Smith is not going anywhere in the short term if Ottawa stays above .500.

The players appear to love and respect him and in today's NHL almost everything (other than winning) is secondary to having the players' confidence.
- spatso

I was told if Ottawa craps the bed early in the season on the 5 game homestand, that PD might pull the trigger quickly.....many fans don't realize it but the 5 game homestand in October is their longest homestand of the season! Crazy!

I was told if Ottawa craps the bed early in the season on the 5 game homestand, that PD might pull the trigger quickly.....many fans don't realize it but the 5 game homestand in October is their longest homestand of the season! Crazy!
- Kevin Francis

im order for OTT to be better i hope they crap the bed hard, DJ needs to go asap

Geez guys no need to panic on Smith, it's only 2 exhibition games.
Let's see what he can do with more talent over a longer period of time.
The problem might not be his system but the defensive players he has to work with

Geez guys no need to panic on Smith, it's only 2 exhibition games.
Let's see what he can do with more talent over a longer period of time.
The problem might not be his system but the defensive players he has to work with
- Rang

The team has been under achieving since DJ Smith arrived. DJ is the problem.

As DCZ28 stated, upgrading the coaching is more important that adding the top 4D.

im order for OTT to be better i hope they crap the bed hard, DJ needs to go asap
- Mithos

Hard to argue with that when nothing has changed with defensive structure in 3 years under him!

The team has been under achieving since DJ Smith arrived. DJ is the problem.

As DCZ28 stated, upgrading the coaching is more important that adding the top 4D.
- SensFan25

More and more fans are stating this.....definitely has legs to it!

Geez guys no need to panic on Smith, it's only 2 exhibition games.
Let's see what he can do with more talent over a longer period of time.
The problem might not be his system but the defensive players he has to work with
- Rang

Oh 3 years of his system has a lot to do with it....sure talent helps....but how else do you explain Gudbranson going from pylon here to top 4 in Calgary to getting a 4 year deal in CLB?! No way he gets that 4 year deal in CLB if he doesn't get a year under Suter! A real HC!

I never thought Dorion was the problem when so many folks wanted him replaced. In fact, given the insanity of the ownership he had to work with I thought Dorion did a decent job in protecting the franchise.

My feelings on the Smith situation is somewhat similar. He simply did not have the horses that were able to win. Situation is different now and I am hoping that the summer of Pierre turns into DJ's winter.

Geez guys no need to panic on Smith, it's only 2 exhibition games.
Let's see what he can do with more talent over a longer period of time.
The problem might not be his system but the defensive players he has to work with
- Rang

This isn't just about 2 pre-season games...more about continuing of what he has done over the past few years. A good coach will plan his systems to get the most out of what he has on the roster not put systems in place that rely on having players he doesn't have and expect them to execute it properly. A good coach will also put his players in positions where they can succeed and get the most out of them.

DJ Smith has consistently overused some players and buried others and that has cost the Sens many games, especially early in the seasons. By doing these things he makes the fan base hate some players to the point where fans just want them gone. This makes the overused players look worst than they are and harder to trade away.

Like i said before, i have seen this song and dance (with Blashill) with the Wings and it doesn't end well. He had DeKeyser playing top pair with Seider pretty much all season and best DeKeyser could do for this season is a PTO. He had Leddy playing with Hronek and form one of the worst defensive pairing he could possibly have and kept them together for the season with both almost being -30 by the time they traded Leddy to the Blues at the deadline. With his usage of the players and systems, he basically made a lot of players untradeable or devalued them in the eyes of other teams. Yzerman saw that and to hopefully take a step forward, Blashill had to go. I was expecting the Sens to do the same but for some reason, Dorion chose to give Smith more time. If the Sens start off bad and Dorion doesn't act fast enough to replace him or can't get the right coach because he waited and he has less choices now than he would have had in the off-season, the Sens could find themselves in a hole again that could be very hard to get out of considering that a lot of the bottom teams in the East have improved (on paper) over what they had last season.

This isn't just about 2 pre-season games...more about continuing of what he has done over the past few years. A good coach will plan his systems to get the most out of what he has on the roster not put systems in place that rely on having players he doesn't have and expect them to execute it properly. A good coach will also put his players in positions where they can succeed and get the most out of them.

DJ Smith has consistently overused some players and buried others and that has cost the Sens many games, especially early in the seasons. By doing these things he makes the fan base hate some players to the point where fans just want them gone. This makes the overused players look worst than they are and harder to trade away.

Like i said before, i have seen this song and dance (with Blashill) with the Wings and it doesn't end well. He had DeKeyser playing top pair with Seider pretty much all season and best DeKeyser could do for this season is a PTO. He had Leddy playing with Hronek and form one of the worst defensive pairing he could possibly have and kept them together for the season with both almost being -30 by the time they traded Leddy to the Blues at the deadline. With his usage of the players and systems, he basically made a lot of players untradeable or devalued them in the eyes of other teams. Yzerman saw that and to hopefully take a step forward, Blashill had to go. I was expecting the Sens to do the same but for some reason, Dorion chose to give Smith more time. If the Sens start off bad and Dorion doesn't act fast enough to replace him or can't get the right coach because he waited and he has less choices now than he would have had in the off-season, the Sens could find themselves in a hole again that could be very hard to get out of considering that a lot of the bottom teams in the East have improved (on paper) over what they had last season.
- dcz28

OK I get it, you are closer to the Ottawa scene than I am and see more games.
My impressions of them when playing the Leafs was the team played hard, but maybe they were more "up" against the Leafs than other teams.

Oh 3 years of his system has a lot to do with it....sure talent helps....but how else do you explain Gudbranson going from pylon here to top 4 in Calgary to getting a 4 year deal in CLB?! No way he gets that 4 year deal in CLB if he doesn't get a year under Suter! A real HC!
- Kevin Francis

Not sure that's a great example. CGY had a deep blue line, Sutter has won Stanley Cups by emphasizing a team-defense system, and they were a first place-quality roster. Plus, that deal with CBJ is already widely regarded as one of the worst contracts of the summer.

OK I get it, you are closer to the Ottawa scene than I am and see more games.
My impressions of them when playing the Leafs was the team played hard, but maybe they were more "up" against the Leafs than other teams.
- Rang

sens win and play well inspite of DJ not because of him.

Not sure that's a great example. CGY had a deep blue line, Sutter has won Stanley Cups by emphasizing a team-defense system, and they were a first place-quality roster. Plus, that deal with CBJ is already widely regarded as one of the worst contracts of the summer.
- khawk

Suter did the opposite of DJ. He put Erik in a place to succeed by emphasizing his strengths not putting him in a position to fail, but that's what DJ has done with anyone on the blue line for 3 years now. It will never change!

sens win and play well inspite of DJ not because of him.
- Mithos

exactly, can you imagine if DJ actually put his players in a position to succeed by utilizing their strengths?

exactly, can you imagine if DJ actually put his players in a position to succeed by utilizing their strengths?
- Kevin Francis

they say OTT needs a top 4 D because smith played favorite and played brown and zeitsev over Thompson, JBD and Branny when all 3 are better than those 2, now in a critical year they have no idea what those 3 will be in the NHL because they did not play them last year this it may end up costing OTT prime assets to get a Chychrun type player or him....

Pundits should be talking about what playoff seed OTT will end in not whether they can even play meaningful games in march or the need to get top 4 D, both Dorion and Smith (frank)ed up royally last season

Roster update: The #Sens have released two players from the team's training camp roster; defenceman Tomas Hamara and forward Carson Latimer. Both players have been assigned to their respective
@CHLHockey
clubs.

they say OTT needs a top 4 D because smith played favorite and played brown and zeitsev over Thompson, JBD and Branny when all 3 are better than those 2, now in a critical year they have no idea what those 3 will be in the NHL because they did not play them last year this it may end up costing OTT prime assets to get a Chychrun type player or him....

Pundits should be talking about what playoff seed OTT will end in not whether they can even play meaningful games in march or the need to get top 4 D, both Dorion and Smith (frank)ed up royally last season
- Mithos

Many would agree with you! Again, PD for 3 years in a row screwed up asset management, traded away pics he didn't need too, made a lot of horrible and UFA signings, before he did everything this summer.....correctly on cleaning up his mistakes and getting firepower.....but keeping goals out still hasn't been addressed!

Many would agree with you! Again, PD for 3 years in a row screwed up asset management, traded away pics he didn't need too, made a lot of horrible and UFA signings, before he did everything this summer.....correctly on cleaning up his mistakes and getting firepower.....but keeping goals out still hasn't been addressed!
- Kevin Francis

If you'd told me at last year's trade deadline that within 6 months of Melnyk's death they would have traded for DeBrincat, signed Giroux as one of the biggest UFA of the off-season, signed Norris to a max-term deal without any drama, proactively re-signed Stutzle to a max-term deal, hired Phillips & Neil back into the organization, made amends with Alfredsson in support of his HHOF nomination, signed a new stadium deal with the city, gone on a major season ticket upswing, and become one of the biggest news stories of the NHL off-season, I'm not sure I would have believed you. The sheer number of ways that Melnyk appears to have been negatively impacting the organization is making me re-think literally every major team decision from the past 3 years with a far more sympathetic angle to the people involved.

The biggest error Dorion has made since the summer started was maybe not concealing his hand more effectively. When other GM's know you're the motivated party, you're in for a hard negotiation... especially when you have so many valuable young assets in your system. The defence needs to be improved, but not at any cost... and given the rumored asking price for guys like Chychrun you could make a very strong argument that Dorion's best move so far has been to not give in to that flagrant blackmail on the part of ARI. If that results in having to settle for someone like Bear instead, then so be it. Moving on from Zaitsev will have value enough, let alone what Bear could add to the lineup at RHD.

Agreed with Khawk on exercising patience with a D acquisition.

Here is a nice article by Yost on Sanderson:

https://www.tsn.ca/travis...nators-blueline-1.1853880

I think the takeaway from the article is that the kid will not be well insulated with the current D roster and that rushing Sanderson would be a mistake. Give him the opportunities he needs but do not peg him as a Top D just yet. Management / coaching must let him grow into the roll if he isn't ready.

Agreed with Khawk on exercising patience with a D acquisition.

Here is a nice article by Yost on Sanderson:

https://www.tsn.ca/travis...nators-blueline-1.1853880

I think the takeaway from the article is that the kid will not be well insulated with the current D roster and that rushing Sanderson would be a mistake. Give him the opportunities he needs but do not peg him as a Top D just yet. Management / coaching must let him grow into the roll if he isn't ready.
- HoweHatrick

Playing Sanderson with Hamonic isn't bad insulation for an NHL rookie D-man, provided that the deployment is reasonable. If they're already jumping to the future state where Sanderson is playing a shut-down role each night against the other team's best players, then they're going to have a problem. This isn't to say that I don't think that Sanderson can play a top-4 role this season... I actually think he can. But it won't be the kind of role where he absorbs the toughest assignments, and liberates Chabot to put up 80pts. Chabot/Zub will have to not only play a lot, but play a lot against the best players in the NHL. A second pairing of Sanderson with Bear/Hamonic should be able to handle at least 18-20min/GP in most game situations, and allow them to experiment with the other D-men as needed on the 3rd pairing. But they need to ensure that Sanderson gets a range of different game exposures, in order to support his overall development.

the lunch time gang on 1200 were discussing the D and they just seem to avoid Zaitsev altogether. So I texted in and said "stop avoiding the Zaitsev issue"....so then they proceed to mention that he "may be around" and "may be on the opening day roster". To which I then texted - "I'll bet you a large Gabrielle's pizza he IS on the opening day roster, double or nothing he's in the starting line-up".

the lunch time gang on 1200 were discussing the D and they just seem to avoid Zaitsev altogether. So I texted in and said "stop avoiding the Zaitsev issue"....so then they proceed to mention that he "may be around" and "may be on the opening day roster". To which I then texted - "I'll bet you a large Gabrielle's pizza he IS on the opening day roster, double or nothing he's in the starting line-up".
- Octavarium

If they do nothing, they currently have a top-4 built around Chabot, Zub, Sanderson, and Hamonic. That leaves Brannstrom, Holden, and Zaitsev as the only other 1-way D-men on the roster. So long as he's deployed as a #6/7 D-man, doesn't see more than 15-17min/GP, and they don't use him beyond maybe the #2PK unit, then it's not really that big a deal. Brannstrom is still trying to establish himself, Holden is 35yo and shouldn't be playing every game, and Zaitsev is at least a healthy body who can help in case of injuries or back-to-back games. The player most impacted would probably be Thomson, who may be denied a chance at starting the year in the NHL. But he'll be the first call-up, and in fairness no combination of those players solves the larger and immediate problem of a top-4D. So it's really a dual issue they're facing in terms of blueline structure.

In terms of an additional 'off-the-radar' D-man possibility, is there any chance that the Chychrun trade could be expanded to be a 3-team trade? The most likely scenario I was thinking of would be Minnesota, with Dumba being the other major piece involved. The reason I mention this is that the Wild have not gotten very far with offering Dumba an extension, despite his impending UFA status, and they might be very interested in a cost-controlled top-4 D with some term attached who can handle Dumba's minutes right away. Plus, if ARI is fixated on a young C being involved (they've been rumored to be pushing for one of Pinto/Greig), they might be open to having Jost included, with a young D going to the Wild from the Senators to compensate.

Something along the lines of...
TO MIN - Bernard-Docker, Chychrun
TO OTT - Dumba, Cond. 2nd-2023 (MIN) (if Dumba doesn't sign an extension)
TO ARI - Jost, Zaitsev, 1st-2023 (OTT), 1st-2024 (MIN) (lottery-protected)

In terms of an additional 'off-the-radar' D-man possibility, is there any chance that the Chychrun trade could be expanded to be a 3-team trade? The most likely scenario I was thinking of would be Minnesota, with Dumba being the other major piece involved. The reason I mention this is that the Wild have not gotten very far with offering Dumba an extension, despite his impending UFA status, and they might be very interested in a cost-controlled top-4 D with some term attached who can handle Dumba's minutes right away. Plus, if ARI is fixated on a young C being involved (they've been rumored to be pushing for one of Pinto/Greig), they might be open to having Jost included, with a young D going to the Wild from the Senators to compensate.

Something along the lines of...
TO MIN - Bernard-Docker, Chychrun
TO OTT - Dumba, Cond. 2nd-2023 (MIN) (if Dumba doesn't sign an extension)
TO ARI - Jost, Zaitsev, 1st-2023 (OTT), 1st-2024 (MIN) (lottery-protected)
- khawk

big fat no on bumba, rather have zeitsev in crutches playing than bumba in OTT

big fat no on bumba, rather have zeitsev in crutches playing than bumba in OTT
- Mithos

Top pairing guy on a playoff team... you're right, Zaitsev on crutches is much better.