The Ottawa Senators fired coach D.J. Smith on Monday, one day after the team’s fourth consecutive loss. His firing comes just 26 games into the 2023-24 season. Smith is replaced with Jacques Martin on an interim basis.
The club also announced Daniel Alfredsson — the franchise’s all-time leader in goals and points — is joining Martin’s staff as an assistant coach. In addition to Smith, the Senators fired assistant coach Davis Payne as well.
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Smith was in his fifth season behind the bench in Ottawa and compiled a 131-154-32 record through 317 games. The Senators had a .464 points percentage during Smith’s tenure, placing them 25th in the NHL during that span. Ottawa never qualified for the playoffs under Smith’s watch, as their best finish came with 86 points last season.
The 46-year-old Smith had been tied for the fifth-longest tenured head coach in the NHL, having inherited the job in May of 2019. However, his lack of success separated him from his colleagues with similar tenures. Of the four head coaches with longer tenures than Smith, three of them — Jon Cooper, Jared Bednar and Mike Sullivan — have delivered Stanley Cup championships for their respective teams.
The fourth head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, guided Carolina to three consecutive division titles and boasts a .653 points percentage behind the bench for the Hurricanes.
Smith’s contract was set to expire after this season, although the club did retain an option to bring him back for the 2024-25 season.
Martin, 71, has not been a head coach in the NHL since he was with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2011-12 season. However, he did serve as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins for several seasons, winning a pair of Stanley Cups as part of Mike Sullivan’s staff in 2016 and 2017. Martin was recently hired to serve as a special advisor to the coaching staff in Ottawa.
He ranks 17th in NHL history with 1,294 games as a head coach and served as the Senators’ head coach from 1996 to 2004. In that window, Martin led Ottawa to the playoffs in all eight of his full seasons, including a Presidents’ Trophy title in 2002-03.
Alfredsson was captain of the Senators from 1999 to 2013. During his career, Alfredsson recorded 444 goals and 713 assists in 1,246 games played. He spent 17 seasons with the Senators and joined the team as an employee in the hockey operations department before the start of the season.
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The Senators sit last in the Eastern Conference with an 11-15 record.
Why did the Senators make the move now?
When speaking to reporters after temporarily inheriting the general manager portfolio, Senators president of hockey operations Steve Staios stated he was supportive of the job Smith was doing in Ottawa.
“I believe in this coaching staff,” Staios said on November 1.
Then when he brought Martin on board on Dec. 6, Staios said his goal was to support Smith and his beleaguered staff.
“My job is to identify areas throughout the organization where we can add some support,” Staios said. “Our commitment is to providing all the tools and resources for us to be successful.”
However, the Senators struggled to show any consistency, posting a 3-6-0 record in nine games in December. With aspirations to end a six-year playoff drought, the Senators woke up Monday to find themselves sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference with only 22 points.
Staios and owner Michael Andlauer probably did this as a pre-emptive move ahead of Ottawa’s next home game Saturday. At various points this season, the home crowd at Canadian Tire Centre voiced their displeasure with loud “Fire D.J.” chants echoing inside the arena. If the Senators returned home for Saturday’s game against the Penguins on a losing skid, those chants would likely have grown significantly louder. — Ian Mendes, Senators beat writer
Where did things go wrong for Smith?
Atrocious starts to the season were unfortunately the hallmark for the Senators under Smith. And once again this season, Ottawa found itself well outside of the playoff picture.
And when the Senators checked the standings Monday morning, they found themselves ahead of only four teams in the league in terms of points percentage — Columbus, Anaheim, San Jose and Chicago. The Oilers, Wild and Blues already made coaching changes in an attempt to jumpstart their hockey teams and possibly salvage the season.
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This is another slow start for Smith, who tripped out of the gate early in each of his previous four seasons at the helm in Ottawa.
Record after 20 games under Smith
| Season | Record | Points .Pct | League Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
2022-23 | 7-12-1 | .375 | 31st |
2021-22 | 4-15-1 | .225 | 32nd |
2020-21 | 5-14-1 | .275 | 31st |
2019-20 | 8-11-1 | .425 | 28th |
There are certainly some mitigating circumstances for Smith, not the least of which is a lineup decimated by injuries and absences. He was currently without his No. 1 defenseman in Thomas Chabot, as well as Shane Pinto. And goaltending has been average or below average during his tenure.
But regardless of who has been in and out of the lineup for the Senators, they have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net under Smith. Defensive zone issues have plagued this team for the better part of five seasons and were on display again in surrendering six goals to the Golden Knights on Monday.
Ottawa is now giving up 3.42 goals per game this season, which ranks 26th overall in the league. — Mendes
What can Martin bring to the table?
For starters, a fresh voice is probably needed.
And for the most part, the Senators’ core of talented young players like Brady Tkachuk, Chabot, Tim Stützle, Josh Norris and Jake Sanderson have really only had Smith as a coach at the NHL level. (Tkachuk and Chabot did also play under Guy Boucher and Marc Crawford). Martin is a well-respected, veteran coach who can instantly change the atmosphere and tone.
Ottawa is hoping Martin can work his magic with the franchise one more time.
The Senators were a directionless franchise that could not shake their expansion label when the 43-year-old Martin was appointed head coach in January of 1996. They had some talented young pieces assembled on the roster but lacked the structure and discipline to move the program to the next level.
Within 14 months of taking over, however, Martin transformed the Senators into a playoff team. His arrival jumpstarted the most dynamic and successful era in franchise history, in which they were a perennial Stanley Cup contender for a decade.
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Martin’s 622 wins rank 22nd all-time. — Mendes
Required reading
(Photo: Henrik Montgomery / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty Images)
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