Why does Smith get most of the blame in Ottawa? I understand he's a part of it. Seems like a convenient scapegoat. Like Holl was in Toronto.

It's as if Smith is preventing Ottawa from winning a Cup?

1. Slow start to the season each year

2. Losing record

3. Not a good fit as a head coach for some players on the team (i.e. Brannstrom, Kubalik, etc)

4. Not the most effective communicator

5. Still employs a "dump and chase" game-plan for getting the puck into the offensive zone, even though most players on the team skip the "chasing" part of it.

Leafs can join the club they’ll likely make the playoffs but god our head coach sucks lol

The reason is because the Sens legitimately have a very good roster on paper but it always falls flat on the ice. Coaching is the most likely reason for that.

Injuries too, but there's nothing you can do about that.

DJ is a great rebuild coach. He came in at a time when the vibes in the organization were absolutely awful. They were in the start of an ugly rebuild with a fractured locker room. He's a massive reason this current group is so tight knit. He kept vibes really high for the bad years, and he was a great coach for letting young talent cut their teeth in the NHL, even if things weren't working. Not a lot of coaches would have stuck through with Timmy down the middle, when it was SO bad to start, but he did, because Tim's skill set would ultimately serve him better down the middle.

That said, Ottawa's ready to take the next step, and they simply don't play the right way under DJ. Every year it's the same. Slow starts to the season, a complete lack of team structure leading to disjointed transitions and chaos in the D Zone, and an inability to put a full 60 minute complete effort most nights. The team needs results, and he's had 5 years with this group. These glaring flaws holding the team back are either DJ Smith hockey working as intended, or even after 5 years he still hasn't got his message through to the players. All the signs this season point to an immature team that needs a firmer hand on the wheel.

Dump and chase hockey , never have possession. Defensive breakdowns, players are lost on the ice. Plays scrubs

Who do you think would be an ideal replacement for head coach?

They need a guy who can give this team structure and discipline. Team has neither, and it effects them all across the ice. Careless passes, lost D-Zone coverages, lazy penalties. Of available options, I really like the newest option, Dean Evason. I liked how Minny played the last couple years. Other options like Woodcroft, Julien, Roy could all be guys too. I think my ideal right now (it changes) would be a bench with Evason as head coach, and Claude Julien as an assistant with Ben Sexton (who the organization is clearly grooming for the job one day). Also lowkey, if Cheryl Pounder wanted to, I think she could be a great addition to the bench. Every time I watch her on the broadcast, she clearly sees exactly what is wrong with the way they play.

Maybe he said, ‘dump and change’

Smith has a blue collar coaching approach the Sens don’t have enough blue collar players for his strategy to be successful.

Jay McKee will be part of the next coaching regime.

That and probably a new goaltender

Hilariously, Korpi and Forsberg have been good/decent enough and far from the actual issues of having zero structure in the D zone. They are asked to make 40-45 saves a night, 46 of which are high danger scoring chances. Both goalies have a high GSAA. However, you are playing against the odds when you are consistently being put in awful situations and always asked to make at least 1 ten bell save a shift.

I think why it's coming at the coach now is that there's no apparent issue with the players' effort, commitment or skill level.

Their decision making sucks as a team. They're often working hard, but creating openings for the other team. Taking risks without a payoff. The outside-looking-in conclusions are that one of the following is true:

1. DJ Smith coaching staff has a good tactical system for what the players should be doing in various situations, but is unable to effectively communicate / teach tactical decision making
2. DJ Smith coaching staff does not have a good tactical system
3. The players all have horrible hockey sense. Including players that did not have that reputation on other teams who then come to Ottawa

The last point is actually such a great one. How many players have come to Ottawa, sucked ass, and then refound their game as soon as they left. The number is WAY higher than the number of times the opposite happens.

It's not about winning the Cup but you have to start taking that road to eventually win. The roster is a LOT LOT better than what he took over, but the team overall is still the same, individual talent in games they have no business winning but DJ teams can't play 2-way hockey to save their lives. There's no structure, poor hockey systems, no puck support, players collapse and hope for the best, team is not keeping the puck because if they lose it, it's an automatic mess so they are being asked to dump it.


Korpisalo has absolutely been lights out, probably one of the best goalies in the NHL so far

The fact that he has a 0.902 SV% explains a lot