Ya.
Tkachuk looks tired.
They all do. THey'd better rest up, it aint any easier the rest of the way.

Kevin.
Keep pointing all the failings of this coach please. Im done letting this owner off the hook for cheap stupid hires. DJ is a Junior coach out of his depth. Stifling the rebuild. He needs to go.
- Octavarium

5 in 7 nights and 9 in 14 nights when they return. Ottawa cant keep trying to outhit teams, it will wear them down big time. It showed in the NYI game.

Oh I wont let up on DJ when he messes up. I have given him credit a few times, but he isn't the answer here longterm. Like you said, junior coach philosophy and being an NHL asst. coach for 4 years really didn't get him ready for a team rebuilding. Then PD gave him carte blanche as Simmer on TSN1200 said, which no GM would ever do with a rookie coach. Look at how the last 2 seasons have started because of it!

Kevin, it is obvious you have an extreme dislike for DJ Smith and you won't be satisfied until he is fired, or better still, I imagine in your mind, put to death, lol. I think he has done an admirable job in developing our young players. The results are there. You see it in Brannstrom, JBD, Thomson etc. As for the comment on his belief that Zac Bierk knows more about goaltenders than he does, I frankly find that very refreshing. I want a HC who trusts his coaches and listens to what they have to say, and is not too insecure to admit he uses their expertise. I'm pleased to see that some of the people who comment are blowing back on your anti DJ rants and doing so in a respectful way. I, myself, am extremely happy with DJ and the way he is leading this young group. Will he make mistakes? Of course he will. But he has them playing hard and to an identity which, hopefully, will lead this group to the ultimate prize. Go Sens Go!
- The Pintonater

Nope, if you knew what I knew that has gone on behind the scenes with him, you would not want this man as coach! He is a petty man, he has done some awful crap to some of our young players. A head coach needs to also make his own decisions. So you think DJ listening to his goalie coach in getting Forsberg to start 2 of the last 3 games heading into the All-Star break was a good decision?! Jack Campbell making far less than the 6 million that Murray makes, played back to back nights this week against NJ, they won both games! There is no way in the world this should've happened, in fact, I was told management had it out with DJ from this perplexing and very odd decision making with his staring goaltender.
As for development, if you actually think he developed Thomson or JBD, you haven't watched a single AHL game or listened to these players, or Mann for that matter about how the development has gone and who has had a big hand in it. You think Kastelic and Sokolov are being developed right now by DJ? Come on man.

Lol 'put to death' Pinto. That made me laugh out loud. It's true though Kevin - it reads churlish when you bandwagon against DJ hard when the team is performing well. You gotta try to see both sides of the coin. Especially given the injuries we've had to date - the fact this team is turning heads and playing hard through adversity is really nice to see. Is that because of the coach? Maybe not, but he's part of it, so let's prime and focus on the positives every now and then - there's space for both narratives but it reads very one sided tbh.

I do think the Sens want to be big sellers at the deadline and jettison much of the commodities that rightfully draw your ire (JB does come to mind), and that's why a lot of players are seeing ice time they probably shouldn't. I think in an ideal world, Dorion would like to shed Tierney, Gambrell, White, Zaitsev, JBrown, Mete, Murray, Forsberg, even Paul (vastly overvalued by this fan base - if you can get a 3rd or 2nd, I'd take it). PD won't get all of them done (he can't, really, still need to ice a team), but what we are finally getting with this team is clarity on what pieces are needed, and where these players are at in their development. I'm really excited about what our blue line might look like next season.
- Bartacus

So its ok for DJ to continue to screw up the goaltening situation or the young kids ont he blueline while they are winning? That is why I am on him and I wont let up until this man smartens up! I have talked to numerous scouts, front office people and other coaches.....they all say, DJ is mismanaging serious parts of this group.

OTT should not go after Laine, too inconsistent, would cost way to much for so much uncertainty and would he would want to much on his next contract.
- Mithos

Fair enough! Great discussion regarding FA's and who fits at RW in the comment section today, sorry I cant get back to everyone today, I tried tonight. But keep the comments coming!

I think many people were surprised by the Batherson contract which is commodity considered to be extremely team friendly. I don't know how realistic it is to expect other players to follow suit. Also you've nonchalantly skipped over quite a few players who will legitimately command sizable contracts. Maybe I just value these players more than you do and/or expect them to be important pieces of what I believe will be a perennial juggernaut for many years to come.
- Whatisavailable

I don't think Bath took a team friendly contract. He has vastly surpassed expectations, but he wasn't necessarily underpaid given his production last year - his agent is kicking himself now but I think draft pedigree plays a big role in what players end up getting on their second contract unless they somehow hit PPG production (Seb Aho is a good example). But this happened with Mark Stone, Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Hoffman, all low round picks. Brady got 3M+ more and the captaincy for a season of almost identical production. You're absolutely correct though, these guys will get paid, but I think you'll see a similar scenario with Norris-Formenton this year. Norris is destined for 7+, whereas Form will probably get 3-4 on a shorter deal. I am however worried about the owner's financial ability to make those deals down the line. I worry he thinks the Sens are the NHL's Moneyball.

Ottawa Senators

NHL Rumor Bot
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The Ottawa Senators are your 2024 Stanley Cup champions!

Okay! Good to know.

What I’ll say on coaching is that I have always felt DJ was just a placeholder coach until this team takes a step to being a playoff contending team. As long as the important players develop and become legit NHLers, the overall situation is ok. I have always, said that I don’t think there is a conspiracy to bench/scratch/send down the next Sidney Crosby or Victor Hedman. Guys like Stu, Batherson, Norris, Chabot, and Brady have all shown they are go to guys. The second tier of prospects have a tougher go (Formenton, Branstrom, Gutsvasson, etc), but seem to take advantage of the opportunity when give of late.

With that said, there have been too many examples of questionable decisions that demonstrate that DJ is not a long-term solution. The line up decisions have been discussed well on these boards so no need to exhaust that.

To me the aspects that really make it clear to me he is not a long-term solution is his in-game management. There have been too many times players are playing on lines or sides they should not be playing. There are too many times where he has made bad ice time management decisions that result in the wrong players being on the ice at the wrong time. There have been times where times out calls are mishandled. Lastly, there are too many times where injuries act as a blessing in disguise for the Sens during DJ’s rein as head coach. Your team should never discover a #1 centre only because injuries forced you in that situation (maybe there was a conspiracy theory to hide a great centre). I don’t know if management has some puppet strings going but coaches need to have the ability to get the most out of their players. DJ only has that happen with some guys and the rest is more attributed to luck.

I assume DJ will stick around until the end of the year and possibly next year, but you have to think a change there will happen soon to get this group back to being competitive.

What I’ll say on coaching is that I have always felt DJ was just a placeholder coach until this team takes a step to being a playoff contending team. As long as the important players develop and become legit NHLers, the overall situation is ok.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I don't disagree about the strategic limitations of DJ's coaching, however I think the one aspect of his work that is routinely dismissed is the extent to which he's been tasked with establishing a new team culture... literally from the ashes of a complete tear-down. And not even a tear-down from a benign state, but rather a franchise that was marred with ordeals like the Karlsson-Hoffman issue, the Duchene trade fallout, Melnyk ruining the outdoor game, the viral video of players mocking their coach, the Randy Lee fiasco, hazardous baby merchandise, etc. So, at least to some extent, I can forgive Smith and Dorion if they're a bit hard-line on certain principles and tactics, if they believe it's the right path forward to remediating the identity of the franchise.

We'd all like to see a couple more good players on the roster and a few more wins, but they're starting to get legitimate production from their top young forwards, they're developing a pretty dangerous 2nd line, and their top young d-men are just starting to make an impact and could be among the best groups in the NHL. Veterans are still being overplayed, and the overall skill level needs to improve, but rarely are losses the result of a lack of effort. Tkachuk has brought in a real 'big brother' type presence (in the non-1984 sense), and the young core seems pretty close-knit. So I wouldn't quite call Smith a "placeholder" coach, so much as a "phase 1" coach... sort of like how you need a different type of teacher in Grade 6 than you do in 2nd year undergrad. The question then becomes when the team is ready to "graduate" to having more of a tactician at the helm, and I'd say that's ~1.5 years away. The clock really starts for this team once Sanderson gets settled into a significant blue-line role... at which point I think expectations will change, and the X's and O's will need to match the culture and skill-level of the group.

I don't disagree about the strategic limitations of DJ's coaching, however I think the one aspect of his work that is routinely dismissed is the extent to which he's been tasked with establishing a new team culture... literally from the ashes of a complete tear-down. And not even a tear-down from a benign state, but rather a franchise that was marred with ordeals like the Karlsson-Hoffman issue, the Duchene trade fallout, Melnyk ruining the outdoor game, the viral video of players mocking their coach, the Randy Lee fiasco, hazardous baby merchandise, etc. So, at least to some extent, I can forgive Smith and Dorion if they're a bit hard-line on certain principles and tactics, if they believe it's the right path forward to remediating the identity of the franchise.

We'd all like to see a couple more good players on the roster and a few more wins, but they're starting to get legitimate production from their top young forwards, they're developing a pretty dangerous 2nd line, and their top young d-men are just starting to make an impact and could be among the best groups in the NHL. Veterans are still being overplayed, and the overall skill level needs to improve, but rarely are losses the result of a lack of effort. Tkachuk has brought in a real 'big brother' type presence (in the non-1984 sense), and the young core seems pretty close-knit. So I wouldn't quite call Smith a "placeholder" coach, so much as a "phase 1" coach... sort of like how you need a different type of teacher in Grade 6 than you do in 2nd year undergrad. The question then becomes when the team is ready to "graduate" to having more of a tactician at the helm, and I'd say that's ~1.5 years away. The clock really starts for this team once Sanderson gets settled into a significant blue-line role... at which point I think expectations will change, and the X's and O's will need to match the culture and skill-level of the group.
- khawk

This is a good perspective. Never really thought about it in that sense of rebuilding the culture along with the on-ice product.

There is a great core developing but the more you watch the team progress, the more you suspect there’s another stratosphere of coaching to get even more out of these players. Graduating is a good perspective.

The hurdle is obviously getting a quality coach with Melnyk. The team hasn’t had a well-established coach since the Martin and Murray days. They have tried to get diamond in the rough guys and hope they become the next great coach. Sometimes, you need to break the bank a little and grab a guy who has seen it all from behind the bench in the NHL. Wonder if Melnyk will allow that one day.

https://www.tsn.ca/us-sta...thout-3-players-1.1754803

Sanderson might not get to play a single game at the Olympics, had the WJ cancelled, man the guy is missing out on some big time games, all because of covid.

Sogaard looks terrible tonight for the BSens, 3-0 Syracuse already.

Games Missed this season(not even half season):

01 - Paul, Stutzle
03 - Formenton, Tkachuk
04 - Norris
05 - Ennis
06 - Holden
09 - Batherson
14 - Brown
18 - Zaitsev
35 - Pinto
40 - White

Sogaard looks terrible tonight for the BSens, 3-0 Syracuse already.
- Kevin Francis

Sogaard is So-gone

Do you think PM can go down and negotiate and end to the Convoy, maybe give him tickets to NJ Game, that'll be a big draw.