The Ottawa Senators fired coach D.J. Smith on Monday, replacing him on an interim basis with Jacques Martin and adding Hall of Famer and former captain Daniel Alfredsson to the staff as an assistant.
It’s the latest shakeup for the NHL team in Canada’s capital city in three months since owner Michael Andlauer took over. Andlauer quickly hired Steve Staios as president of hockey operations and on Nov. 1 fired longtime general manager Pierre Dorion following a league investigation that caused the Senators to forfeit a first-round draft pick.
Staios, now also interim GM, fired Smith 12 days after hiring Martin as senior adviser, which put the 71-year-old coaching veteran as an eye in the sky. Staios said at the time he consulted with Smith on the decision.
The Senators have since lost five of six games to fall into last place in the Eastern Conference. Only the Chicago Blackhawks have fewer points than Ottawa’s 22.
Martin will be back behind the bench after coaching the Senators for nine seasons from 1995-96 through 2003-04. He won the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant with Pittsburgh in 2016 and ’17.
During Martin’s time in Ottawa, Alfredsson was named captain and wore the “C” as the face of the franchise until a messy parting of ways in 2013.
Alfredsson’s return comes as a replacement for assistant Davis Payne, who was also let go. As part of assuming control from late owner Eugene Melnyk’s family, Andlauer pledged to bring Alfredsson back into the fold in some capacity — and now the popular 51-year-old Swede will be helping with the coaching starting Tuesday at Arizona.
Staios was expected to address reporters later Monday.
Smith became the fourth coach fired this season, following Edmonton’s Jay Woodcroft, Minnesota’s Dean Evason and St. Louis’ Craig Berube. Mike Babcock resigned from his job with Columbus on the eve of training camp after an investigation into the Stanley Cup-winning coach’s bizarre conduct of asking to see photos on players’ phones.
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