Kevin Francis: The Bedard Bowl in Anaheim/Time to move on from DJ Smith

Dorion wouldn't be the first GM to throw their support behind a coach, and fire them soon after.

I just hope he realizes the team is in too deep a hole to make to big a knee jerk reaction.

If they made a decision to replace Smith it would likely have an "interim" designation as it would not be kosher to impose any long term contract on the incoming ownership.

Because of age and circumstance two names stand out for me.

Claude Julian is a good fit. He is local and readily available. He has the right kind of soft style and he might work well with the bruised feelings that will likely flare in the dressing room.

Another name that comes to mind is Joel Quenneville. An interim placement in Ottawa might be perfect. Bettman could deem it as a testing of the waters to determine whether he is prepared to lift the open ended suspension. An interim assignment for Quenneville in Ottawa could be an opportunity that might work well for all sides.

Your team has poor coaching and you somehow want tocchet as your new coach? That dude blows as a head coach. Some of it was masked by everyone expecting Arizona to be poopty but his personnel choices were horrendous.

If you have an issue with Smith sending 5 forward out on the power play, you're not going to like tocchet. This was a coach that used Zac Rinaldo as the extra forward at the end of games after the goalie was pulled and they were trying to send it into overtime. He also refused to let any of the younger talent on the team develop even though they were playing for nothing during his whole tenure.

Whatever little bit of success that team has was a result of both kuemper and raanta putting up Vezina numbers for 2 years in a row.

What should happen is absolutely nothing. Many have posted that new owners will want to pick their own GM and let him pick his head coach and support staff.

Significant trades at this point would be overly expensive and not serve much purpose other than worsening your lottery odds. If they could find someone to take DeBrincat for a good pick in 2023 that would be good but I doubt any GM in the league would be interested and they certainly won't be at the deadline.

Take a pill and chill. This is a year that will see the young guys get some valuable experience.

Soon Chabot will be back and so they'll have 3 of their top 4 D spots in place with Zub and Sanderson. Find out about Thomson and JBD. Take the pressure off the players and let them grow. I don't care how much pressure Dorion and Smith are feeling.

Giving 9 million to DeBrincat would be completely ridiculous. Sign Zub and Pinto for term and let's not forget about Sanderson coming soon. I'd rather give them money and have some to pay another good D they might be able to land in the off season. Hamonic and Holden will need to be replaced along with some bottom six stuff and don't go bargain basement. Get guys that can actually play.

Try and move Joseph for something at the deadline. Was listening to the latest Brent Wallace and Jason York podcast and I think it was Wallace or their guest that actually said they should try and get a first round pick for DeBrincat. Amazing! All the summer of Pierre guys really don't want to let go of their dreams. I doubt they'll be able to get a third rounder for him.

I've been careful not to post too emotional posts on the comments over the last few results. Kevin has done a good job with this post. Baring miracle run (we have seen one before) the season is essentially a lost cause and those who feared Dorion would move this years 1st rounder for anything, shouldn't fear anymore. As the title suggested, Bedard might be the best lineup goal to aim for.

People should not get too focused on the new ownership coming in to prevent moves. You can fire DJ and make any individual in the world an interim coach. The guy hired just has to agree to that title. For some guys, it would be a hard sell. For a guy like Tochet or Julien, just looking to get back in the league? Not a hard sell. For a guy like Mann, just looking to get his name in the NHL? Not a hard sell. The guys get their chance and ownership can still call the shots one way or another. There are numerous coaches that it wouldn't be a hard sell to take an interim role who could likely get a better game plan than DJ.

In terms of immediate lineup moves, that ship is quickly sailing away. Folks worrying about knee jerk reactions, should remain calm. Those should have come a month ago. While there is something to be said about puck luck, it's not something to hang your hat on to stay status quo. There are holes in the defence and forward depth in the bottom 6.

For a team that had so much positivity heading into the season, it really sucks to see them dead last. A debate could be had if this was a playoff contending team but I don't think you'd find many people say this was a lottery pick calibre team. Guys like DJ Smith and Pierre Dorion should be shaking in their boots and certainly not giving accolades for icing a last place team.

Teams that are in the playoffs on Thanksgiving Day in the East 8/8 made the playoffs last year. Teams in the West 5/8. That says it all.

What should happen is absolutely nothing. Many have posted that new owners will want to pick their own GM and let him pick his head coach and support staff.

Significant trades at this point would be overly expensive and not serve much purpose other than worsening your lottery odds. If they could find someone to take DeBrincat for a good pick in 2023 that would be good but I doubt any GM in the league would be interested and they certainly won't be at the deadline.

Take a pill and chill. This is a year that will see the young guys get some valuable experience.

Soon Chabot will be back and so they'll have 3 of their top 4 D spots in place with Zub and Sanderson. Find out about Thomson and JBD. Take the pressure off the players and let them grow. I don't care how much pressure Dorion and Smith are feeling.

Giving 9 million to DeBrincat would be completely ridiculous. Sign Zub and Pinto for term and let's not forget about Sanderson coming soon. I'd rather give them money and have some to pay another good D they might be able to land in the off season. Hamonic and Holden will need to be replaced along with some bottom six stuff and don't go bargain basement. Get guys that can actually play.

Try and move Joseph for something at the deadline. Was listening to the latest Brent Wallace and Jason York podcast and I think it was Wallace or their guest that actually said they should try and get a first round pick for DeBrincat. Amazing! All the summer of Pierre guys really don't want to let go of their dreams. I doubt they'll be able to get a third rounder for him.
- Whatisavailable

One of your best posts!

DeBrincat will put up good numbers before the season is over. Better to keep and play him. Even into next year, if necessary. His value will rebound when his shooting percentage begins to move back up.

I have been entirely agnostic on the removal of Smith. But, as the Sens fall further behind, I wonder if we should not stick with this winning hand as it relates to the Bedard sweeps.

Teams that change coaches usually get a little bit of a short term winning pop. Perhaps you are right, maybe we want to stick with a target of a top 3 draft pick rather than move up in the standings.

I've been careful not to post too emotional posts on the comments over the last few results. Kevin has done a good job with this post. Baring miracle run (we have seen one before) the season is essentially a lost cause and those who feared Dorion would move this years 1st rounder for anything, shouldn't fear anymore. As the title suggested, Bedard might be the best lineup goal to aim for.

People should not get too focused on the new ownership coming in to prevent moves. You can fire DJ and make any individual in the world an interim coach. The guy hired just has to agree to that title. For some guys, it would be a hard sell. For a guy like Tochet or Julien, just looking to get back in the league? Not a hard sell. For a guy like Mann, just looking to get his name in the NHL? Not a hard sell. The guys get their chance and ownership can still call the shots one way or another. There are numerous coaches that it wouldn't be a hard sell to take an interim role who could likely get a better game plan than DJ.

In terms of immediate lineup moves, that ship is quickly sailing away. Folks worrying about knee jerk reactions, should remain calm. Those should have come a month ago. While there is something to be said about puck luck, it's not something to hang your hat on to stay status quo. There are holes in the defence and forward depth in the bottom 6.

For a team that had so much positivity heading into the season, it really sucks to see them dead last. A debate could be had if this was a playoff contending team but I don't think you'd find many people say this was a lottery pick calibre team. Guys like DJ Smith and Pierre Dorion should be shaking in their boots and certainly not giving accolades for icing a last place team.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

The off season priority was clearly stated in the need to add a top 4 Dman. It did not happen. Having Chabot out for a few games is a pretty severe lesson for those who want it to be about something else.

I love this team and believe it is very close to being a serious contender. So, it is important to me that they do not do anything rash. Will the Sens go into this summer holding a top 3 draft pick? Is it possible for them to add another first round pick or two over the balance of this season?

Full retard for Bedard! 😂

The Sens are one of the smallest teams in the league. Height/weight. Its part of the problem .
They have 0 defensive awareness. Its amazing to watch.
The cheating for offense has been the same problem for years.

The real problem is Dorion . Its surprising how long this guy has lasted. He will never be a gm again.
Smith is past due to go. Who cares what the players think, this is suppose to be a serious business. Who cares what dorion said, time to pivot now,admit failure. Dorion .
Bring in the most defensive minded coach available.

It is pretty crazy that the 4 game win streak everyone was jacked about at the start of the season is the majority of the wins so far almost 1/5 of the way through the season..

The Sens are one of the smallest teams in the league. Height/weight. Its part of the problem .
They have 0 defensive awareness. Its amazing to watch.
The cheating for offense has been the same problem for years.

The real problem is Dorion . Its surprising how long this guy has lasted. He will never be a gm again.
Smith is past due to go. Who cares what the players think, this is suppose to be a serious business. Who cares what dorion said, time to pivot now,admit failure. Dorion .
Bring in the most defensive minded coach available.
- spazzbot

I agree on the size factor.

My great fear is the Sens are going make a few cosmetic changes, go on a winning streak and take themselves out of the lottery shuffle.

John of the Cross writing about the the dark night of the soul cautions about the unreasonable expectations of false hope. Sometimes the overwhelming darkness of despair can cause even a small light of false hope to appear to burn brightly.

I have long believed that the darkness of our despair is driven almost exclusively by the unstable nature of our ownership. Only 5 days to December 1st. At that time, the nature of our discussion should become more positive. Who do we want as a new ownership group? What kind of a GM will they bring in. What kind of coaches might be favoured by a new GM?

Too soon?

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...ankings-november-edition/

Bedard is the obvious name, but Fantilli is intruiging as well.

Too soon?

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...ankings-november-edition/

Bedard is the obvious name, but Fantilli is intruiging as well.
- david22

No. Not too soon. Need to get through the rest of the season. Everything starts with great ownership.

Ottawa is a phenomenal hockey market. Fans have been abused for a very long time. If everything works out over the next few months we will have lots to cheer about in the future.

Battle of the titans is on against the Ducks! It is nice to see with all the blue line injuries that NZ remains in Belleville (where he has zero points and is already a minus player) with Thomson getting the call up. The back end lineup today is the lineup I had hoped to see at the beginning of the season:
Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Thomson

Only took DJ 20 games to give it a try.

Battle of the titans is on against the Ducks! It is nice to see with all the blue line injuries that NZ remains in Belleville (where he has zero points and is already a minus player) with Thomson getting the call up. The back end lineup today is the lineup I had hoped to see at the beginning of the season:
Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Thomson

Only took DJ 20 games to give it a try.
- Bartacus

There is exactly where the problem lies with your coach. So troubling it took him 20 games

Yes sir, it's 4-0 near the end of the 2nd period. There's just no question that the Senators are definitely better than the 32nd ranked team in the NHL... when they start their backup goaltender. High octane stuff, folks.

That should buy DJ another dozen games or so.

Why is Gambrell playing over Kastelic
4th line is supposed to be a checking line which Watson and Kastelic does well
Can we please remove DJ’s other pet Kelly and give Sokolov a shot
A 4th line of Sokolov Kastelic Watson would be sweet lol

if ott can play the duck another 40 times this season they will make the playoffs!!!!

Yes sir, it's 4-0 near the end of the 2nd period. There's just no question that the Senators are definitely better than the 32nd ranked team in the NHL... when they start their backup goaltender. High octane stuff, folks.

That should buy DJ another dozen games or so.
- khawk

I was thinking the same thing, what a huge downgrade with Stolart in goal over Gibson. 8th back up goalie this team has faced this season. Lassi Thomson gets 9 minutes of icetime, go figure. This coach was the same with JBD in his last few games before he got hurt too, playing him 10-12 min.

Why is Gambrell playing over Kastelic
4th line is supposed to be a checking line which Watson and Kastelic does well
Can we please remove DJ’s other pet Kelly and give Sokolov a shot
A 4th line of Sokolov Kastelic Watson would be sweet lol
- sens4life1971

Parker Kelly brings nothing to the table. Kastelic is so strong in the faceoff circle too, heck he had him taking draws against the other teams top line a lot this year. If you bring up Sokolov, who by all accounts is playing very well down in Belleville, you need to play him on the 3rd line, not the checking line. But move down Brassard to give Sokolov a look. But we all know DJ doesn't like playing the youth that get called up from Belleville. Boucher was the same too. Dorion hires coaches who are terrible that way.

if ott can play the duck another 40 times this season they will make the playoffs!!!!
- Mithos

Anaheim probably plays a whole better with Gibson in goal.

if ott can play the duck another 40 times this season they will make the playoffs!!!!
- Mithos

DJ plays Chabot 25 min. in his first game back. This coach cant help himself, Chabot will be burnt out by game 50.

What is up with the "Cat"? He obviously had inflated #'s playing with Kane...But he is definitely his own player. At the time of the trade everyone(myself included) thought that the Sen's fleeced the Hawks. But it is shaping up to be a lot closer of an even trade then it was at the time it was done.
I was so rooting for the Sen's this year. I so wanted them to be good enough to put pressure on the Leafs. Oh Well The Leafs take care of that themselves!