Zack Smith on waivers (clears,resumes role as 2C)

[Upgrayedd]

Looking forward to the day we can waive goodbye to this criminal of an owner and his sidekick yes man with the ol double finger salute!

 

[inthewings]

If they actually followed through with this and sent him to Belleville, they could have reasonably spun this as a hockey move. Keeping him on the NHL roster makes 100% clear that it was a hail mary attempt to lose his salary.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Pierre Dorion is like the Cody Ceci of GM's

 

[Sensinitis]

Pierre Dorion is like the Cody Ceci of GM's

Cody Ceci is the Pierre Dorion of defensemen.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

If they actually followed through with this and sent him to Belleville, they could have reasonably spun this as a hockey move. Keeping him on the NHL roster makes 100% clear that it was a hail mary attempt to lose his salary.

That plus the ridiculousness of sending a message when he is back on a line with Stone after clearing. The timing is also ridiculous .. You don't do this based on performance of 2 exhibition games to a vet player. He could have been waived anytime... Telling him its performance based after 2 exhibition games just stinks of BS .... How does he expect to retain the confidence of his own group never mind the fans. He also said something about not being happy about the return at the TDL if I recall correctly.. This org is just a mess and Dorion is too stupid to keep up with his own BS.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Pierre Dorion is the Pierre Dorion of GM’s.

 

[Boud]

Like I know people say that Melnyk is at the base of a lot of our problems and that goes as an excuse for Dorion making poor moves on many occasions but this is just a lack of intelligence from Dorion.

If your intention is to not have Zack Smith on the team or if you want to save money ... Well that's totally fine but after waiving him you NEED to have a plan B. Waiving Smith and just pissing off everyone just to put him back on the roster is pure incompetence. What he should've done is simply trade him for whatever player with 1M in salary for the next couple years and say "we trust that our young players can come in and replace Zack adequately in our lineup and they deserve a chance with our rebuild and youth movement"... Like that's totally fine and understandable.

Everyone knows this move is money motivated. Dorion should be smarter than that. Also I really don't get the timing of the waiving because essentially they had the year-end meetings where they were SUPPOSED to communicate what went right and wrong and also what they expect out of players for the next season. Smith knows he had a bad season last year, it's nothing new... What's the point of waiving him before the season even starts? You didn't even take time to see if he came in better prepared for the season and you just waive him.

Dorion is legitimately stupid. There is no other way to put it.

 

[inthewings]

Like I know people say that Melnyk is at the base of a lot of our problems and that goes as an excuse for Dorion making poor moves on many occasions but this is just a lack of intelligence from Dorion.

If your intention is to not have Zack Smith on the team or if you want to save money ... Well that's totally fine but after waiving him you NEED to have a plan B. Waiving Smith and just pissing off everyone just to put him back on the roster is pure incompetence. What he should've done is simply trade him for whatever player with 1M in salary for the next couple years and say "we trust that our young players can come in and replace Zack adequately in our lineup and they deserve a chance with our rebuild and youth movement"... Like that's totally fine and understandable.

Everyone knows this move is money motivated. Dorion should be smarter than that. Also I really don't get the timing of the waiving because essentially they had the year-end meetings where they were SUPPOSED to communicate what went right and wrong and also what they expect out of players for the next season. Smith knows he had a bad season last year, it's nothing new... What's the point of waiving him before the season even starts? You didn't even take time to see if he came in better prepared for the season and you just waive him.

Dorion is legitimately stupid. There is no other way to put it.

I think everyone knows that Dorion is about three levels above where he should be on the org chart based on his intelligence and abilities. But that in itself is Melnyk's fault.

 

[BonkTastic]

Dorion is legitimately stupid. There is no other way to put it.

I don't think he's stupid. He's just hopelessly out of his league.

Honeslty, I wouldn't be surprised if he was on the brink of a nervous breakdown. He has the worst boss in his industry, he has literally no help at his job, he is being told to make moves that defy logic and thoroughly contradict industry standards and then publicly lie about them to national media sources, his clients (fans) hate him, his peers have no hesitations in taking advantage of him, and on top of that he probably realizes how over his head this job is and he's probably dealing with the crippling depression that comes with failing publicly at your career.

I mean... Dorion is a bad GM no doubt, but if I'm being honest, I kind of feel bad for the guy. Not enough to make me like him or want to defend any of this team's awful decisions over the past 2 years, but there's a bit of sympathy there from me for him. It must be thoroughly miserable to be him these days.

I honeslty would not be surprised if he resigned in the next year or two.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

That plus the ridiculousness of sending a message when he is back on a line with Stone after clearing. The timing is also ridiculous .. You don't do this based on performance of 2 exhibition games to a vet player. He could have been waived anytime... Telling him its performance based after 2 exhibition games just stinks of BS .... How does he expect to retain the confidence of his own group never mind the fans. He also said something about not being happy about the return at the TDL if I recall correctly.. This org is just a mess and Dorion is too stupid to keep up with his own BS.

Also, who exactly is he sending a message to?

He obviously was hoping someone would take Smith off their hands, so it's not to Zack. Duchene and Stone have been performing, so not them either. He's gotten rid of Hoffman, Brassard and Karlsson so that's a no-go. He's praised Ceci and Boro all pre-season. Pageau is out for the season.

Everyone else is either a rookie or someone that was just brought in so that leaves.......Bobby Ryan.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Also, who exactly is he sending a message to?

He obviously was hoping someone would take Smith off their hands, so it's not to Zack. Duchene and Stone have been performing, so not them either. He's gotten rid of Hoffman, Brassard and Karlsson so that's a no-go. He's praised Ceci and Boro all pre-season. Pageau is out for the season.

Everyone else is either a rookie or someone that was just brought in so that leaves.......Bobby Ryan.

He had like 48 hours to come up with an explanation and that was it.

 

[Another Mr Lizard]

Haha, I waived him to get all the players angry. We play better when angry...*long pause* We’re a team!

 

[Xspyrit]

Good grief. He really does take us for fools.

Let’s be real, Dorion is Melnyk’s puppet. Any GM, even if they shouldn’t have this job like Dorion, would prefer to have the most funds possible to improve their team rather than spending BELOW the cap floor (talking about salary here). Dorion was instructed to cut more salary. Smith is a decent bottom-6 forward (However bad last year) but a younger guy could probably do his job for 1/4 of the price. He was the logical choice to be cut to save more money. Waiving him was a desperate move to have another team picking him up for 100% salary relief. It has been reported several times that some teams have interest in him, but would only acquire him if salary was going the other way, which is something that Melnyk is not interested in.

Dorion, as much as anybody want to bash him, has to do what Melnyk wants and then have to « lie » to try and save face (and it probably works with more « casual » fans. It cannot be more clear

Melnyk doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the « optics », he only cares about his operation costs. Recent budgets have been around 68 M$ per season? Now with the awful season the Sens had last year, the attendance problems and the very low season tickets renewal, that internal budget is probably 10 M$ lower. Going into a full rebuild, and because of last year performance, is the perfect cover up for Melnyk to execute his financial plan.

It absolutely sucks, but it is what it is. I see that some people still get up in arms about everything happening with the team and talk about the drama, but the real drama here is that Melnyk has decided that we would be as poor as the Coyotes, maybe even more. The rest is all a spin-up trying to hide this unfortunate truth. Like I said, it cannot be more clear.

 

[BondraTime]

Replace James Cameron with Pierre Dorion, and it's pretty spot on.

 

[Xspyrit]

It was the same excuse he used at the TDL last year amidst the Karlsson rumors.

It's obvious he's just trying to cover up the fact that it was money related.

He's quite terrible at his job, since his job is no longer to be an NHL GM, but to be Melnyk's PR representative.

Exactly this. When people will start realizing, then we will stop making all kind of speculations and won’t have much to talk about until the Lebreton project is executed or a new ownership comes in. This represents the only hope to have a NHL franchise that can compete in this league.

PD needs to believe in himself and his ability ,to get another job in the NHL ...and tell EM to **** off ...Before all of this nonsense PD was viewed as a solid hockey guy that would one day be a good nhl GM

It’s too late for Dorion, he won’t ever get another gig at managing a NHL team and he knows it (unless a crazy owner would need a yes man for a certain period of time). He’s just trying to cash in as much as possible until he has to take another road (could be back to scouting)

 

[Icelevel]

It worked. I’m a smitty fan now.

Kick some ass

 

[Xspyrit]

If Dorion is smart, he's keeping a journal, and is going to write an entertaining tell all book one day.

If Melnyk is smart, he made Dorion sign a non-disclosure as part of his obtaining of Dorion's soul with the 3 year extension.

When I worked for big food corporations, I had to sign contracts that I would not start or even work for a competitive business for a certain period of time if I were to quit. In my mind, there’s no doubt that Dorion has no divulgation clauses in his contract.

He has earned it. If he made $1.5m, I guarantee you he wouldn't of been placed on waivers.

Again, exactly. Decisions are not hockey related in Ottawa, it’s salary related first and then the rest after.

Same situation as Smith, they could trade Bobby Ryan if they were willing to take significant salary back, but Melnyk doesn’t want that. It will be done when they find a dancing partner that want to send us a pure cap dump with a high cap hit but lower salary owed, to replace that cap dump for an overpaid player that can still contribute. Exactly like the Phaneuf trade.

Or, as crazy as it may sound, not everyone who is 'informed' shares the same opinions. Not everyone is looking for blood, or looking to vent. If you don't take these things personally, you tend not to carry extreme opinions on the matter. It doesn't make you uninformed, casual, or extremely ignorant and backwards.

I do see why folks would like to characterize those who disagree with their opinions as such though, makes criticizing them a lot easier when they seem worth less. When people around here refer to 'casual fans' I tend to translate that to fans who are generally just as knowledgable, but are generally far less emotional, then it makes a lot more sense.

Good post. In the end, sport is just an entertainment. Only people really involved emotionally would react as negatively as we are doing right. I love my Sens and I admit to be pissed at being forced into a rebuild for money reasons. And since it’s not my own money, I don’t know where my criticism can stop.

 

[slamigo]

As much as Dorion is hapless, there’s a reason no teams claimed Smith. Let’s see him rebound. Please.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Waiving locker room leader GONE WRONG! - "It was just a prank bro"-Pierre Dorion

 

[Xspyrit]

He's always looked stupid.

I understand he is trying to make a cover story for what the real intention was but man was this ever a stupid thing to say

What could have been said to cover up for Melnyk real motivations? I don’t see a GM coming up and say « we waived our longest serving player and well-like teammate by our players because we need to get the operation costs as low as possible ». The « optics » would be even worse there, particularly with the « casual » fans who are not following Sens stuff as much as we do and/or are not as involved emotionally as we do.

Dorion has very little power as far as managing this hockey team. And he doesn’t have the experience and management abilities to get out of these shitty situations properly.

He essentially said management wanted to sign him but ownership didn't.

What a kick in the balls by Melnyk to Murray to dump Karlsson.

It certainly looks like he was instructed to save the money immediately if possible, and when Smith was not claimed PD has to come up with something other than the truth. I can imagine how absolutely lame PD's job must be on so many levels.

At least he makes good money... There is a lot of things people are ready to do for money. Isn’t prostitution the « oldest job in the world »?

So that’s what Dorion is doing in terms of hockey management. And it results in people not going easy on him

Smart if hockey is the priority.

Not smart if you only care about $'s.

I don’t see what « smart » has to do with this. If you can’t afford a Ferrari or if you decide that you won’t tie a lot of your budget in a Ferrari, it’s not because you’re not smart.

Pyatt and Paarjarvi are easily better players than Smith. It's not even remotely close and I think Pyatt sucks. They make less than Smith does combined.

I don’t think many will take your opinion seriously here.

yeah, I totally missed the whole thing, thank god you're here.
the comment was this organization is a cluster**** of incompetence - were it not an organization of supreme incompetence then perhaps lines of communication between management, coaching staff, dressing room wouldn't resemble the ****show it clearly is. If that were the case its entirely possible this kind of thing would have been caught and dealt with earlier and resolved quietly. Failing that then a trade for Hoffmans true value - and you could substitute the asset etc we get back in his spot.

sorry that was unclear for you, happy to spell it out.

Ok but let’s be realistic, even if the organization was « top notch », I don’t think they would have been able to resolve an issue like this between 2 players wives. It’s pretty much out of their control when a side wants to issue legal accusations.

What I think Dorion should have done though is trade Hoffman for picks, and then send a pick to San Jose to get Boedker to (partially) replace Hoffman.

 

[otown]

Interesting in Mendes'article PD called Stone,Duchene and Boro into his office to tell them about Zack being waived.
Kinda wonder why the veteran Bobby Ryan wasn't included..........not viewed as a team leader or not a good buddy of Zack ....or both?

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

What could have been said to cover up for Melnyk real motivations? I don’t see a GM coming up and say « we waived our longest serving player and well-like teammate by our players because we need to get the operation costs as low as possible ». The « optics » would be even worse there, particularly with the « casual » fans who are not following Sens stuff as much as we do and/or are not as involved emotionally as we do.

Dorion has very little power as far as managing this hockey team. And he doesn’t have the experience and management abilities to get out of these ****ty situations properly.



What a kick in the balls by Melnyk to Murray to dump Karlsson.



At least he makes good money... There is a lot of things people are ready to do for money. Isn’t prostitution the « oldest job in the world »?

So that’s what Dorion is doing in terms of hockey management. And it results in people not going easy on him



I don’t see what « smart » has to do with this. If you can’t afford a Ferrari or if you decide that you won’t tie a lot of your budget in a Ferrari, it’s not because you’re not smart.



I don’t think many will take your opinion seriously here.



Ok but let’s be realistic, even if the organization was « top notch », I don’t think they would have been able to resolve an issue like this between 2 players wives. It’s pretty much out of their control when a side wants to issue legal accusations.

What I think Dorion should have done though is trade Hoffman for picks, and then send a pick to San Jose to get Boedker to (partially) replace Hoffman.

Obviously not outright tell the truth but his lies are sounding farfetched now too.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Interesting in Mendes'article PD called Stone,Duchene and Boro into his office to tell them about Zack being waived.
Kinda wonder why the veteran Bobby Ryan wasn't included..........not viewed as a team leader or not a good buddy of Zack ....or both?

Why is Boro included lol.

Christ.

He's starting to becoming a go to guy in the media now too

 

[Xspyrit]

Obviously not outright tell the truth but his lies are sounding farfetched now too.

Yes but seriously what could have been said? Maybe I’m lacking imagination but can’t see anything else to cover the « Melnyk purge »

 

[The Lewler]

Interesting in Mendes'article PD called Stone,Duchene and Boro into his office to tell them about Zack being waived.
Kinda wonder why the veteran Bobby Ryan wasn't included..........not viewed as a team leader or not a good buddy of Zack ....or both?

I get the impression Bobby just comes out of the trainers room long enough to cash his cheque and keep them at the cap floor before retreating.