Senators GM Pierre Dorion hasn't made a decision yet on the future of his head coach D.J. Smith and with new ownership on the way, he's not even certain about his own status.
As the Ottawa Senators close up shop for another year, GM Pierre Dorion held his season-ending state of the union address Monday, fielding media questions about a wide array of team topics. And one of his most intriguing statements was about his head coach D.J Smith and whether he'll be back next season.
"D.J. has a contract," Dorion said. "When it comes to the coaching staff, obviously, it's part of my job to reevaluate everything. What we asked of D.J. the first three years was to develop our young players. He's done that unbelievably. This year, the mission changed, and it became more about winning. And we won more. (It was) the first time we were over .500 in a long time.
"I'm gonna sit down over the next little while and debate everything internally... And at that point in time I'm going to make my recommendation to new ownership."
That's hardly a condemnation of the guy, but it's easily the most neutral Dorion has ever sounded in an evaluation of Smith. Even back in November when another season felt like it was being derailed by another bad start, Dorion spoke of loyalty and his faith in how this team plays under Smith.
Despite missing the playoffs for four straight years, only six active head coaches have been with their current teams longer than Smith and five of the six have won Stanley Cups. To his credit, Smith stood before the media and gave thoughtful answers, like he always does.
"All I can do is do my job until they tell me I'm not doing my job," Smith said. "My job was to come in here four years ago and try to guide a rebuild, which I think we've done well. I think we've done it without jumping the gun, without buying a bunch of free agents. We've allowed the kids to take the steering wheel. That takes longer, but in my opinion, you're going to last longer because the kids do have the wheel."
Smith's fate in Ottawa is now in Dorion's hands, but that's only if Dorion is actually here, since the next owner of this team may wish to clean house. At the moment, Owner X has far bigger things to worry about, solely focused on the bidding process. But it's reasonable to suggest that the longer the ownership process takes, the more likely it is that Dorion returns next season.
Under Dorion, the Senators have missed the playoffs six straight years, a dubious franchise record. To put that stat in perspective, the expansion Senators started with nothing to rebuild – no players at all in 1992 – and still only missed the playoffs four years in a row.
While this rebuild has been long and painful, it's clear to everyone now that better days are coming. And when evaluating Smith and Dorion, one cannot ignore their respective challenges. As coach, Smith was initially dogged by the torn down roster, then it was inconsistent goaltending, mistakes of youth, and more than his share of injuries. As manager, until last year, Dorion has worked under the whims and volatility of a very involved owner Eugene Melnyk,
Those are working conditions that might hinder any hockey person's job performance and delay any rebuild. And no matter what conclusions are drawn, those things should be factored into decisions on both men's futures in Ottawa.