News Article: Sens hire DJ Smith as head coach

[Do Make Say Think]

Such a broad statement as there is so much we don't know. I'm not defending the hiring, I just don't understand the irrational anger.

DJ Smith was, in my mind, the worst candidate on the list so I'm not pleased.

He can still turn out to be a fine coach, I hope he does. However this organization had torched all the bridges and filled the moat with radioactive waste, they ain't getting the benefit of the doubt.

They have to earn it.

 

[Silencio]

I'm kind of glad Ottawa didn't try to recreate their past glory by rehiring Jacques Martin. That probably would have worked out as well as when the Blue Jays brought back Cito Gaston.

 

[God Says No]

I don't know what to make of DJ Smith. The only thing I know is that the 1200 morning guys had a poll "who WILL be the next coach", and I went through the list to see who is the worst coach possible (excluding Roy, since he is a special kind of disaster) and DJ Smith came to mind. Now, I'm hoping he fixes the defensive struggles, but his track record in TOR doesn't bode well.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Bowness has a 115w-272L-45T record as head coach. That's not a bad track record?

Crawford ran the defence in Ottawa, how did that work out?

What role did Smith play in Rielly's growth as a player? Or Kadri as a defensive center?

They all have pros and cons. At the end of they day, DJ Smith's track record in the NHL is being in charge of the defense of a team that has not performed well in the domain that he is in charge of.

That's pretty final when it comes to track record: in three seasons behind the bench at the NHL level he did not get the job done.

Now there are a lot of factors as to why that is of course, he isn't the reason Toronto is bad defensively. This is why I'm only talking about track record, I can't speak with any authority about anything else.

 

[FormentonTheFuture]

They all have pros and cons. At the end of they day, DJ Smith's track record in the NHL is being in charge of the defense of a team that has not performed well in the domain that he is in charge of.

That's pretty final when it comes to track record: in three seasons behind the bench at the NHL level he did not get the job done.

Now there are a lot of factors as to why that is of course, he isn't the reason Toronto is bad defensively. This is why I'm only talking about track record, I can't speak with any authority about anything else.

The head coach has the final say and comes up with the gameplan. Just like when Boucher implemented the 1-3-1. There would have been an assistant who coached the D, but Boucher's system was his own.

 

[Alex1234]

This is the Sens. It's not a glass. It's a paper cup that we rinse out and re-use.

Feels more like drinking from the river near the nuclear power plant

 

[Spartachat]

We keep hiring cheap, inexperienced coaches and firing them when they don't work out. I'll be surprised if Smith makes it through his contract.

He will make it through his contract. Melnyk will not pay a coach $20,000 or more a year to sit at home.

 

[Clayonator]

Hey nerds, he just said he used analytics when assessing the team in advance of the interview. You can relax now.

 

[Masked]

Advanced stats are a tool that can be used at the disposal of coaches/GMs, etc. People who love to rip analytics typically just can't be bothered to understand them.

Crap like Corsi isn't hard to understand. That's why simplistic keyboard warriors love to use it. That and that they generally don't understand things like determining a statistically significant sample size.

 

[Viletho]

Probably no one but when has ignorance ever stopped people from having an opinion.

He was the defensive coach in Toronto and would you just look at their defense... it sucked.

Well, to be fair, I was asking to have answer and know more about Smith to make up my mind :p

But yeah, knowing or not, never stopped anybody from posting.

 

[Clayonator]

Crap like Corsi isn't hard to understand. That's why simplistic keyboard warriors love to use it. That and that they generally don't understand things like determining a statistically significant sample size.

For the record, if you’re taking a pot shot at me based on my last post, let’s just be clear that I was trolling, due to the fact he wasn’t a popular choice. I’m a firm believer in analytics. It isn’t that complex to wrap one’s head around.

 

[Stylizer1]

DJ Prosper is not going to like this one bit.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

For the record, if you’re taking a pot shot at me based on my last post, let’s just be clear that I was trolling, due to the fact he wasn’t a popular choice. I’m a firm believer in analytics. It isn’t that complex to wrap one’s head around.

Analytics are fine. They just don't capture everything because hockey is a game with a lot, maybe even the most, variance.

The problem isn't analytics. It is idiots who think you can use to them to "rationally explain" why something or someone is better than another.

 

[Stylizer1]

AHL-level defenceman who was a lefty fighter.... did we just hire Boro? It all makes sense now!!

You mean captain Boro?

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I'm kind of glad Ottawa didn't try to recreate their past glory by rehiring Jacques Martin. That probably would have worked out as well as when the Blue Jays brought back Cito Gaston.

We've been going the inexperienced HC route for awhile now, since Murray, and it has been a failure.

I would have liked Martin, change it up a little.

 

[Back in Black]

Another case of Melnyk not having money to pay for a real Coach!

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Seems like a guy that will just be happy to have a job. Probably not many prospective jobs out there for him outside junior hockey and the AHL. Won't rock the boat too much when Dorion makes terrible moves and Melnyk burns the bridges with our best players. A yes man and the perfect patsy, and most importantly he's heavily discounted.

Willing to give him a chance though since I'm not that familiar with him, those are just my initial thoughts.

 

[Cheapseats]

Not a loaded question intended at all, just curious, is D.J. Smith bilingual?

Nope. But thats of little of concern with English being the language of the NHL.

 

[Ray Kinsella]

When will Dorion speak? I need something to laugh at.

I haven't posted here in some time... but I had to reply to your post. I just watched the press conference and, at the beginning when PD is saying "...DJS will deliver to the Ottawa Senators' fans the team that they deserve..." - he followed en français word for word. The problem there is that he used a terrible anglicism for the word "deliver" and said "délivrer"... the French word for that is "livrer". But, even in this context, he should have used "il va contribuer" or "...il va assurer..." etc.

The funny part about this is that "délivrer" in French means to be freed of something bad, or rescued from something (jail), or, even funnier, "deliver us from evil"... So, in essence, he sort of said that our new HC will deliver us from our terrible team. I'm certain he had no clue what he actually said there but wouldn't it be funny if he had purposly done a play on word!! lol... I wonder if the French media had a bit of a chuckle on that one ; ) Next hire: a new translator!

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

We've been going the inexperienced HC route for awhile now, since Murray, and it has been a failure.

I would have liked Martin, change it up a little.

Melnyk thinks he's the smartest guy in the room with all his cheap hires.

He doesn't seem to see any correlation between pay and competence and has refused to budge on any kind of reasonable budget being dedicated to coaching and/or management.

You'd think that after a long list of failures you might change your thinking, but he has dug in on only hiring cheap. You get what you pay for.

 

[Engineer]

Nope. But thats of little of concern with English being the language of the NHL.

So he lied to us when he said he can speak French?

 

[BatherSeason]

Crap like Corsi isn't hard to understand. That's why simplistic keyboard warriors love to use it. That and that they generally don't understand things like determining a statistically significant sample size.

As I said:
People who love to rip analytics typically just can't be bothered to understand them.

 

[BatherSeason]

Hey nerds, he just said he used analytics when assessing the team in advance of the interview. You can relax now.

More proof.

Why do you need to call names? Its ok to not like something, but at least try to understand it before name calling.

 

[Clayonator]

Analytics are fine. They just don't capture everything because hockey is a game with a lot, maybe even the most, variance.

The problem isn't analytics. It is idiots who think you can use to them to "rationally explain" why something or someone is better than another.

Yeah, it’s an indicator of other things. When you address those, the indicators are favourable, and your probability of winning games increases statistically. How much time do you have the puck, how often are you in the opposing teams end, and how many shots/scoring chances are you generating, also where are they coming from which in turn lends to a higher probability of actually scoring. Then you have to break down to a line by line basis and from there a player by player basis etc

 

[Clayonator]

More proof.

Why do you need to call names? Its ok to not like something, but at least try to understand it before name calling.

Call names? Are you serious? Holy politically correct. It’s clearly a joke. And I’m pro analytics.