Ottawa Senators fire DJ Smith, promote Jacques Martin as interim head coach

Ottawa Senators fire DJ Smith, promote Jacques Martin as interim head coach

The Ottawa Senators have fired head coach DJ Smith after an 11-15-0 start to the 2023-24 season, it was announced Monday. Former Senators head coach Jacques Martin will be promoted as interim head coach, and former longtime Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson will head behind the bench in the role of an assistant coach.

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, 2023

Martin previously coached Ottawa for nine seasons, with him being previously hired as the third coach in the history of the franchise on Jan. 24, 1996. Martin accumulated a record of 341-255-96 (.562). The now 71-year-old head coach has the most coaching experience in Senators’ history and became the all-time leader in games coached with just under 700 (692), regular season wins, playoff wins and playoff games coached.

Heading into his final season as the Senators’ coach, Jacques Martin, experienced high expectations for the squad. Ottawa became heavy favorites for the Stanley Cup and quickly backed up why they were the favorites, sporting a 43–23–10–6 record, finishing the season with 102 points. But Martin and the Senators quickly fell back down to earth, losing in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games.

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Ottawa had monumental expectations heading into this season with young and veteran talent across the board. With only 11 wins in 26 games this season, playoffs quickly faded out of the picture, ultimately leading to the firing of DJ Smith.

DJ Smith coached the Senators from 2019 until now, holding his best record at 39-35-8 last season, finishing just behind the eventual Stanley Cup runner-ups: the Florida Panthers.

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