Page 44 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 132

44 Issue #132 January 2024 www.sportsenergynews.com

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Energy N e w s presents Sports Panel
Energy
Stories And More About The People In Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry
Round and round the NHL coaching carousel goes. The latest to get kicked off
is Stanley Cup winning coach Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues! Who will be
next to leave the merry-go-round world of the NHL?
Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach -A career as an NHL coach is not a sustainable long term career choice; the position comes with an evolving
door clause. Prior to sitting down at my computer to provide a response to this month’s panel question, Ottawa Senators head coach DJ Smith was
already in the hot seat as a result of the teams’ lacklustre performance and discouraged hometown fans booing players off the ice. General Manager
Steve Staios was quick to send DJ out through the revolving door and greeting Jacques Martin on the way in, LOL!
Here is a list of folks who were bucked off the coaching carousel in 2021 alone: Claude Julien, fired in February 2021, Ralph Krueger in March, John
Tortorella, Rick Tocchet and David Quinn fired in May, Jeremy Colliton in November, Joel Quenneville in October, Travis Green, Alain Vignault, and
Paul Maurice in December. Needless to say, it’s a busy doorway. Who will be next to leave the merry-go-round world of the NHL?
Wow! Predicting who might be next coach bounced out is like picking a lucky number on a roulette wheel, but if I was to throw a name out there just
based on this seasons current standings, I’d have to choose San Jose Sharks - 9 W 24 L - head coach David Quinn; but that’s just my opinion .

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - If the Ottawa Senators can’t find enough consistency to string a few wins together very soon, we may not have
to wait long for the next NHL Head Coach to be fired. The Senators were expected to at least push for a wildcard playoff spot this season, but so far,
they have fallen far short of that. New owner Micheal Andlauer didn’t get the keys to the Canadian Tire Center until just before the season started
and he has been forced to deal with some issues beyond his control. The team is up against the salary cap, mostly due to retained salary and player
buyouts from the previous regime.
Center Shane Pinto was suspended for forty-one games due to a gambling issue, and since the beginning of the season the Sens have been plagued
with multiple injuries. Ownership has been exercising patience in evaluating the team and appears to cbe ontent this season, but at some point, bold
decisions will need to be made. Coach DJ Smith may not be totally to blame, but the bottom line is the Senators are losing far more games than they
should be, the fan base is getting upset and changes are inevitable.
Unless the Senators can find a way to turn things around soon, DJ Smith will be gone.

Peter Collins - Sports Enthusiast - Just as I finished writing this article the news on DJ Smith’s firing was announced, so I’ll leave it as it is. As I write
this, the Sens are on a four-game losing streak, and their season is rapidly slipping away. So, chances are by the time you read this in January, coach DJ
Smith will have joined the NHL’s dearly departed list. This list is up to three coaching firings already, barely a quarter of the way through the season.
This is DJ’s fifth year coaching the Senators and they’ve yet to get a taste of playoff action under his guidance. Yes, they are a young team, loaded with
enormous potential, but they’ve also recently added veterans like Claude Giroux, Jakob Chychrun, and Vladimir Tarasenko to the mix. Their addition
has resulted in the same poor results. Some say that goaltending is the problem, and with a combined save percentage of under 90% there’s no doubt
that this is a factor. Nothing will kill a coaching career faster than shoddy goaltending. Cases in point, all three coaches fired this year in the NHL had
teams with save percentages in the bottom half of the league.
The last piece of news that forecasts DJ being let go is the hiring of Jacques Martin. Nothing says you are on your way out like signing an ex-coach to
help you out. Also working against DJ is the fact that there’s a new owner in town, and reports are that Michael Andlauer is a self-made person. His
experience lies in transportation, where he became a billionaire by becoming a major player in the logistics industry. Logistics is a fast-paced industry,
where quick decision making is crucial to a business’s success. So, the likelihood for Andlauer making a change before Christmas is a done deal.

“People Pulling Together for you”

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