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News Article: Sens hire DJ Smith as head coach

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Micklebot said:
So Mendes mentioned DJ smith said he started preparing for this interemview by watching sens video the moment the leafs were eliminated. Said apparently he was likely the most well prepared for the interview.

This is similar to how Boucher preped well in advance and came in extremely well prepared to win over Dorion.

It's certainly not a negative coming in well prepared but i wonder how Dorion handicaps candidates that are late additions like Boudreau last time or Roy this time who may not have the opportunity to prepare by watching hours of video.
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Nah, it's always the cheapest hire. Always.
 
Samsquanch said:
Was pretty funny for sure.

And I totally agree with the 2nd point. My extreme disappointment has passed after hearing DJs interviews. If nothing else, he seems like hes fantastic at working with kids, and takes a real joy in working with them.

But we've been here before with Boucher, who had no problem winning over the entire fan base and media with his articulate way of selling hope in his first interview.

And for that exact reason, DJ is gonna still have to prove it to me before I can agree that this was a good hire. Roy was a potential home run, and Martin was almost a sure bet. So DJ has a lot to prove in my eyes.
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I had nothing against Boucher the person, seemed like a good guy, but a guy like Smith seems more down to earth and less business like. I think players will rally behind him more than Boucher
 
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I watched his teams in Oshawa in the OHL. DJ is a good coach. He is not going to be a miracle worker, but he got the most out of the talent he had as a head coach with the Gens.

2012-13Oshawa GeneralsOHLHead684222040.647Lost in round 2
2013-14Oshawa GeneralsOHLHead684220060.662Lost in round 3
2014-15Oshawa GeneralsOHLHead685111060.794Won Championship
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The part that is really exciting is he gets to develop Chabot and Brannstrom. I think you have to give him a lot of credit in Morgan Rielly's development the past 4 seasons under DJ. This is the best part of the hire if you are a Sens fan.
 
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Listening to NHL radio tonight as I drove through an hours traffic... most positive thing I heard is that he knows the needs of the new generation of players and he is here for now so there are low expectations
 
The Winter Soldier said:
I watched his teams in Oshawa in the OHL. DJ is a good coach. He is not going to be a miracle worker, but he got the most out of the talent he had as a head coach with the Gens.

2012-13Oshawa GeneralsOHLHead684222040.647Lost in round 2
2013-14Oshawa GeneralsOHLHead684220060.662Lost in round 3
2014-15Oshawa GeneralsOHLHead685111060.794Won Championship
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
The part that is really exciting is he gets to develop Chabot and Brannstrom. I think you have to give him a lot of credit in Morgan Rielly's development the past 4 seasons under DJ. This is the best part of the hire if you are a Sens fan.
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Yeah, i am hoping he had a lot to do with Rielly's development because like you say it bodes very well for Chabot and Brannstrom
 
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Micklebot said:
Yeah, i am hoping he had a lot to do with Rielly's development because like you say it bodes very well for Chabot and Brannstrom
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And the kid Docker? Is still a few years away. But look at it this way. He got as much out of that Leefs D as any D coach could. It wasn't the deepest D in the NHL, and Rielly is a good example to anyone saying good riddance to DJ. Smith teaching Chabot and Brannstrom is a positive, if that was one of the reasons he was hired.
 
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From the Toronto news:

Smith ran the defence and penalty killing for Babcock and received a three-year deal to try and help the Sens rebuild, as he did with the Leafs. He was mentioned in an NHL player poll within the past couple of years as the assistant most likely to get a big league job because of his work with younger players. But the Leafs’ failure to get by Boston the past two springs hasn’t reflected well on the entire staff and it’s possible this change came on orders from general manager Kyle Dubas in the same manner Brian Burke told Ron Wilson to shake up his staff a few years ago because things looked stale.
The division rival Sens had been talking to big name Patrick Roy in recent days, but most think Smith will thrive outside of Babcock’s immense shadow. Smith, 42, becomes the 14th head coach in Senators’ history.
 
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The Winter Soldier said:
And the kid Docker? Is still a few years away. But look at it this way. He got as much out of that Leefs D as any D coach could. It wasn't the deepest D in the NHL, and Rielly is a good example to anyone saying good riddance to DJ. Smith teaching Chabot and Brannstrom is a positive, if that was one of the reasons he was hired.
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I suspect JBD is a few years away, but Jaros is another young guy that he could help. Same with Wolanin.

Ottawa has a really young D with tons of room to grow. They really need to focus on making sure the D hits its potential.

I wonder who will come in as assistants. I think Groulx is sticking around as goalie coach but otherwise i think he has free rein
 
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Literally the least appealing choice. If money was truly of no concern(I doubt it), this is perhaps the worst hire this team has made in the last decade, and that's saying a lot.

Enjoy more empty seats Sens.
 
L'Aveuglette said:
Literally the least appealing choice. If money was truly of no concern(I doubt it), this is perhaps the worst hire this team has made in the last decade, and that's saying a lot.

Enjoy more empty seats Sens.
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Crawford and Bowness are both easily less appealing for me. Roy and Martin i have mixed feelings on. Mann i see as pretty much equal. Leaman was my pick, followed by Martin if Leaman was an assistant to be groomed.
 
Micklebot said:
Crawford and Bowness are both easily less appealing for me. Roy and Martin i have mixed feelings on. Mann i see as pretty much equal. Leaman was my pick, followed by Martin if Leaman was an assistant to be groomed.
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Crawford would have been less appealing but I don't really think he was ever considered to return behind the bench.
 
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I have a simple rubric for evaluating Sens coaches:

Does he like to play Zack Smith Yes or No?
Does he like to play Mark Borowiecki Yes or No?
Is he advocating for qualifying Cody Ceci Yes or No?

0/3 No - I'm not going to watch this team
1/3 No - Oh dear God
2/3 No - Irritated, but acceptable
3/3 No - HALLELUJAH
 
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Variable26 said:
From the Toronto news:

Smith ran the defence and penalty killing for Babcock and received a three-year deal to try and help the Sens rebuild, as he did with the Leafs. He was mentioned in an NHL player poll within the past couple of years as the assistant most likely to get a big league job because of his work with younger players. But the Leafs’ failure to get by Boston the past two springs hasn’t reflected well on the entire staff and it’s possible this change came on orders from general manager Kyle Dubas in the same manner Brian Burke told Ron Wilson to shake up his staff a few years ago because things looked stale.
The division rival Sens had been talking to big name Patrick Roy in recent days, but most think Smith will thrive outside of Babcock’s immense shadow. Smith, 42, becomes the 14th head coach in Senators’ history.
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What change came from Dubas?? Did Smith get fired??? What the f*** is this even saying Kyle Dubas changed up things? I though Dorion hired him am i missing something here??
 
Do Make Say Think said:
Watched the press conference.

I liked how fired up Dorion got when asked about salary. You can tell he hates that question.

DJ Smith said all the right things, but so does everyone in that position. I was really disappointed this morning but it has passed and here's to hoping for the best.

Go Sens Go.
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I have no idea why he's always been sensitive to the money questions. He has a long history of reacting to budget questions.

Be a budget team and own it, people will be warmer to that than spewing obvious nonsense. Eugene has no issue saying it at all and neither did Bryan Murray, so I don't really get the sensitivity around it from Dorion. Used car salesman I guess.
 
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I don’t have any comments on DJ’s qualifications and attributes as I don’t know a thing about him. The thing is that I don’t have a lot of faith in EM or PD so I’m naturally skeptical of the hiring and the motives behind this selection. I can’t help but think that money played a part of the decision which means that the best candidate may not have been hired.

What’s done is done and I hope that things pan out and he proves people wrong. One thing to remember is that he is not starting off with a playoff team so he shouldn’t shoulder all of the blame when the team is out of contention by the end of November. He should be judged using different metrics.
 
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PoutineSp00nZ said:
Well a lot of people think he is a bit of *****ebag.

But then only people who have like met him.
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What? First time I’ve ever heard of this. I’ve went to school with him and seen him multiple times out with friends.

He is as down to earth as they come. Not sure where this comes from.
 
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Shocked nobody has mentioned that Smith has had years to learn under mike Babcock, one of the more revered coaches in recent NHL history.
 
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