Senators fire head coach D.J. Smith, name Jacques Martin interim replacement
The Ottawa Senators have relieved head coach D.J. Smith of his duties and named Jacques Martin his interim replacement, the club announced Monday afternoon.
Smith, 46, had served as head coach of the Senators since the start of the 2019–20 season, amassing a record of 131–154–32 over that span. The Senators never reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Smith as head coach.
Martin, 71, is one of the most experienced coaches in NHL history. He previously served as head coach of the Senators from 1996 to 2004, helping build the team into a perennial playoff contender, before winning the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
News Release: D.J. Smith has been relieved of his head coaching duties; Jacques Martin has been named #Sens interim head coach. Daniel Alfredsson joins the team’s coaching staff as an assistant coach: https://t.co/UtadFrrkEG pic.twitter.com/LZiNGB5Mbm
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 18, 2023In addition to Smith, the Senators also fired assistant coach Davis Payne, who had been on Smith’s staff since he took over as head coach in Ottawa. Jack Capuano, Bob Jones, and Ben Sexton will remain on as assistants.
Payne’s replacement is Senators franchise legend and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Daniel Alfredsson, who served as captain of the Senators from 1999 to 2013. Alfredsson initially rejoined the Senators back in October in a player development coaching role.
The Senators have lost four consecutive games, all in regulation, and currently sit in last place in the Eastern Conference with an 11–15–0 record and 22 points in 26 games this season.
This season has major implications for a Senators team that has not qualified for the playoffs since 2017, when they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final.
The Sens have not made a first-round pick since 2021, when they selected Tyler Boucher at No. 10 overall, and are slated to forfeit another first-rounder at some point in the next three years after the “negligent” Evgenii Dadonov debacle that cost Pierre Dorion his job as the team’s GM.
Newly-minted Senators president of hockey operations and interim general manager Steve Staios is set to address the media on Monday afternoon to address the dismissal of Smith as head coach.