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Ottawa Senators: Top 3 burning questions for 2019 season

By Joshua Delorme

OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 07: General view of the Canadian Tire Centre before the NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 7, 2017 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 07: General view of the Canadian Tire Centre before the NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 7, 2017 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Question #1: Is DJ Smith the right man to lead the young Ottawa Senators onto the right path?

DJ Smith was hired to be the next Head Coach for the Ottawa Senators on May 23, 2019, after having spent four seasons as an assistant coach on Mike Babcock’s staff in Toronto. The Senators were dead last in goals against last season, the only team to allow more than 300 goals against. That’s a lot of goals against. The team averaged 3.68 goals against last season. Priority number one for the new Head Coach was always going to be finding a way to reduce the goals against.

Ottawa Senators
TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 20: Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith looks on against the Florida Panthers during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on December 20, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

So in comes DJ Smith. The former Leafs assistant coach was in charge of the defence in Toronto (yes that same defence that Sens owner Eugene Melnyk said Toronto forgot about). I saw a lot of fans point out that the Senators hired a coach that oversaw a pretty bad defence in Toronto to be the bench boss, but to be fair to DJ Smith we need to point out and remember that the Maple Leafs are Mike Babcock’s team and they play the way he wants them to play. Let’s be honest, they also don’t/didn’t have a defensive corps that was at the top of the League!

Fans also questioned this hiring because many people thought this was simply the cheaper option of those available out there. DJ Smith has never been a Head Coach in the League so he was not in any position to command the type of salary that more experienced NHL Head Coaches are getting these days. So he might, in fact, be the cheapest Head Coach the team interviewed. I took a quick look at the Coaches page on CapFriendly which details the salaries of some NHL Head Coaches. Of the coaches with salaries that are public knowledge, only three make less than two million per season: Travis Green, Jim Montgomery, and Rick Tocchet. Two of those three are first time NHL bench bosses, so their lower salaries kind of make sense and Tocchet was a failed first-time bench boss with this being his second shot so his lower salary also makes sense.

Related Story. DJ Smith hired as new bench boss. light

I can’t argue with some people who believe that the Senators always take the cheaper option when available (team history would probably serve as the best argument for that statement), but judging the DJ Smith hire simply because he might have been the least expensive option is not fair to the coach. First time NHL Head Coaches do not all fail (contrary to experience here in Ottawa), and DJ Smith might turn out to be a very good coach for the team, which brings me back to my original question for this season.

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It should not take very long for fans of this team to figure out what kind of hockey Smith is going to have his team play. If I look specifically on the defensive aspect of the game, the group back there might not be the most experienced but that does not mean they cannot be structured properly. If Smith is able to come in this season and establish a defensive zone coverage scheme that will help the younger defensemen, that should become apparent regardless of what the scoreboard says at the end of the night. Fans will be able to see if the team is playing structured defence or if it isn’t.

If DJ Smith is able to come in this season and instill a fun and competitive environment for the young players to grow and develop in then I think most people could deem the first season a success. The bottom line of Smith’s job for the foreseeable future is to develop the team’s youth while fostering a positive environment for the players to come to the rink every day, regardless of the number of losses (and there will be a lot of losses).

What do you guys think of the DJ Smith hiring? Do you have high hopes for him as a coach? Do you think he has what it takes to be a successful NHL Head Coach? Let us know in the comments below!

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