Management GM Pierre Dorion/Front Office Thread - Part IX [Mod Warning in post 1)

[JD1]

I think most of the hockey world looks at Ottawa as an up & coming young team with a lot of very good young players & the credit goes to the GM whether we like it or not. Also given that DJ has brought them so close to a playoff position this yr IMO also gets credit for that. I think both are safe for the immediate future & even a new ownership group unless they have specific people in mind will give these two another yr or at the least allow them to play out their contracts before a move is made behind the bench or in the front office. We'll see soon enough.

I read something this morning suggesting a mid summer timeline to get the T's crossed and I's dotted on a sale. That lines up with a timeline I posted a couple of weeks back.

If we have a sale finalized mid August, the only way I see a GM change is if the new group already have a GM ready to go. And the only way I see a coach change is if there is a GM change

 

[Micklebot]

Norris shot over 20%. That’s not sustainable for a guy like him, and definitely not when better players eat his minutes.

I mean, shooting at 20% is league leading so it's not really sustainable for anybody, but lots of guys are in the 16% and up range that he compares well with,

Burakowsky, Reinhardt, Vrana, Barbashev, Kilorn, Oshie, ect all above 16% with over 100 games in the last 4 seasons combined.

As he and the team improves, he might be able to mitigate Sh% drops with increased shot rates. He's 23, so lots of runway left.

 

[aragorn]

I read something this morning suggesting a mid summer timeline to get the T's crossed and I's dotted on a sale. That lines up with a timeline I posted a couple of weeks back.

If we have a sale finalized mid August, the only way I see a GM change is if the new group already have a GM ready to go. And the only way I see a coach change is if there is a GM change

Yes, that's basically how I see it as well, good post.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

I mean, shooting at 20% is league leading so it's not really sustainable for anybody, but lots of guys are in the 16% and up range that he compares well with,

Burakowsky, Reinhardt, Vrana, Barbashev, Kilorn, Oshie, ect all above 16% with over 100 games in the last 4 seasons combined.

As he and the team improves, he might be able to mitigate Sh% drops with increased shot rates. He's 23, so lots of runway left.

Yeah, his high shooting percentage is way more of a concern if he's a volume shooter/shooting from everywhere, which Norris doesn't do at all. In fact, I am sure he has been told his entire career to shoot the puck more, and hopefully he will add more range/variety to his arsenal and be able to get more pucks to the net. I mean, he had 10 more shots than Formenton last year! Chabot had more shots!

Not to mention, he was at almost 18% in his rookie year. Seems likely that he will be a very high percentage shooter for as long as his shot totals remain middle of the pack.

 

[Micklebot]

I read something this morning suggesting a mid summer timeline to get the T's crossed and I's dotted on a sale. That lines up with a timeline I posted a couple of weeks back.

If we have a sale finalized mid August, the only way I see a GM change is if the new group already have a GM ready to go. And the only way I see a coach change is if there is a GM change

Yeah, sens were conditionally sold to Melnyk in May 2003 but he officially purchased the sens in Aug.

For whatever reason I always misremembered Muckler as being Melnyk's first hire and coming on board right after the sale but Mlakar hired him a year before the purchase to replace Johnston

I suspect a POHO could come in with new ownership, but changing GM and/or coach in Aug, probably not. I guess Dorion may have already decided to move on from DJ, but Dorion seems very loyal to DJ...

 

[Mingus Dew]

Yeah, send were conditionally sold to Melnyk in May 2003 but he officially purchased the sens in Aug.

For whatever reason I always misremembered Muckler as being Melnyk's first hire and coming on board right after the sale but Mlakar hired him a year before the purchase to replace Johnston

I suspect a POHO could come in with new ownership, but changing GM and/or coach in Aug, probably not. I guess Dorion may have already decided to move on from DJ, but Dorion seems very loyal to DJ...

I'd put the odds of Dorion firing DJ at 0%.

 

[Micklebot]

I'd put the odds of Dorion firing DJ at 0%.

Never say never, but...

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

I'd put the odds of Dorion firing DJ at 0%.

 

[Tuna99]

I think most of the hockey world looks at Ottawa as an up & coming young team with a lot of very good young players & the credit goes to the GM whether we like it or not. Also given that DJ has brought them so close to a playoff position this yr IMO also gets credit for that. I think both are safe for the immediate future & even a new ownership group unless they have specific people in mind will give these two another yr or at the least allow them to play out their contracts before a move is made behind the bench or in the front office. We'll see soon enough.

But how many team rebuild and had to get a new coach to get them over the hump - L.A. rebuilt and brought in Sutter when things got stale, Pitt changed coaches away from a Cup winner and to Sullivan.

I think if your goal was a good start and it’s 3 years in a row your team falls flat on its face, there has to be accountability. You just can’t let DJ and a poor start sink another season. There has to be a coach out there that can keep them in it until American Thanksgiving

I don’t think DJ a has done a bad job overall. I think easily with some better coaching decisions this team can find 6 points from its last 74 games and be in a playoff spot. But I just don’t think DJ is the guy to lead this team for the next 5-10 years. I think there’s a better coach to do that with this team

 

[LuckyPierre]

“I think one position you can never have too many of is goaltenders and defensemen.” -Pierre Dorion on the TSN1200 pre game show.

When this franchise moves on from him, I’m going to miss the media availabilities. There’s always a potent quotable.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

“I think one position you can never have too many of is goaltenders and defensemen.” -Pierre Dorion on the TSN1200 pre game show.

When this franchise moves on from him, I’m going to miss the media availabilities. There’s always a potent quotable.

Amazing man... hang on every word

 

[Burrowsaurus]

No drama here over the debrincat news. Damn I’m dissapointed

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

No drama here over the debrincat news. Damn I’m dissapointed

Who?

 

[Micklebot]

No drama here over the debrincat news. Damn I’m dissapointed

It really shouldn't cause any drama, It's not like Dorion is going to broadcast he doesn't plan on qualifying the guy, that would kill his trade value

 

[Knave]

We have missed the playoffs yet again. It is time for a change.

I am tired of the excuses. Other teams do lose a top player or two. If everything has to line up perfectly for this team to squeak into the playoffs while now spending close to the cap... then the GM and coach have failed.

And it is time for a change.

 

[aragorn]

But how many team rebuild and had to get a new coach to get them over the hump - L.A. rebuilt and brought in Sutter when things got stale, Pitt changed coaches away from a Cup winner and to Sullivan.

I think if your goal was a good start and it’s 3 years in a row your team falls flat on its face, there has to be accountability. You just can’t let DJ and a poor start sink another season. There has to be a coach out there that can keep them in it until American Thanksgiving

I don’t think DJ a has done a bad job overall. I think easily with some better coaching decisions this team can find 6 points from its last 74 games and be in a playoff spot. But I just don’t think DJ is the guy to lead this team for the next 5-10 years. I think there’s a better coach to do that with this team

True ... I just don't think we are there yet, but at some point it's possible, maybe even after next yr, they may want someone to get them further along or to take them to the next level.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

We are there.
We were very close.
We had some very untimely bad injuries that left us outside of the playoffs.
We have an amazing core
Dorion made great acquisitions. (Talbot was a good move, but didn't turn out)
Management is staying the same. 100% - Dorion is a legend.
Stop dreaming, Thread bumpers!

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

 

[Micklebot]

Finding a new job seems notably absent...

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

Finding a new job seems notably absent...

Keep dreaming Mickey!

Dorion 4ever

 

[GCK]

2 and 3 are exclusive

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

We missed the playoffs. Though we were mathematically eliminated late in the season, the mirage of "meaningful games" ended long before then. We were not the only team dealing with injuries, that's a part of the game.

But we do have a solid core and a promising future. I'm all for giving Dorion another year to show that his unshackled-from-Melnyk power moves weren't a fluke, but like... can we stop making excuses? It's awkward and ignores the reality that we've dealt with these past few years.

 

[armani]

Dorion deserves a chance. What he did without Melnyk’s intervention is nothing to scoff at. He has totally changed the team, adding G, Cat, Chych, et. al. He tried to make the goaltending better, and without key injuries this team was almost a playoff team.

That and the 2020 draft will likely save him at least in the near-term.

 

[aragorn]

We missed the playoffs. Though we were mathematically eliminated late in the season, the mirage of "meaningful games" ended long before then. We were not the only team dealing with injuries, that's a part of the game.

But we do have a solid core and a promising future. I'm all for giving Dorion another year to show that his unshackled-from-Melnyk power moves weren't a fluke, but like... can we stop making excuses? It's awkward and ignores the reality that we've dealt with these past few years.

We are not making excuses this team has performed fairly well for a young team with tons of injuries to key players throughout the yr. They just weren't ready yet. We were within 4 pts before the western trip & we were within 3 games not that long ago. People have to give the other teams credit too who are also trying to win, also trying to get into the playoffs & also have very good players. Sometimes the puck doesn't bounce your way or the other team just steals games as we used to even when we sucked during the past 5 yrs.

They have outshot & outperformed & at times dominated a number of teams who are much higher up in the standings & in the playoffs. They just beat & outshot Carolina who so many on here think is a great team, beat Tampa & other better teams in games where they also needed pts. These past 5 yrs we were transitioning & rebuilding & now we have arrived & should be in the playoffs from this point forward.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

We are not making excuses this team has performed fairly well for a young team with tons of injuries to key players throughout the yr. They just weren't ready yet. We were within 4 pts before the western trip & we were within 3 games not that long ago. People have to give the other teams credit too who are also trying to win, also trying to get into the playoffs & also have very good players. Sometimes the puck doesn't bounce your way or the other team just steals games as we used to even when we sucked during the past 5 yrs.

They have outshot & outperformed & at times dominated a number of teams who are much higher up in the standings & in the playoffs. They just beat & outshot Carolina who so many on here think is a great team, beat Tampa & other better teams in games where they also needed pts. These past 5 yrs we were transitioning & rebuilding & now we have arrived & should be in the playoffs from this point forward.

I don't disagree with any of this except for your first sentence – some posters are making excuses. It's fine that we didn't make the playoffs, that expectation was set going into the season. We did well and are building to something bright.

But there were mistakes and growing pains and, yes, managerial issues. Ignoring them or trying to silver lining them won't make them go away.