Kevin Francis: Dorion and Smith - Fix defense for team success next season!

Nice piece as always Kevin. Well said and thought out. If Dorion could package up Brannstrom with a top prospect or depending on where the Sens end of in the lottery, use that 1st round pick if it isn't in top 3 to get a legit top 4 on defense. I know a few mentioned Dumba in the last blog, he would be beyond the perfect fit here. A trade like that would signal to the fanbase that management is ready to get this team to playoff contender at the least.

The one thing I was surprised about with Brannstrom when he got the added ice time with Chabot out was how little he produced offensively. He doesn't create shooting lanes enough, he seems to just wind up and drill the puck into the opponents skates or stick, negating any offensive zone pressure. Heck, Hamonic was here for 19 games and he scored a goal, something Brannstrom didn't do in 53 games with Ottawa.

Unfortunately, like you said, too many players would never have got valuable experience and exposure to the fanbase if it wasn't for injuries this year to Brown and Zaitsev, this was all due to DJ's failures as a coach not seeing he was holding back his team with dead beats in the lineup. I keep going back to camp last year and how he didn't realize what he had in Zub. Zub was a healthy scratch for the first 6 or 7 games last year, then in Zub's first period in a Sens uniform anyone with hockey knowledge knew they had a gem. He never missed a game and was their most consistent blueliner. But this is something that happens far too often with this coach. He doesn't learn from past mistakes, that much is obvious.

we can all debate on who should ott trade for or sign as for top 6 re, but we can all agree, except for the most dj/ dorion sycophants that Ott needs to fire DJ and get a real nhl coach or dont mater who ott gets they will be out of the playoffs race by mid November.


ott should never trade for dumba, the worst player ott could get.

100% Smith has to go.
Even if you can get someone to take Zaitsev after the bonus is paid (Arizona) somehow Smith will find a way to screw D pairs up until we're 3-9-3 to start the season again.

This coach doesn't get what we are trying to accomplish here. I think I've figured him out. He's taking advantage of Dorion and a weak situation here to build his own brand and secure a second job somewhere else. He's playing to win, by playing the players he thinks give him the best chance every night but not playing to develop.

Unfortunately he's neither winning, nor developing youth. He needs to go.

Good blog Kev.
Hope you're feeling better.

we can all debate on who should ott trade for or sign as for top 6 re, but we can all agree, except for the most dj/ dorion sycophants that Ott needs to fire DJ and get a real nhl coach or dont mater who ott gets they will be out of the playoffs race by mid November.


ott should never trade for dumba, the worst player ott could get.
- Mithos

The problem is, we all know DJ isn't going anywhere even though any honest hockey media person or anyone in the NHL that is employed by another team realizes how out of tune DJ is with the game today. If another coach was here, then the fanbase wouldn't be worried about Zaitsev being dressed as the new coach would understand NHL ability, scratch him or get him sent down to Belleville aka MDZ. So that is where the problem lies, nobody in this city feels that DJ can properly assess talent or dress the best top 6 blueliners due to his ineptitude as a head coach. It's quite odd that someone in his position isn't challenged by the GM with his lineup decisions.

Why don't you think Dumba would not be a good fit? Right shot, vet, he isn't on the back end of his career like so many other defensemen that Dorion has acquired when they are past their expiry date. He only has one year left on his current deal too so you aren't taking on too much term, something that Dorion has done too much in the past.

As posted on Ian Mendes Twitter feed.

Only a handful of GM/coach combos have missed the playoffs in three straight seasons during the cap era.

And none of them survived to miss a fourth together.

The pressure is on Pierre Dorion & D.J. Smith to deliver next season.

And both men know it.

Great blog Kevin.

I believe that coaching is the number one issue when it comes to the defence and overall team performance. I don't expect any changes there until the ownership situation gets resolved. My big hope for the off-season is that Zaitsev and Brannstrom are moved to provide opportunity for Thomson and Bernard-Docker. As for MDZ, it is bizarre that they added a 2 x $2M player in the last off-season, only to have no meaningful role on the team. MDZ should be moved as well.

As posted on Ian Mendes Twitter feed.

Only a handful of GM/coach combos have missed the playoffs in three straight seasons during the cap era.

And none of them survived to miss a fourth together.

The pressure is on Pierre Dorion & D.J. Smith to deliver next season.

And both men know it.
- LawyerSens4Life

Tkachuk, Norris, Batherson, Stutzle, Formenton, Brown, Pinto, Joseph and Watson are already penciled in for the starting line up on opening night. Only three slots to fill.

Chabot, Zub, Sanderson and Holden will take up 4 out of the 6 defensive start positions.

So, really only 5 positions up for grabs in training camp and a few guys like Hamonic and Thomson may already think they have jobs nailed down.

I believe the Sens will bring in a top 6 forward and a top 4 Dman. I don't know if they make the playoffs. But they will be ready opening night with a talented line up that will further raise the expectations of most fans.

It's frustrating the mess that is the defence. I am not sure how Dorion will clean it up.

I am not sure too many teams are lining up to take on Zaitsev or Del Zotto without Ottawa taking garbage back.

Hamonic was a redundant add and even though Holden was ok last year, not sure how he stacks up long term.

You have Sanderson, Thomson, and JBD all coming down the pike as well. Additionally, it's very obvious that a top 4, right hand shot would be useful for a top 4 pairing. Maybe that is Thomson or JBD in time, but that is a big ask.

khawk proposed nabbing Matt Dumba from Minny, which I don't think is an awful idea. I think it might cost you Thomson or JBD and some, but could be worth it. I also think Del Zotto shouldn't be so quickly dismissed by the team. He could be useful in the interim for a year playing 10 or so minutes with some powerplay time, especially if the Branstrom ride is over. Potentially, you have the following to start the season:

Chabot - Dumba
Sanderson - Zub
Del Zotto/Holden - Hamonic

One of Thomson or JBD remain and can slide in the lineup when injuries occur and eventually work one of Hamonic, Del Zotto, or Hamonic out of the lineup.

This doesn't address Zaitsev or even Branstrom (if Dorion tries to keep the piece from his proudest day of GM), so it's not a perfect plan. It also still has potential holes as the 3rd pairing is pretty meh, anyway you look at it. If Branstrom does stick around, that adds more of a log jam but you could have a Branstrom/Hamonic pairing or finally give Branstrom his preference and play him not he right side with Holden.

I don't think I have ever seen a team with so many garbage d-men under contract while trying to execute a youth and identity movement. Will be interesting to see how Dorion tries to get out of it. I do think making a trade for a solidified top 4, right hand shot d-man (in addition to a right handed shot top six forward) would be huge for the team.

It's frustrating the mess that is the defence. I am not sure how Dorion will clean it up.

I am not sure too many teams are lining up to take on Zaitsev or Del Zotto without Ottawa taking garbage back.

Hamonic was a redundant add and even though Holden was ok last year, not sure how he stacks up long term.

You have Sanderson, Thomson, and JBD all coming down the pike as well. Additionally, it's very obvious that a top 4, right hand shot would be useful for a top 4 pairing. Maybe that is Thomson or JBD in time, but that is a big ask.

khawk proposed nabbing Matt Dumba from Minny, which I don't think is an awful idea. I think it might cost you Thomson or JBD and some, but could be worth it. I also think Del Zotto shouldn't be so quickly dismissed by the team. He could be useful in the interim for a year playing 10 or so minutes with some powerplay time, especially if the Branstrom ride is over. Potentially, you have the following to start the season:

Chabot - Dumba
Sanderson - Zub
Del Zotto/Holden - Hamonic

One of Thomson or JBD remain and can slide in the lineup when injuries occur and eventually work one of Hamonic, Del Zotto, or Hamonic out of the lineup.

This doesn't address Zaitsev or even Branstrom (if Dorion tries to keep the piece from his proudest day of GM), so it's not a perfect plan. It also still has potential holes as the 3rd pairing is pretty meh, anyway you look at it. If Branstrom does stick around, that adds more of a log jam but you could have a Branstrom/Hamonic pairing or finally give Branstrom his preference and play him not he right side with Holden.

I don't think I have ever seen a team with so many garbage d-men under contract while trying to execute a youth and identity movement. Will be interesting to see how Dorion tries to get out of it. I do think making a trade for a solidified top 4, right hand shot d-man (in addition to a right handed shot top six forward) would be huge for the team.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Really good post.

Some observers want marginal players to be more than what they are. You need your top players to take charge and let the role players fill in where needed.

Remember last year when a bunch of folks were whipping on Gudbranson and saying how much of a disappointment he had been. Well this year he has had a good year with Calgary playing 19 minuets a game.

When all your top players are negative on their plus/minus measure you are not going to win.

Impressed to see both Tkachuk and Chabot saying they want to win now. Well they are both going to have to work harder to improve their defensive play. Timmy was minus 27 on the season. Lots of room for improvement.

It's frustrating the mess that is the defence. I am not sure how Dorion will clean it up.

I am not sure too many teams are lining up to take on Zaitsev or Del Zotto without Ottawa taking garbage back.

Hamonic was a redundant add and even though Holden was ok last year, not sure how he stacks up long term.

You have Sanderson, Thomson, and JBD all coming down the pike as well. Additionally, it's very obvious that a top 4, right hand shot would be useful for a top 4 pairing. Maybe that is Thomson or JBD in time, but that is a big ask.

khawk proposed nabbing Matt Dumba from Minny, which I don't think is an awful idea. I think it might cost you Thomson or JBD and some, but could be worth it. I also think Del Zotto shouldn't be so quickly dismissed by the team. He could be useful in the interim for a year playing 10 or so minutes with some powerplay time, especially if the Branstrom ride is over. Potentially, you have the following to start the season:

Chabot - Dumba
Sanderson - Zub
Del Zotto/Holden - Hamonic

One of Thomson or JBD remain and can slide in the lineup when injuries occur and eventually work one of Hamonic, Del Zotto, or Hamonic out of the lineup.

This doesn't address Zaitsev or even Branstrom (if Dorion tries to keep the piece from his proudest day of GM), so it's not a perfect plan. It also still has potential holes as the 3rd pairing is pretty meh, anyway you look at it. If Branstrom does stick around, that adds more of a log jam but you could have a Branstrom/Hamonic pairing or finally give Branstrom his preference and play him not he right side with Holden.

I don't think I have ever seen a team with so many garbage d-men under contract while trying to execute a youth and identity movement. Will be interesting to see how Dorion tries to get out of it. I do think making a trade for a solidified top 4, right hand shot d-man (in addition to a right handed shot top six forward) would be huge for the team.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

This is the kind of thinking that I don't really like very much. Thomson is overbaked and ready to play RD in the NHL. He has played with Chabot a bit and looked good. He's young, skates well, has a great shot but makes a mistake defensively now and then. This is where you lose me - he shows a lot of promise going forward so let's trade him for Dumba who is OK and you don't feel awful about.

The problem is that this exactly the kind of thing Dorion is likely to do and DJ will love it because that's one less young guy he feels some pressure to play. All he has to do then is pair Sanderson with Hamonic for a couple of games which won't work and then ship him off to Belleville. Problem solved and he can get back to working on his resume rather than developing young talent for a future he will not be part of.

I can't wait to see Dorion sign Brannstrom to an 5 x 3.5 deal and then announce his second proudest day of his life. I have to wonder how many guys like Formenton will be shipped out along with JBD and the first for another Dadonov except this time it will be for longer term and more money.

Everybody knows there is pressure on Dorion to make a big splash or two this off season. Every GM in the league knows it and like a shiver of sharks they smell blood in the water.

Yup.
PD and PM will over pay for Fiala and we'll all collectively roll our eyes

This is the kind of thinking that I don't really like very much. Thomson is overbaked and ready to play RD in the NHL. He has played with Chabot a bit and looked good. He's young, skates well, has a great shot but makes a mistake defensively now and then. This is where you lose me - he shows a lot of promise going forward so let's trade him for Dumba who is OK and you don't feel awful about.

The problem is that this exactly the kind of thing Dorion is likely to do and DJ will love it because that's one less young guy he feels some pressure to play. All he has to do then is pair Sanderson with Hamonic for a couple of games which won't work and then ship him off to Belleville. Problem solved and he can get back to working on his resume rather than developing young talent for a future he will not be part of.

I can't wait to see Dorion sign Brannstrom to an 5 x 3.5 deal and then announce his second proudest day of his life. I have to wonder how many guys like Formenton will be shipped out along with JBD and the first for another Dadonov except this time it will be for longer term and more money.

Everybody knows there is pressure on Dorion to make a big splash or two this off season. Every GM in the league knows it and like a shiver of sharks they smell blood in the water.
- Whatisavailable

What is your optimal 6 man d-unit given the current players under contract and player development?

Assuming a d-man is not acquired outside if the organization, my guess is something like:

Chabot - Thompson
Sanderson - Zub
Holden - Hamonic

Assuming Branstrom is not resigned in your scenario. How are Del Zatto and Zaitsev removed from the lineup? Surely they are not buried in the minors to take away ice time from guys like JBD. It's very hard to move bad contracts in todays NHL without taking another on. Perhaps the Coyotes can come to the rescue as they have for so many other NHL teams.

To me, this team only has 2 quality d-men in Chabot and Zub. Hopefully Sanderson is the real deal, but after that, there's lots of work to be done. Can only do so much in a few months, that includes development of young guys.

Really good post.

Some observers want marginal players to be more than what they are. You need your top players to take charge and let the role players fill in where needed.

Remember last year when a bunch of folks were whipping on Gudbranson and saying how much of a disappointment he had been. Well this year he has had a good year with Calgary playing 19 minuets a game.

When all your top players are negative on their plus/minus measure you are not going to win.

Impressed to see both Tkachuk and Chabot saying they want to win now. Well they are both going to have to work harder to improve their defensive play. Timmy was minus 27 on the season. Lots of room for improvement.
- spatso

I think the bolded can be extended to Dorion. I wouldn't be surprised to see half of the players that found their way onto the roster this year not make most other NHL teams. Top players can only do so much. Adding a couple more "top players" to this roster would alleviate the reliance on mediocre players as you say.

Yes.
Yes this is what I want to see.


Chabot - Thompson
Sanderson - Zub
Holden - Hamonic

And Don't be afraid to tinker with it, and not be so steadfast in our religion that left have to play left and right have to play right. If branstrom wants to be the 7th he's welcome to stay on a "show me" contract. Zaitsev HAS to be traded. MDZ made his 2 million dollar bed, he can sleep in it down in the minors again. He's overpaid. Suck it up and ride the bus like Redden.

Yes.
Yes this is what I want to see.


Chabot - Thompson
Sanderson - Zub
Holden - Hamonic

And Don't be afraid to tinker with it, and not be so steadfast in our religion that left have to play left and right have to play right. If branstrom wants to be the 7th he's welcome to stay on a "show me" contract. Zaitsev HAS to be traded. MDZ made his 2 million dollar bed, he can sleep in it down in the minors again. He's overpaid. Suck it up and ride the bus like Redden.
- Octavarium

I think the biggest difference is that some folks want Thomson with full time NHL minutes and some want a solidified guy brought in. Interesting. One route is cheaper and retains assets. One route might see more immediate results. Both present risk/reward scenarios.

This is the kind of thinking that I don't really like very much. Thomson is overbaked and ready to play RD in the NHL. He has played with Chabot a bit and looked good. He's young, skates well, has a great shot but makes a mistake defensively now and then. This is where you lose me - he shows a lot of promise going forward so let's trade him for Dumba who is OK and you don't feel awful about.
- Whatisavailable

Well, there's a major difference between "shows a lot of promise", and being able to handle a top-4 pairing assignment for 82GP. Sanderson and Thomson are very good D-prospects, but they've got just 16GP in the NHL between them... you can't just assume that both could walk-in to NHL top-4D roles and thrive. It's also painfully clear that Chabot needs a real partner - not another revolving door of random options, where he winds up grossly overplayed out of necessity, and prevented from achieving his offensive potential.

Further to this point, I never said anything about trading away Thomson or Bernard-Docker. They need to continue adding strength to their blueline, not deplete it. So if the Wild wanted anything more than a 1st round pick & maybe Brannstrom, that would be the end of the phone call. However, that still leaves you with major holes on the your blueline, and the reality that adding a high-quality D will most likely involve a major trade. Which is why their best trade assets should be focused on addressing the D... instead of severely over-paying for a guy like Fiala, who's just not a 30G/80Pts player without Kaprizov.

Well, there's a major difference between "shows a lot of promise", and being able to handle a top-4 pairing assignment for 82GP. Sanderson and Thomson are very good D-prospects, but they've got just 16GP in the NHL between them... you can't just assume that both could walk-in to NHL top-4D roles and thrive. It's also painfully clear that Chabot needs a real partner - not another revolving door of random options, where he winds up grossly overplayed out of necessity, and prevented from achieving his offensive potential.

Further to this point, I never said anything about trading away Thomson or Bernard-Docker. They need to continue adding strength to their blueline, not deplete it. So if the Wild wanted anything more than a 1st round pick & maybe Brannstrom, that would be the end of the phone call. However, that still leaves you with major holes on the your blueline, and the reality that adding a high-quality D will most likely involve a major trade. Which is why their best trade assets should be focused on addressing the D... instead of severely over-paying for a guy like Fiala, who's just not a 30G/80Pts player without Kaprizov.
- khawk

You would hope Dorion learned from the Dadonov signing, when he got here he didn't have Barkov and Huberdeau anymore. Same goes for Fiala, well said and totally agree. But this GM doesn't seem to learn from past mistakes, he keeps bringing in guys on defense past their due date.

What is your optimal 6 man d-unit given the current players under contract and player development?

Assuming a d-man is not acquired outside if the organization, my guess is something like:

Chabot - Thompson
Sanderson - Zub
Holden - Hamonic

Assuming Branstrom is not resigned in your scenario. How are Del Zatto and Zaitsev removed from the lineup? Surely they are not buried in the minors to take away ice time from guys like JBD. It's very hard to move bad contracts in todays NHL without taking another on. Perhaps the Coyotes can come to the rescue as they have for so many other NHL teams.

To me, this team only has 2 quality d-men in Chabot and Zub. Hopefully Sanderson is the real deal, but after that, there's lots of work to be done. Can only do so much in a few months, that includes development of young guys.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

That's what I would start with - that's definitely my first choice. If the pressure is too great for Thomson or Sanderson or both then you're stuck. There's just no way to salvage the situation if they both bomb. Even if they both do just OK you're not making the playoffs with half of your top 4 D being OK rookies. At least one of them would have to be great or both of them better than anybody not named Chabot. I would take that chance but my job is not on the line.

Khawk suggested Brannstrom and the first for Dumba. I could live with that assuming it's not a top 3 pick; but I don't know what amount and term Dumba will be asking for next contract, or if he would even want to stay, and without knowing those things I can't really say for sure.

I don't see a way out of the Zaitsev contract. If Dorion was the GM of another team we could dump his salary there and get a third round pick back into the bargain, but alas, he is our GM so that's a no go. Since DJ loves Zaitsev so much throw him in as a sweetener 100% retained.

Then you've got MDZ, Hamonic and Brannstrom. So let's assume one of Sanderson or Thomson can cut the mustard next season. That gives you 3 good ones and an OK Holden. Like Octavarium said give Brannstrom, who wants to play the right side and I don't understand for the life of me why Smith refuses, a 1 year show me deal which he won't take because he's apparently got the same agent as Tkachuk so he'll say Brannstrom should get 8 x 8 as is befitting a top pairing, power play quarterback D. Brannstrom is marginal on the left side but might be OK as a third pairing RD. Play him limited minutes with MDZ on the third pair.

It's not great but it allows for development of the young guys and this team is not winning anything for a couple of years anyway because the talent is too young. At least get that ball rolling and screw Smith and his friggin resume. Unfortunately that's not going to happen. Play Zaitsev or Hamonic with Chabot and trade the young D prospects for somebody like Dumba to play with Brannstrom or some such friggin crazy Dorion and Smith nonsense. Somebody needs to test those two for drugs.

I think the biggest difference is that some folks want Thomson with full time NHL minutes and some want a solidified guy brought in. Interesting. One route is cheaper and retains assets. One route might see more immediate results. Both present risk/reward scenarios.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

If Thomson would've been the chance to play the rest of the season here, we wouldn't be in this predicament. What did both the head coach and GM say back in December? Let the kids play and get the prospects extended reps and experience. No instead, DJ was all about winning and playing favourites. They lost 2 windows now where there were no expectations the last 2 seasons from the fanbase, now next year, they don't have that with the fanbase. It's unreal that this was allowed to happen again this year which is another inditement on this coaching staff and management as to why they are out of their element when it comes to being NHL personnel, they clearly aren't.

Yes.
Yes this is what I want to see.


Chabot - Thompson
Sanderson - Zub
Holden - Hamonic

And Don't be afraid to tinker with it, and not be so steadfast in our religion that left have to play left and right have to play right. If branstrom wants to be the 7th he's welcome to stay on a "show me" contract. Zaitsev HAS to be traded. MDZ made his 2 million dollar bed, he can sleep in it down in the minors again. He's overpaid. Suck it up and ride the bus like Redden.
- Octavarium

Yes and yes on both MDZ/Zaitsev. Brannstrom or JBD as the 7th. End of story. The 5/6 pairing is exactly what this team needs. But we all know this won't happen because this coaching staff has failed miserably for a few years now and have been given all the rope in the world. Just frustrating. Anyone with half a brain with hockey sense would realize this.

Kevin Francis: Dorion and Smith - Fix defense for team success next season!
- Kevin Francis

Zub is a guy that makes everyone he plays with better. In a perfect world, he’d play with Chabot, but that won’t happen with this team.

I’d put him with Sanderson. Everyone has already put a ton of pressure on this guy to be a top 4 as a rookie, so give him a chance and pair him with Zub.

With the middle pair set, I’d try Thompson with Chabot. He seemed to like him, maybe we get lucky and chemistry works.

That leaves Holden with Hamonic/JBD for the third pairing.

Buy out Zaitsev (to take Smiths toy away) and deal Brannstrom (or keep JBD in the minors again)

That’s what I think would be realistic. Unfortunately, I expect Zaitsev to be top pairing, Hamonic to be second pairing and young guys to be left out.

“Thomson and Brannstrom had better pre-seasons than Josh Brown and Nikita Zaitsev”

So! what!? Dysfunctional NHL franchises! are littered with rushed prospects! This team was going nowhere! this past season regardless. ! I consider it a mark of functionality! that they didn’t rush prospects who weren’t NHL ready! simply because they were better than the crappy vet alternatives they had!

Sorry! Ek!

!

!

I don't get how MDZ was treated by this office. His numbers show he was *far* from the worst guy on our blue line. He has to go if only because he doesn't want to be here anymore, and who can blame him? I think DJ Smith may have been given a directive to play Zaitsev in an effort to try and boost his value, but Zaitsev only decreases his value the more you see of him. You don't put players who make you lose on the ice over and over. And Connor Brown was the prize there? He won't be on the team anymore when it finally makes the playoffs, but we'll probably still be paying a portion of NZ's contract. So yeah, great deal.

The really sad thing here on this budget team is it's not a lack of willingness to hand out money. Zaitsev + MDZ = 6.5M in salary. Add Hamonic, it's 9.5M. it is bonkers that you could shed all of those players right now, not add any replacements, and it would be a net positive for this team. You could have your pick of any RD in the league for 9.5M (other than EK65 and Doughty). At some point, the buck has to stop with management - STOP making insanely idiotic adds in FA. STOP adding dinosaurs to this lineup. STOP saying you're cash poor when you've got more than ten million dollars sunk into dead weight on this roster. And for the love of God, STOP making jokes every presser! I want a GM, not a fourth rate stand up comedian.

In doing my research for capping games I find this little nugget that I thought Sens fans would want to read about. I hope your team is able to get a great owner soon.

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl-co...rently-for-sale-1.1796261