The Ottawa Senators have relieved head coach D.J. Smith of his duties effective immediately, the club announced Monday.
During his time in Ottawa, Smith posted a 131-154-32 record, and acted as steward of the club during their rebuilding phase. However with Ottawa once again at the bottom of the NHL standings, despite adding significant pieces to their roster, it became clear to all involved that a new voice was needed in the locker room to usher in the next phase for the Sens.
Currently riding a 4 game losing streak, and sitting 12 points back of the final wildcard spot, president of hockey operations Steve Staios made the decision to fire Smith and assistant coach Davis Payne. In their place, former Senators bench boss Jacques Martin will serve as interim head coach, while Daniel Alfredsson will join the club as an assistant.
Originally hired as the 3rd head coach in franchise history, Martin spent 9 seasons with Ottawa, posting a 341-255-96 (.526 win percentage) during his first stint in the nation’s capital.
Smith’s firing effectively turns over one of the last remnants of the Eugene Melnyk era of Senators hockey. Former GM Pierre Dorion had been let go several weeks earlier after the club was docked a 1st round draft pick by the NHL for failure to disclose a no trade clause in Evgenii Dadonov’s contract.
Several front office executives have also been reshuffled in the weeks following billionaire Michael Andlauer’s purchase of the club. After being fired in 2017, 64 year old Cyril Leeder was brought back into the fold to act as team president, in a move that was largely lauded by Ottawa fans.
Ottawa is in the midst of a Western road trip, with games against the Coyote and Avalanche this week, before returning home for a pre-Christmas showdown with the Penguins on the 23rd. Staios is planning to hold a media availability session later this afternoon.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.