At what point would you fire DJ Smith?

[Adele Dazeem]

What would it take to get rid of this beloved headcase? Apparently the team loves him? I don't buy it.
I think there's some guys who are benefiting from him being the coach; but his game management, lines, and the actual on ice-product is lacking. I understand that the team is going through COVID issues currently and Dorion failed to manage the depth of the team. BUT, there comes a time that a change is necessary.

So when should that change occur, according to you?

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[Ice-Tray]

Yay, more of these threads!

 

[BondraTime]

Going nowhere, not much point in talking about it.

Just resigned, the team almost literally can't get any worse than they have been the past 2 seasons which earned him that extension, and the team isn't going to be on the hook for his salary for the remainder of his contract

 

[HSF]

Dorion should be fired first

DJ can't do much with such a flawed roster

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

I don’t know who is panicking more, the fan base or the AHL call-ups

 

[PlayOn]

When he’s given a proper roster and fails to get results. So not something I’d even consider right now.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Dorion should be fired

Absolutely.

Dorion should not be able to fire another couch.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

Yay, more of these threads!

Your positive, yet naïve, input is always welcomed.

 

[2CHAINZ]

Absolutely.

Dorion should not be able to fire another couch.

This.

 

[Very Stable Genius]

Melnyk won't eat the salary if we do fire him so it's moot.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Your positive, yet naïve, input is always welcomed.

You’re talking about firing the coach, and you think I’m the naive one?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s not happening, and the team does love the guy.

This one is gone chafe for a long time if it is indeed an issue for you.

No one is getting fired any time soon.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

You’re talking about firing the coach, and you think I’m the naive one?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s not happening, and the team does love the guy.

This one is gone chafe for a long time if it is indeed an issue for you.

No one is getting fired any time soon.

Melnyk does like watching a losing team, you're right I guess.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

It's funny, I've not seen a single analyst or insider say anything other than "it's a roster issue". I tend to agree.

 

[Boud]

Firing DJ Smith is not a solution right now. The only thing it does is it shines light on the wrong problem. Maybe some of you think we would be doing better with a different coach but I highly doubt it because the team is not constructed properly and Smith has nothing to work with compared to other NHL coaches. If we would be doing better it would only be marginally and in the end it would have nil impact. If we had a good team and we wouldn't be performing then absolutely it would be fair to fire him. The card that Smith has been dealt is not the easiest, he's responsible for this team's performance but the team cannot perform considering how it's been built and the players that we currently have. He's more a scapegoat than anything and honestly... for no reason IMO. Most of the fans that have disdain for Smith are the Brannstrom fanatics and let's face it we'd still be bad if Brannstrom would be on the roster and he's no savior for us. Dorion and the management team is putting pressure on the team to start winning when they don't have the tools to do so. Smith is trying to win while the message at this point should just be give some ice time to the younger players but Dorion is trying to sell tickets. We are very much still right in the rebuild, the rebuild is actually not over at all. This team isn't close to winning at this point and the roster is one of the worst in the NHL.


Smith seems to have a great relationship with the players on this team. Guys like Norris and Tkachuk have talked about him and how he's good with the guys in the room. The room seems to be doing good despite the challenges they're facing because of GM Dorion. Bring in any other coach and we're still one of the worst teams in the league. As a coach you're only as good as your players are and as it turns out we have probably the 2nd worst team in the NHL and that's just because Arizona has the worst team of all time. This is a team that traded Karlsson, Stone, Duchene, Dzingel, Hoffman and more 3 YEARS AGO ... On top of adding a ton of picks and we can't even manage to be better than an expansion team.

If someone should be fired it's Dorion and no one else. If there's someone you shouldn't trust and someone who has proven time and time again you cannot trust it's 100% Dorion. Anything else at this point is shuffling chairs on the titanic. I wouldn't even want Dorion to hire a new coach. There's no way this guy can actually be trusted to hire a competent coach anyways. I have a hard time seeing success in Ottawa in the future just based on how bad our GM is.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Even though he's a bit of a troglodyte in his views on defensemen, it's not primarily DJ's fault the team blows.

The roster on paper that he was given is bottom 5 quality and that's where we're on track to finish.

He arguably had the team out-performing based on the quality of the players last season finishing 10th worst (albeit in a bad Canadian division), so he gets somewhat of a break from me after a disappointing start.

Management and the pro scouting team that thought Ennis, Holden, MDZ, Sanford, Gambrell would take this team to the next level are obviously at fault for the team taking a step back. Absolute morons.

 

[umma gumma]

When he’s given a proper roster and fails to get results. So not something I’d even consider right now.

Pretty much.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

I don’t know who is panicking more, the fan base or the AHL call-ups

What does this even mean?

 

[Tuna99]

Get him a goalie and a 2nd pairing and let’s see what he can do with the group - he deserves a shot at a complete team

 

[TheDebater]

What would it take to get rid of this beloved headcase? Apparently the team loves him? I don't buy it.
I think there's some guys who are benefiting from him being the coach; but his game management, lines, and the actual on ice-product is lacking. I understand that the team is going through COVID issues currently and Dorion failed to manage the depth of the team. BUT, there comes a time that a change is necessary.

So when should that change occur, according to you?

 

[Dan Patrick]

Could we get these all amalgamated to one "I'm angry and upset (and really like polls) megathread"

Real talk though, DJ goes when Dorion does. Let a new GM pick a coach.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Even though he's a bit of a troglodyte in his views on defensemen, it's not primarily DJ's fault the team blows.

The roster on paper that he was given is bottom 5 quality and that's where we're on track to finish.

He arguably had the team out-performing based on the quality of the players last season finishing 10th worst (albeit in a bad Canadian division), so he gets somewhat of a break from me after a disappointing start.

Management and the pro scouting team that thought Ennis, Holden, MDZ, Sanford, Gambrell would take this team to the next level are obviously at fault for the team taking a step back. Absolute morons.

Do you really think they expected to reach the next level this year?

 

[Zorf]

They have over half the roster out. What the hell is this thread?

 

[swiftwin]

Terrible thread.

 

[Tuna99]

Do you really think they expected to reach the next level this year?

If Pinto was healthy and they had Gus,Thomson and Brannstrom playing from game 1 they could of been a playoff team (maybe add Sokolov and Parker Kelly to that list)

I will say I think the team is underperforming. Covid sucks but they were playing really bad before the positive tests started

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Who expected them to be any better than they have been?

Bad roster is bad and injuries/covid just compounds their thin depth issue.