Brady Tkachuk fires back at fans calling for DJ Smith to be fired.
Tkachuk is not having it.
The Ottawa Senators suffered an ugly loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon, one that included an ugly shorthanded goal, calls from the fans for the coach to be fired, and a chorus of boos as the hometown Senators left the ice.
Not only were there chants of "Fire DJ" from the Senators faithful on Saturday afternoon but the phrase actually briefly trended on social media as well with many, many, fans colorfully calling for the head coach's head to roll.
While the frustration from fans can certainly be understood, especially after the Senators were very active during the offseason, it would appear that the players may not feel the same way about their head coach. Following the conclusion of the loss to the Devils, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk faced the media and made it clear that he felt the bulk of the blame should fall on the shoulders of the players in the Senators locker room.
“It’s a Saturday afternoon and close to a sellout," said Tkachuk following the game. "It’s on us for not getting ready. It’s on me for not helping to get the group ready. So I’ll take responsibility for that one.”
Tkachuk also explicitly came to the defense of Smith stating that he was "sick and tired" of the negativity he was seeing around the head coach on social media.
“There’s nobody to blame but ourselves as players," added Tkachuk. "It’s my job to get everybody ready….it’s not one person. It’s a group in here that needs to figure it out.”
