News Article: Dorion: We’re going to take a big step forward this year

[slamigo]

I want to like Dorion and I want to believe him. But he’s just so full of crap. They need someone else with a shred of credibility to speak for the team.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I want to like Dorion and I want to believe him. But he’s just so full of crap. They need someone else with a shred of credibility to speak for the team.

I really did like the guy at one point and was happy he got the job.

A few years later and he's slowly picked it all away with his bullshit hollier than thou act. I will celebrate the day he gets shit canned.

 

[The Lewler]

Solidifying the goaltending will go a long way. It was brutal before Nilsson was brought in. If Nilsson can play like he did for the Sens last season, the Sens could move up the standings. I suspect Anderson will retire before the end of the season.

Maybe to the first, no way to the latter.

Anderson will come down with an LTIR injury if anything. No way he walks away from any money on his last "big" money contract.

They will put him out there in a rocking chair at this point.

I'm sure he's looking forward to the mountain of rubber that's coming his way this year. Must remind him of his early days in Colorado.

 

[Sens]

If Logan Brown just dominates then Dorion will look like a genius to be honest collecting all that depth

Melnyk starts spending and good Will can be built quickly

 

[Masked]

Maybe to the first, no way to the latter.

Anderson will come down with an LTIR injury if anything. No way he walks away from any money on his last "big" money contract.

They will put him out there in a rocking chair at this point.

I'm sure he's looking forward to the mountain of rubber that's coming his way this year. Must remind him of his early days in Colorado.

It doesn't matter what his official status. I think he's going to be terrible to start the season, Nilsson will become the #1 and Anderson will end his playing career.

 

[Deku]

You guys are making a big deal out of us losing Mark Stone, but let me remind you Chris Tierney had more assists than him!

 

[milkbag]

Melnyk starts spending

Julieturris.exe

I'll believe it when I see it. Nothing within almost a good decade indicates anything is gonna change.

 

[Samsquanch]

In my mind the level of success of this rebuild hinges largely on how close Logan Brown and Erik Brannstrom come to reaching their ceilings.

If they did become top line/pairing caliber players, we could very well have a future contender on our hands in a few more years.

But even with a lottery pick in next years draft, if these guys end up busting we are going to have to get incredibly lucky with other prospects to offset the damage this will cause.

 

[Hun]

Last season we scored 242 goals. Stone, Duchene and Dzingel combined for 77 of those (32%) of those, and has not been replaced. Even if you project big improvement from some of our young guys, you won't make up for that loss.

Let's look at what we can expect, on the high-end if every single thing goes perfectly (goals in brackets):

Tkachuk (30) - White (20) - Duclair (20)
C.Brown (15) - Tierney (15) - Batherson (20)
Balcers (15) - Anisimov (15) - Ryan (15)
Ennis (8) - Pageau (12) - Boedker (8)
Others: (10)

Chabot (15) - Demelo (4)
Wolanin (8) - Zaitsev (5)
Hainsey (3) - Jaros (3)
Others: (5)

Total goals: 246 goals

That would make us a middle of the pack team, if the stars align.

What's more realistic:

Tkachuk (25) - White (20) - Duclair (15)
C.Brown (12) - Tierney (12) - Batherson (20)
Balcers (10) - Anisimov (12) - Ryan (15)
Ennis (8) - Pageau (10) - Boedker (5)
Others: (10)

Chabot (15) - Demelo (4)
Wolanin (5) - Zaitsev (5)
Hainsey (3) - Jaros (3)
Others: (5)

Total: 214 goals

That's a bottom 5 offensive team.

Do not count goals. The team is about to improve in defense. This will decrease goals, of course.

 

[coladin]

Let them learn to win as a team inBelleville. Next year (or after TDL) flow them in. Contend for a Calder this year. Batherson, Tkachuk, Chabot will keep the place warm. Let the others (Duclair, Anisimov, Brown, etc) show what they have

This is all I want! Exactly

 

[OgieO]

The biggest difference we made was the coaching change. It was clear that Boucher was simply not a good NHL coach, relied on an outdated "system" and had no ability to adjust, work to the strengths of his players or put a capable staff around him. We were far worse than the sum of our parts last year and the year before.

Simply looking at players added vs players lost is incredibly superficial. If Smith is a good coach we could take a big jump ahead. Not really a playoff contender, but a more competitive team than what we saw finish the season.

 

[NyQuil]

If Smith is a good coach we could take a big jump ahead. Not really a playoff contender, but a more competitive team than what we saw finish the season.

I'm not sure how much of it is the quality of the coach or simply the result of a coaching change.

Players buy into a new system for awhile and then they don't, particularly if they are work ethic/defensive systems that don't allow for a great deal of offensive creativity.

 

[Micklebot]

The biggest difference we made was the coaching change. It was clear that Boucher was simply not a good NHL coach, relied on an outdated "system" and had no ability to adjust, work to the strengths of his players or put a capable staff around him. We were far worse than the sum of our parts last year and the year before.

Simply looking at players added vs players lost is incredibly superficial. If Smith is a good coach we could take a big jump ahead. Not really a playoff contender, but a more competitive team than what we saw finish the season.

We went 7-15-1 and were outscored 56 to 83 in 23 games once we started scratching/trading Stone, Dzingel and Duchene. Crawford coached all but 5 of those games.

I agree that Boucher wasn't a great coach, but our pace droped 15 pts without those guys and I doubt that a coaching change to a rookie HC is going to not only reverse that. If we pace at the same rate as we did before Boucher was fired, that`s a win for DJ Smith based on the roster. 70 pts would be a significant improvement over how this team performed to finish the season and still land us last place.

 

[Masked]

We went 7-15-1 and were outscored 56 to 83 in 23 games once we started scratching/trading Stone, Dzingel and Duchene. Crawford coached all but 5 of those games.

I agree that Boucher wasn't a great coach, but our pace droped 15 pts without those guys and I doubt that a coaching change to a rookie HC is going to not only reverse that. If we pace at the same rate as we did before Boucher was fired, that`s a win for DJ Smith based on the roster. 70 pts would be a significant improvement over how this team performed to finish the season and still land us last place.

If you just look at Crawford's record, the team was on a 68 point pace under him. That's better than the 62 point pace under Boucher, which is rather remarkable considering Boucher had Stone/Duchene for most of his games.

I'd expect a slight improvement on Crawford's pace barring significant injuries or abysmal goaltending.

 

[Micklebot]

If you just look at Crawford's record, the team was on a 68 point pace under him. That's better than the 62 point pace under Boucher, which is rather remarkable considering Boucher had Stone/Duchene for most of his games.

I'd expect a slight improvement on Crawford's pace barring significant injuries or abysmal goaltending.

For what it's worth, before scrathing the trio, Boucher's pace was 68 pts too.

Teams always get a dead cat bounce with a new coach. Opposition hasn't figured out their tendencies, players hear a fresh voice, ect. Not much you can read into that.

Slight improvement on Crow seems reasonable as goal though. Even then, I'd call that a success for Smith

 

[Masked]

Slight improvement on Crow seems reasonable as goal though. Even then, I'd call that a success for Smith

Standings aren't going to be the way to evaluate Smith's success. It will be how much the young players improve over the course of the season.

 

[The Lewler]

In my mind the level of success of this rebuild hinges largely on how close Logan Brown and Erik Brannstrom come to reaching their ceilings.

If they did become top line/pairing caliber players, we could very well have a future contender on our hands in a few more years.

But even with a lottery pick in next years draft, if these guys end up busting we are going to have to get incredibly lucky with other prospects to offset the damage this will cause.

That's fair, if we somehow got insanely lucky and they turn into a #1C and #1D elite players , yeah, suddenly the team's future looks brighter.

Caveat being, by the time they hit those ceilings , is Thomas Chabot still around or is Brannstrom his replacement?

 

[Micklebot]

Standings aren't going to be the way to evaluate Smith's success. It will be how much the young players improve over the course of the season.

totally agree. I suspect a slight improvement in the standings will require improvement from the young players.

The goal though is development. We could finish with 50 pts this year, but if the players are all showing forward progression, it's all good.

 

[Masked]

That's fair, if we somehow got insanely lucky and they turn into a #1C and #1D elite players , yeah, suddenly the team's future looks brighter.

Caveat being, by the time they hit those ceilings , is Thomas Chabot still around or is Brannstrom his replacement?

I believe so. Brannstrom isn't off his entry level deal until Ryan's contract expires. Melnyk is going to have to pay somebody at some point. Or, hopefully, Melnyk is gone by then.

 

[aragorn]

I'm not sure what PD means about taking a big step this yr, when almost everyone is picking them to be dead last this season, other than doing more of the same. I expect him to continue to ship out the old guys or UFAs & develop the young guys to be good NHL players to replace the guys they are shipping out of town. I also think the team that starts the yr in Ottawa will certainly not finish the yr in Ottawa & there should be a number of prospects replace those who have left who have proven they deserve the jobs.

To start the 2019 - 2020 season:

Duclair - Anisimov - Ryan
Tkachuk - White - Batherson
Ennis - Teirny - C. Brown
Paul - Pageau - Boedker

Chabot - DeMello
Wolanin - Zaitzev
Boroweicki - Hainsey/Jaros

Anderson - Nilsson/Hogberg

To end the 2019 -2020 season:

Duclair - Anisimov - Ryan
Tkachuk - White - Davidsson
Paul - L. Brown - Batherson
Formenton - Tierny - C. Brown

Chabot - Zaitsev
Wolanin - Jaros
Englund - Goloubef/Lajoie

Nilsson - Hogberg/Gustavsson

 

[Ice-Tray]

I'm not sure what PD means about taking a big step this yr, when almost everyone is picking them to be dad last this season, other than doing more of the same. I expect him to continue to ship out the old guys or UFAs & develop the young guys to be good NHL players to replace the guys they are shipping out of town. I also think the team that starts the yr in Ottawa will certainly not finish the yr in Ottawa & there should be a number of prospects replace those who have left who have proven they deserve the jobs.

To start the 2019 - 2020 season:

Duclair - Anisimov - Ryan
Tkachuk - White - Batherson
Ennis - Teirny - C. Brown
Paul - Pageau - Boedker

Chabot - DeMello
Wolanin - Zaitzev
Boroweicki - Hainsey/Jaros

Anderson - Nilsson/Hogberg

To end the 2019 -2020 season:

Duclair - Anisimov - Ryan
Tkachuk - White - Davidsson
Paul - L. Brown - Batherson
Formenton - Tierny - C. Brown

Chabot - Zaitsev
Wolanin - Jaros
Englund - Goloubef/Lajoie

Nilsson - Hogberg/Gustavsson

I dunno, if you think about it it makes sense.

In a nut shell we will start to look like a young, hard working team that shows flashes of its potential, and is generally hard to play against, but often comes up short as we are inconsistent, and lack polished skill. The future looks bright.

Vs

A veteran laden team that looks listless on most nights, lacks direction, lacks team-wide grit and determination, is generally easy to play against, and often comes up short. The future looks painful.

Both of those teams can have the same points in the standings, but one is trending upward, while the other is nearing the ground after plunging off a cliff.

We were the former last year, this year we look to be the latter.

There is much to be excited about next year and going forward, the only impediment is that nagging feeling that somehow EM is going to f*** it all up by not actually releasing the funding to keep this core together when it matters. I won’t dwell on that as it would affect the way I enjoy being a fan. If that ends up happening, I’ll deal with it then.

Until then, onwards and upwards!

 

[harrisb]

I'm not sure what PD means about taking a big step this yr, when almost everyone is picking them to be dad last this season, other than doing more of the same. I expect him to continue to ship out the old guys or UFAs & develop the young guys to be good NHL players to replace the guys they are shipping out of town. I also think the team that starts the yr in Ottawa will certainly not finish the yr in Ottawa & there should be a number of prospects replace those who have left who have proven they deserve the jobs.

To start the 2019 - 2020 season:

Duclair - Anisimov - Ryan
Tkachuk - White - Batherson
Ennis - Teirny - C. Brown
Paul - Pageau - Boedker

Chabot - DeMello
Wolanin - Zaitzev
Boroweicki - Hainsey/Jaros

Anderson - Nilsson/Hogberg

To end the 2019 -2020 season:

Duclair - Anisimov - Ryan
Tkachuk - White - Davidsson
Paul - L. Brown - Batherson
Formenton - Tierny - C. Brown

Chabot - Zaitsev
Wolanin - Jaros
Englund - Goloubef/Lajoie

Nilsson - Hogberg/Gustavsson

Isn't Davidsson playing in Europe if he doesn't make the NHL team? Could be totally wrong

 

[DaveMatthew]

.
We were the former last year, this year we look to be the latter.

The pre-season hasn't even started. How do we already look like the latter, before a game has been played?

 

[aragorn]

I dunno, if you think about it it makes sense.

In a nut shell we will start to look like a young, hard working team that shows flashes of its potential, and is generally hard to play against, but often comes up short as we are inconsistent, and lack polished skill. The future looks bright.

Vs

A veteran laden team that looks listless on most nights, lacks direction, lacks team-wide grit and determination, is generally easy to play against, and often comes up short. The future looks painful.

Both of those teams can have the same points in the standings, but one is trending upward, while the other is nearing the ground after plunging off a cliff.

We were the former last year, this year we look to be the latter.

There is much to be excited about next year and going forward, the only impediment is that nagging feeling that somehow EM is going to **** it all up by not actually releasing the funding to keep this core together when it matters. I won’t dwell on that as it would affect the way I enjoy being a fan. If that ends up happening, I’ll deal with it then.

Until then, onwards and upwards!

I agree, what I meant with that statement was that PD is going to continue to sell off his UFAs or vets, accumulate as many assets as possible & continue to build through the draft which is what it seems he is doing. I also think that this will be a more interesting team to watch because of all the young players rather than watching the team we saw last yr. Out with the old & in with the new.

Isn't Davidsson playing in Europe if he doesn't make the NHL team? Could be totally wrong

I doubt Davidsson would be playing in the rookie tournament if he was returning to Europe to play if he doesn't make the team. I believe the European teams start sooner than the NHL camps & he would have had to make that decision much sooner rather than wait until he makes it or not. Alsing & Thompson, for example will not be at the rookie tournament specifically because they will be playing in Europe this yr so my guess is that Davidsson has already made up his mind to stay in NA this yr regardless if he makes the NHL team or not out of camp.

 

[Masked]

I doubt Davidsson would be playing in the rookie tournament if he was returning to Europe to play if he doesn't make the team. I believe the European teams start sooner than the NHL camps & he would have had to make that decision much sooner rather than wait until he makes it or not. Alsing & Thompson, for example will not be at the rookie tournament specifically because they will be playing in Europe this yr so my guess is that Davidsson has already made up his mind to stay in NA this yr regardless if he makes the NHL team or not out of camp.

I believe he was in Columbus' training camp last year. So attending training camp this year does not preclude him returning to Europe if he doesn't make the NHL.