new teams.

Nick Paul leveled up in Tampa but that is just him entering his prime rather than better coaching.
Anthony Duclair looked great in Miami last season but he showed great potential here in Ottawa too.
Pageau has been good with the Islanders, but he was good with us too.

EDit: I forgot about Filip Gustavsson. He is putting it together in Minny. Not sure if that is coaching or just a deeper team in front of him.
I also forgot about Demelo who has been solid in Winnipeg. But again, I would argue he was a solid d-man here in Ottawa as well.

The bolded at the top is pretty funny as most posters would struggle to implement or identify any system. While I dont think the sens are overly strong here I just find it interesting when people say. 'They have no system'.

As for Gustavsson thats just simply patience. The talent was obvious he just needed some consistency and some reps. Takes time for goalies. Last year being a yoyo up and down in front of two bad teams is the worst case scenario to develop a goalie.

 

[Golden_Jet]

The bolded at the top is pretty funny as most posters would struggle to implement or identify any system. While I dont think the sens are overly strong here I just find it interesting when people say. 'They have no system'.

As for Gustavsson thats just simply patience. The talent was obvious he just needed some consistency and some reps. Takes time for goalies. Last year being a yoyo up and down in front of two bad teams is the worst case scenario to develop a goalie.

Ya the system takes are always funny.
Also I think Gus started out losing his first 5 games, then went on a tear.

 

[DylanSensFan]

The bolded at the top is pretty funny as most posters would struggle to implement or identify any system. While I dont think the sens are overly strong here I just find it interesting when people say. 'They have no system'.

As for Gustavsson thats just simply patience. The talent was obvious he just needed some consistency and some reps. Takes time for goalies. Last year being a yoyo up and down in front of two bad teams is the worst case scenario to develop a goalie.

I was pretty disappointed that we lost Gustavsson.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I thought Micklebot put it best but can't find the comment now.

It's not always about calling for heads, or someone being "terrible" or other hyperbolic statements about them. Sometimes changing Coaches and/or GM's is just the natural evolution a team needs to take the next step. I think it's hard to see a scenario where some of that doesn't happen this summer with new ownership taking over.

Paul Maurice stepped away from coaching the Jets because he felt he took them as far as he could.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I find all these posters who claim they can see a lack of structure in DJ's coaching pretty funny. Like you can see and understand the game better than an NHL head coach. We're all very impressed with how smart you are.

Lol, I am willing to bet many are. You have guys like Bryan Murray, who has never played professional hockey in his life, yet was our best coach and one of the best in the game. You also have Wayne Gretzky, the greatest IQ player ever, who couldn't cut it out as a coach. You also have a plethora of one and done coaches, with some just rotating due to the culture of things.

I won't get into it, nor am I implying I am smarter than a hockey coach, but it is very evident from play that when Ottawa wins, their guys are playing at almost maximum ability. When they lose, they lose because they aren't firing in almost all cylinders. That's a sign of a bad system. A good system hides some warts of the team. What do I mean by system? I mean that when players are off, they resort to systematic play (small passes, robotic plays just to ensure puck is not turned over, D make the necessary passes etc). When our players are off, they are COMPLETELY off. They are running around with their heads cut off. Even when we are on sometimes, we still look quite discombobulated. Some of this is definitely chemistry, but we almost done half the season here, the guy who looks most calm is Giroux. How are Stutzle and Tkachuk still notably out of sync when they are off? Just resort to the basics if you aren't playing well. Is that because there are no strong foundational basics? Is it because there is no accountability and those players deter from it anyway?

I unno. But we need a change. Hasn't worked for 4-5 years. NEXT.

 

[swiftwin]

I find all these posters who claim they can see a lack of structure in DJ's coaching pretty funny. Like you can see and understand the game better than an NHL head coach. We're all very impressed with how smart you are.



I'd like some examples of players that have gone on to thrive under different coaching:

Colin White
Logan Brown
Sanford
Dadanov
Balcers
Borowiecki

None of them have looked any better on their new teams.

Nick Paul leveled up in Tampa but that is just him entering his prime rather than better coaching.
Anthony Duclair looked great in Miami last season but he showed great potential here in Ottawa too.
Pageau has been good with the Islanders, but he was good with us too.

EDit: I forgot about Filip Gustavsson. He is putting it together in Minny. Not sure if that is coaching or just a deeper team in front of him.
I also forgot about Demelo who has been solid in Winnipeg. But again, I would argue he was a solid d-man here in Ottawa as well.

Tyler Ennis looked pretty good here. Then was a healthy scratch/waivers material in Edmonton. Then he came back here and looked like a solid 4th liner again.

 

[Cosmix]

I find all these posters who claim they can see a lack of structure in DJ's coaching pretty funny. Like you can see and understand the game better than an NHL head coach. We're all very impressed with how smart you are.



I'd like some examples of players that have gone on to thrive under different coaching:

Colin White
Logan Brown
Sanford
Dadanov
Balcers
Borowiecki

None of them have looked any better on their new teams.

Nick Paul leveled up in Tampa but that is just him entering his prime rather than better coaching.
Anthony Duclair looked great in Miami last season but he showed great potential here in Ottawa too.
Pageau has been good with the Islanders, but he was good with us too.

EDit: I forgot about Filip Gustavsson. He is putting it together in Minny. Not sure if that is coaching or just a deeper team in front of him.
I also forgot about Demelo who has been solid in Winnipeg. But again, I would argue he was a solid d-man here in Ottawa as well.

The one that really annoys me is the loss of Duclair for absolutely NOTHING!

 

[Cosmix]

I find all these posters who claim they can see a lack of structure in DJ's coaching pretty funny. Like you can see and understand the game better than an NHL head coach. We're all very impressed with how smart you are.



I'd like some examples of players that have gone on to thrive under different coaching:

Colin White
Logan Brown
Sanford
Dadanov
Balcers
Borowiecki

None of them have looked any better on their new teams.

Nick Paul leveled up in Tampa but that is just him entering his prime rather than better coaching.
Anthony Duclair looked great in Miami last season but he showed great potential here in Ottawa too.
Pageau has been good with the Islanders, but he was good with us too.

EDit: I forgot about Filip Gustavsson. He is putting it together in Minny. Not sure if that is coaching or just a deeper team in front of him.
I also forgot about Demelo who has been solid in Winnipeg. But again, I would argue he was a solid d-man here in Ottawa as well.

Some complained about lack of structure. Personaly I thought there was a structure but it required changes to include better tracking coverage of opponent players in our D zone, less collapsing to the front of the net and staying farther out to quickly attack the opponent Ds at the points, improved exits from the D zone with greater forward support, etc.

 

[boxbox]

I find all these posters who claim they can see a lack of structure in DJ's coaching pretty funny. Like you can see and understand the game better than an NHL head coach. We're all very impressed with how smart you are.



I'd like some examples of players that have gone on to thrive under different coaching:

Colin White
Logan Brown
Sanford
Dadanov
Balcers
Borowiecki

None of them have looked any better on their new teams.

Nick Paul leveled up in Tampa but that is just him entering his prime rather than better coaching.
Anthony Duclair looked great in Miami last season but he showed great potential here in Ottawa too.
Pageau has been good with the Islanders, but he was good with us too.

EDit: I forgot about Filip Gustavsson. He is putting it together in Minny. Not sure if that is coaching or just a deeper team in front of him.
I also forgot about Demelo who has been solid in Winnipeg. But again, I would argue he was a solid d-man here in Ottawa as well.

*slow clap* excellent points....you could have pointed out DJs lack of NHL experience to spice it up a bit more

 

[boxbox]

Lol, I am willing to bet many are. You have guys like Bryan Murray, who has never played professional hockey in his life, yet was our best coach and one of the best in the game. You also have Wayne Gretzky, the greatest IQ player ever, who couldn't cut it out as a coach. You also have a plethora of one and done coaches, with some just rotating due to the culture of things.

I won't get into it, nor am I implying I am smarter than a hockey coach, but it is very evident from play that when Ottawa wins, their guys are playing at almost maximum ability. When they lose, they lose because they aren't firing in almost all cylinders. That's a sign of a bad system. A good system hides some warts of the team. What do I mean by system? I mean that when players are off, they resort to systematic play (small passes, robotic plays just to ensure puck is not turned over, D make the necessary passes etc). When our players are off, they are COMPLETELY off. They are running around with their heads cut off. Even when we are on sometimes, we still look quite discombobulated. Some of this is definitely chemistry, but we almost done half the season here, the guy who looks most calm is Giroux. How are Stutzle and Tkachuk still notably out of sync when they are off? Just resort to the basics if you aren't playing well. Is that because there are no strong foundational basics? Is it because there is no accountability and those players deter from it anyway?

I unno. But we need a change. Hasn't worked for 4-5 years. NEXT.

Do you watch other teams as closely as the Sens ? and if you do can you tell me what teams you believe have good systems in place just so I can get an better idea as I don't get to watch many games to know

game above .500

DJ is a winning coach again !!!!

 

[JimmySpaetzle]

Can this guy stop putting Lucch on the powerplay please… I know he’s a feel good story, but the guy is a call-up. It’s like when Brassard bounced between first line centre and healthy scratch

 

[swiftwin]

We're now sitting at an eyepopping 108.5% combined special teams! DJ is killing it!

Bonus: Talbot is at .916%

We now have the 4th best PP in the league (25.9%)
The 8th best PK in the league

For a total 110.1% on special teams!!

 

[Micklebot]

We now have the 4th best PP in the league (25.9%)
The 8th best PK in the league

For a total 110.1% on special teams!!

On the flip side, our 5v5 GF% has tanked down to 44% and 27th in the league.

Does DJ get any credit for that?

 

[bert]

On the flip side, our 5v5 GF% has tanked down to 44% and 27th in the league.

Does DJ get any credit for that?

I mean that has happened for 2 reasons. They've tightened up defensively and they've had alot of injuries up front. I do believe it's a testament to the coaching staff to keep this team competitive when they were really banged up. They kept it close and relied on their best 5 players to score on the pp.

The team in general is playing way better. Way less turnovers in danger areas. Way less unforced errors. That comes from taking less chances and knowing when to do it. Lower event hockey but it's winning hockey.

I think we're seeing the sens develop an identity. It was bound to take some time with all the roster turnover. Players have settled into roles now. If they can get healthy up front the 5 on 5 goals will go up.

I also don't know why everyone wants to make trades. They just need to settle in get healthy and create more internal competition so the young talent they have can start pushing for ice. A fluid stream of players up from Bellville can help with that.

I think when the d core is healthy it's good. JBD and Brannstrom are still improving same with Sanderson.

 

[JD1]

Lol, I am willing to bet many are. You have guys like Bryan Murray, who has never played professional hockey in his life, yet was our best coach and one of the best in the game. You also have Wayne Gretzky, the greatest IQ player ever, who couldn't cut it out as a coach. You also have a plethora of one and done coaches, with some just rotating due to the culture of things.

I won't get into it, nor am I implying I am smarter than a hockey coach, but it is very evident from play that when Ottawa wins, their guys are playing at almost maximum ability. When they lose, they lose because they aren't firing in almost all cylinders. That's a sign of a bad system. A good system hides some warts of the team. What do I mean by system? I mean that when players are off, they resort to systematic play (small passes, robotic plays just to ensure puck is not turned over, D make the necessary passes etc). When our players are off, they are COMPLETELY off. They are running around with their heads cut off. Even when we are on sometimes, we still look quite discombobulated. Some of this is definitely chemistry, but we almost done half the season here, the guy who looks most calm is Giroux. How are Stutzle and Tkachuk still notably out of sync when they are off? Just resort to the basics if you aren't playing well. Is that because there are no strong foundational basics? Is it because there is no accountability and those players deter from it anyway?

I unno. But we need a change. Hasn't worked for 4-5 years. NEXT.

Structure and team play is leading to this at 5 on 5

CF% 11th
XGF% 12th
SCF% 10th
HDCF% 11th

And this on special teams
PP gf/60 3rd
PK Ga/60 7th

Structure is NOT causing this at 5 on 5
GF% 27th
HDGF% 27th


What coaching can do for you is implement a system that players can play that results in the ice being tilted in your favour. Very clearly the data says ice is tilted in our favour. Those stats up there showing 10, 11, 11 and 12 - they all result from us having more opportunity than our opponents. That's what you want.

The special team results are top notch.

But we're not scoring enough at 5 on 5. We're 11th in the league at generating high danger opportunity but we're 27th in the league at converting that. Structure causes one of those stats, not the other.

The irony of this is we used to see posts about the Sens not using advanced stats. Advanced stats this year very, very clearly point favourably at us so now we should just throw them out and blame structure

Posts like this remove all doubt.

On the flip side, our 5v5 GF% has tanked down to 44% and 27th in the league.

Does DJ get any credit for that?

Only if you can establish a connection between DJ and a "how the f*** did he miss that" scoring opportunity

 

[Micklebot]

I mean that has happened for 2 reasons. They've tightened up defensively and they've had alot of injuries up front. I do believe it's a testament to the coaching staff to keep this team competitive when they were really banged up. They kept it close and relied on their best 5 players to score on the pp.

The team in general is playing way better. Way less turnovers in danger areas. Way less unforced errors. That comes from taking less chances and knowing when to do it. Lower event hockey but it's winning hockey.

I think we're seeing the sens develop an identity. It was bound to take some time with all the roster turnover. Players have settled into roles now. If they can get healthy up front the 5 on 5 goals will go up.

Playing low event hockey shouldn't mean getting destroyed 5v5, not that we actually are low event, we have the highest combine shot attempts in the league, even more recently since we started playing better we're still top 10.

Sure, we're playing tighter defensive hockey but have one of the lowest scoring teams 5v5 in the league. With the talent we have up front that's pretty disappointing.

There's no rule that you can only be good 5v5 or on special teams. If want to move forward as a team, we need to be good at both.

 

[Micklebot]

Only if you can establish a connection between DJ and a "how the f*** did he miss that" scoring opportunity

Fair enough, maybe DJ needs to yell shoot from the bench when we get two on ones ...

 

[JD1]

Fair enough, maybe DJ needs to yell shoot from the bench when we get two on ones ...

Maybe DJ should put some money on the board. 100 bucks every time the puck carrier shoots and scores on a 2 on 1

 

[DrEasy]

Can this guy stop putting Lucch on the powerplay please… I know he’s a feel good story, but the guy is a call-up. It’s like when Brassard bounced between first line centre and healthy scratch

Who do we have who would be better? It's between him and Kastelic, Kelly, Brassard, Watson and Gambrell... Kastelic was tried but didn't show much. And if you argue Brassard is better, well he's also on the PP anyway, so Lucchini isn't taking his spot. I guess we could potentially replace one of Luchini and Brassard with a D; but I'm not convinced Lucchini should be the one to remove.

 

[bert]

Playing low event hockey shouldn't mean getting destroyed 5v5, not that we actually are low event, we have the highest combine shot attempts in the league, even more recently since we started playing better we're still top 10.

Sure, we're playing tighter defensive hockey but have one of the lowest scoring teams 5v5 in the league. With the talent we have up front that's pretty disappointing.

There's no rule that you can only be good 5v5 or on special teams. If want to move forward as a team, we need to be good at both.

It's disappointing you didn't read my post. It's gone down because they have had alot of injuries and frankly haven't been icing a very talented roster. Which I said in the first sentence of the post you quoted. So what you have said is factually incorrect about the roster.

There is a reason teams don't solely look at advanced stats people still actually watch the games. The puck management has been way better. For yes lower event hockey. Total shots doesn't mean anything it's the unforced errors and unnecessary risks they've cut down on. While winning hockey games which they managed to do with a banged up roster. Unless you'd prefer them to play losing hockey. Which seems like the angle of your response.

 

[BankStreetParade]

In our last 19 games:
12-5-2
Points - 6th
GA/GP - 6th
PP - 2nd
PK - 3rd
SF/GP - 7th
SA/GP - 16th
FOW% - 7th

Players who have missed time during that 19 game stretch:
Norris - 19
Zub - 12
Joseph - 12
Motte - 6
Stutzle - 4

Yet the majority of the 88 pages in this thread talking about firing the coach. To do what? Get a better system that no one can articulate or explain? Every coach eventually gets fired but who's lined up to take DJ's spot and what are we hoping they'll do, under the same circumstances, that will give us better results?

 

[Micklebot]

Just to be clear, I think we've been playing better 5v5 than our Goals for/against suggest.

I think the PP is on fire and the results match the level they are playing at

I think the PK has played on but goaltending has been bailing them out a fair bit.

Where DJ deserves credit vs the players is tough to delineate, some people want to only blame the coach, others want to only praise him.