Los Angeles Kings to name D.J. Smith assistant coach

The Los Angeles Kings will name D.J. Smith an assistant coach to interim head coach Jim Hiller, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday afternoon.

Smith, 46, previously served as head coach of the Ottawa Senators before being relieved of his duties earlier this season.

The Kings named Hiller interim head coach late last week after firing previous head coach Todd McLellan, who had guided the team to losses in 14 of their last 17 games dating back to the end of January.

As Friedman noted in his report on Monday, Smith and Hiller previously worked together as assistant coaches on Mike Babcock’s staff with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the late 2010s.

Hearing DJ Smith is joining the LA Kings as the outside assistant GM Rob Blake referenced today. He and Jim Hiller worked together in TOR

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 5, 2024

Smith joined the Senators as head coach ahead of the 2019–20 season. He never led the team to more than 39 wins in a season and was well on his way to a fifth consecutive non-playoff year before being fired in December.

During Smith’s time in Toronto, the Maple Leafs made the playoffs three years in a row before he was hired away by the rebuilding Senators. Smith was responsible for the Maple Leafs’ defense and penalty kill.

In his playing days, Smith was a big, rugged defender who suited up for the Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche in the NHL. He collected a goal and an assist in 45 career games with the two teams.

Smith spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues. He was a strong scorer with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires before turning pro in 1997; after that, he put together multiple productive AHL seasons with the Toronto Marlies and Hershey Bears.

After retiring in the mid-2000s, Smith became an assistant coach with the Spitfires and worked his way up from there. He won the OHL championship as the Spitfires’ head coach in 2015 and earned a spot on the Maple Leafs’ bench the following season.

With Smith on the bench, the Kings will return to action on Saturday to take on the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.