How much rope does DJ Smith have? [UPDATE: None]

[L'Aveuglette]

Dorion was gutless and in complete job preservation mode. Keeping DJ gave him an out

No doubt about it but the new owner should have told Dorion to replace him during the summer. It's not like they weren't talking.

 

[Loach]

Dorion was gutless and in complete job preservation mode. Keeping DJ gave him an out

If Dorion didn't botch that trade he would still be here. Imagine that scenario. How would all this go down? Lol!

 

[Gil Gunderson]

DJ Smith: "It's never as bad as you think, but it's never as good as you think either."

1st question of the interview, from Garrioch (for all the G-haters out there): "Do you feel like last night was rock bottom?"

DJ says he likes us at 8-9. He saw his group "emotionally" stick together, "This is a team that cares and if you care then you have a chance to win every night."

2nd question: "How appreciative are you that management didn't fire you after a loss like last night?" DJ: "We're not happy with where we're at..., we have to get better, and you have to put it on me, there is no one to blame here but me."

DJ: "This game is a 7 day league, and perspective changes every week."

DJ: "You have to live in the now and fix what's broken, and I have become very good over the years at staying in the moment"

In conclusion he continued to repeat himself that his team always comes prepared and gives themselves a chance to win each night.

Long Live King DJ

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Sorry, he just sounds like a professional loser.

He “likes us at 8-9”? Dude you’ve never had a November above .500 in 5 seasons, what is with this complacency? Any other organization would have given him his papers based on this interview alone.

 

[Sensinitis]

Senators head coach D.J. Smith agreed post-game with the notion his team showed a lack of maturity in the loss.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s fair,” Smith said. “You know, I just thought at 3-0 we came up with some really good shifts. We were aggressive. We were, you know, in the game, lots of game left and then we take a five-minute major and that takes you right out of the game…”

“As the head coach you realize you're throwing away an opportunity,” he added. “You have to just keep playing. And, you know, I don't know what went on between periods. We came out, I thought ready, and then you know, that final whatever it was, after we took the five-minute major you don't give yourself a chance to win and you can't play like that in the NHL.”

There’s an awful lot wrong if he thought the team was, at ANY point, ‘IN’ this game. Then to mention that he doesn’t know what went on between periods… this has gone on long enough.
Our players need a coaching change… yesterday.

Funny how a 5 min major ‘’takes you right out of the game’’ but being on the good side of a double minor when you’re only down 1-0 doesn’t change anything whatsoever in the outcome of the game

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Maybe we can squeeze in the playoffs next year. Pretty cool to ruin the fanbase’s trust just so you can appease an unqualified coach and his bff’s on the team.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Maybe we can squeeze in the playoffs next year. Pretty cool to ruin the fanbase’s trust just so you can appease an unqualified coach and his bff’s on the team.

LMAO is Andlauer stupid or something? The only kind of stability we'll get is the ability to lose consistently.

 

[HF Reader]

LMAO is Andlauer stupid or something? The only kind of stability we'll get is the ability to lose consistently.

If a component of stability in Andlauer's mind is personnel continuity, then the team has been stable for 5 years.

Stability itself should not be a goal. Winning should be the on-ice goal. How does keeping DJ (coaching staff stability) contribute to winning now or in the medium to long run?

Why does he want stability?

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

Maybe we can squeeze in the playoffs next year. Pretty cool to ruin the fanbase’s trust just so you can appease an unqualified coach and his bff’s on the team.

playoff next year?

i mean a new coach will have to come in and actually have to teach/tell them to play winning hockey.

and because of that some players on our team will start pouting or will not be able to make the transition in which case we will have to trade them and bring in guys the coach can actually trust.

seems more like 2025 we're *maybe* finally in position to squeeze in. and that's just making the playoffs.

crazy looking back how for granted we would take making the playoffs. like that was just the default, and the real battle was winning the playoffs.

look at us now lol

 

[swiftwin]

LMAO is Andlauer stupid or something? The only kind of stability we'll get is the ability to lose consistently.

#ANDLAUEROUT

 

[otown]

Stability eh? Like a house of cards!
If accountability is part of Andlauer's mantra something has to give sooner rather than later!

 

[Knave]

Sorry, he just sounds like a professional loser.

He “likes us at 8-9”? Dude you’ve never had a November above .500 in 5 seasons, what is with this complacency? Any other organization would have given him his papers based on this interview alone.

It sounds like a degenerate gambler. "I like Cyclone Mischief for the Kentucky Derby". You're the coach of this team and we got beat 5-0 at home by a strong playoff team. You're the jockey in this situation, not the gambler looking for good odds.

There should be nothing you like about being one of the worst teams in the league and losing badly at home in your second game returning from Sweden.

I get he's answering the question but it's a bad answer. You don't need to slam the team or your performance. Be vague. "We have a lot to work on", "I didn't like how we weren't able to generate shots and we will be reviewing the tape to make adjustments in future games".

 

[SensHulk]

The most rope of any coach in history that I can recall…

 

[SensHulk]

Maybe we can squeeze in the playoffs next year. Pretty cool to ruin the fanbase’s trust just so you can appease an unqualified coach and his bff’s on the team.

Well I guess I won’t be watching more games anytime soon. Good luck to Andlauer with ticket sales, I’m sure the lower revenue will help with stabilizing things

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

It's probably a reflection of how they view the roster. I'm thinking they honestly don't think this team is capable of being better in its current form. There were lots of signs before the season that they didnt think this team was ready to make noise.

I still think the right play is to move on from DJ.

 

[Senscore]

Maybe we can squeeze in the playoffs next year. Pretty cool to ruin the fanbase’s trust just so you can appease an unqualified coach and his bff’s on the team.

Don't fully understand that reasoning but if we keep losing people just aren't going to show up until something changes.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

If a component of stability in Andlauer's mind is personnel continuity, then the team has been stable for 5 years.

Stability itself should not be a goal. Winning should be the on-ice goal. How does keeping DJ (coaching staff stability) contribute to winning now or in the medium to long run?

Why does he want stability?

Because they aren't sure who will replace DJ and would like to get their guy (Darche?) to be the GM and let him pick the coach.

I get that we all want DJ gone but there is a wrong way to do this and that would involve not having a plan going forward.

 

[Flamingo]

I think Andlauer has to bend a bit on his insistence of delegation, responsibility, and accountability. Work towards that, but indulge in a knee-jerk short-term correction.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

If a component of stability in Andlauer's mind is personnel continuity, then the team has been stable for 5 years.

Stability itself should not be a goal. Winning should be the on-ice goal. How does keeping DJ (coaching staff stability) contribute to winning now or in the medium to long run?

Why does he want stability?

It's a test.

He and Staios are testing the players. See how they react and who rises to the occasion, and who is a passenger. Who tries to hide in the shadows and slip by.

I'll be willing to bet we see a significant trade long before we get a new coach.

At least, that's the only thing I can think of not to have an interim coach right now (that and no quality names are available or willing to be interim here).

 

[Norris4Norris]

I think DJ has convinced ownership that getting guys emotionally involved in a game is the same thing as coaching a team.

Having strong relationships within a team and between the coaches and players is a huge part of success. So the fact that Brady likes DJ so much might speak to that. But what they are doing on the ice needs to change.

I want a guy like Quenneville or Sutter who doesn't say much but gets on-ice results. DJ is a nice guy and all but he seems to be permanently flustered and I don't think he was ever ready to be an NHL head coach.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Batherson’s interview on 1200 today, he talks about they worked on new systems most of practice.

 

[HF Reader]

Because they aren't sure who will replace DJ and would like to get their guy (Darche?) to be the GM and let him pick the coach.

I get that we all want DJ gone but there is a wrong way to do this and that would involve not having a plan going forward.

I agree completely with what you wrote and support what they are trying to accomplish with staffing positions. That reason, however, is not justified by "stability". That reason they have not moved is that they are waiting to acquire the person they want. If they had a GM today my guess is they would replace DJ this week (if they had vetted coaches, etc.). I get that they might want to make the change once only and that could be interpreted as minimizing turnover, which they call "stability".

Clearly they aren't going to come out and say "We intend to release the entire coaching staff but we aren't sure who we want and we think it best to let the new GM make the decision".

By the way, has SS or MA actually said they want stability? I've heard "top of class" or something along those lines.

 

[HF Reader]

It's a test.

He and Staios are testing the players. See how they react and who rises to the occasion, and who is a passenger. Who tries to hide in the shadows and slip by.

I'll be willing to bet we see a significant trade long before we get a new coach.

At least, that's the only thing I can think of not to have an interim coach right now (that and no quality names are available or willing to be interim here).

I am confused by a few things with the organization.

What decisions are on hold pending the new GM hiring?

It appears they want the new GM to pick a coach. Are they going to wait for the new GM to make player decisions also, such as trades?

The justification for delaying a coaching change seems to be "why hire a coach now only to replace the coach when the new GM is hired?".

Player decisions might be more burdensome on a new GM (harder to undo) than would be hiring a new coach today, especially if the new coach agrees to be is interim.


Off topic but another confusion organizationally is Alf'son's role. Who does he report to? What are his responsibilities?

Sigh!!

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Batherson’s interview on 1200 today, he takes about they worked on new systems most of practice.

Dude has the lowest hockey IQ of any skilled player I have seen. The polar opposite of Mark Stone.

 

[LiseL]

I think Staios really wants to keep DJ Smith because there's been so much negativity already this season that adding a coach getting fired (that the players like by all accounts) would just be undesirable. Obviously it makes a lot more sense to wait until the season is over and hire a new GM who can choose who he wants for coach. That said, there will be a point, and we might be getting close to that point, where there will be no choice but to make that decision now.

I really think there's a problem with the team right now. It might be mental, but it legitimately looks like there's no chemistry out there. Tkachuk is not controlling the puck as much. Stutzle has been struggling other than that stretch with Joseph and Giroux. Norris looks like he's just not clicking, he's playing like a sniper right now and that's not what we need of him. We need a guy who plays well defensively and that plays with speed and that can create by himself. Batherson is an enigma, outside of Stutzle he's the most gifted player on this team in terms of talent but he's just not been looking like himself since that injury and has been playing horrible defensively overall. Kubalik is straight up doing nothing 99% of the time.

Having Greig on this team actually made a huge difference because we had 3 lines who could play. Going from Greig to Jarventie or whoever has been a massive downgrade. Joseph has probably been our best player overall this season. He's been working noticeably harder than anyone else on this roster and he plays with so much speed. Losing Chabot and Zub for periods of time is something that this team just can't handle. Korpisalo has been very good. Forsberg has been useless.

It's been a very weird start to the season. Most were worried about the goaltending but Korpisalo looks like a solid addition. On the other hand there was a ton of confidence for the defense and it turns out we're extremely bad defensively. Everyone is frustrated, the good vibes from the beginning of the season are gone. The pressure seems like it's getting to the team and it's uncomfortable. The reset is needed in my opinion. I think Staios will have no choice but to fire DJ.

From your lips......

 

[Joeyjoejoe]

Maybe we can squeeze in the playoffs next year. Pretty cool to ruin the fanbase’s trust just so you can appease an unqualified coach and his bff’s on the team.

Alright then have fun losing and shitty attendance.