Good ol’ Pierre Dorion, where do I even begin?
Drafting Tim Stutzle third overall will be your highlight of your career as a GM but right now I think you should be worried that your time is coming to end.
Let’s start off by hiring DJ Smith as the Sens Head Coach. I must say I didn’t love this move back in 2019 when Pierre first hired him. Bringing in an inexperienced guy to coach such a young team was a risky proposition at best and clearly it’s showing with the Sens record the past 2 years. Why Pierre Why? Was it a money issue? Was it Melnyk in your ear saying go with the cheaper option? Why not bring in someone who has more experience and knowledge to coach the youngsters?
Media wise, I don’t know if it’s me but everytime Dorion tries to say something positive he simultaneously manages to put his foot in his mouth. Starting with the shortened training camp mentioning that Anisimov was the most impressive to watch and that he looked great. Fast forward to now he has been scratched for multiple games and was put on waivers on February 10th. Was Pierre trying to get his trade value up or something? Or was he being honest, either way this wasn’t a great look for your evaluation skills.
On a Tim Stutzle note (or as fans know him by now, Jimmy), Dorion praises him to the press and then says he needs to start dumping the puck in more and stop “deking” around 3-4 guys. PIERRE! You can’t praise a young player out of one side of your mouth and try to stifle his offensive creativity out the other! Last time I checked, Tim knows how to play hockey and you don’t, you’re just the GM. He’s still young and will learn lots on the fly in the next few years as he acclimates to the pace of play and packs on some more weight and muscle. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s going to be a great player in the future. But speaking negatively about him to the press is the quickest way to drive players away. Just an idea Peirre from your pal Alicia, in the future, keep your mouth shut and just be a GM. Thanks!
We can’t forget about Dorion’s acquisition of multiple vets that was supposed to make this team more productive, that’s another BIG L. I’m just losing confidence in Pierre, maybe have a nice sit down with DJ and mention Formenton and Daccord that need to get their feet wet and start playing instead of being constantly sent down because I will tell you now Playoffs are out of the picture.
Already we find ourselves in year 3 of a rebuild and it’s not looking positive. I promised myself to be patient and give them time, but I’m not liking the results. Fun fact, we have young talent coming up (with most of our prospects playing in North Dakota and Bellville). Now that Melnyk (cue barf face) claims he will spend close to the cap from year 2021-2025 to make a run at the playoffs, I expect results, but I also want to see improvement. Myself and Sens Nation currently are just not seeing it. Pierre let me speak to you directly, it’s killing me and Sens Nation to watch this team in shambles. I didn’t expect record setting results this year, but this is horrendous to watch a struggling team with no confidence whatsoever! You need to work your magic (if you have any left). If nothing changes I think there will be some serious decisions to be made in the offseason, not only with players but with management as well. Dorion’s contract does end following the 2021-2022 season after all.
Tik Tok, Tik Tok, Dorion, you’re on the clock.
-Alicia Scodeller
Twitter: @aliciascodeller