Do they fire him before or after Xmas....which is more humane? They have to wait until the end of the road trip, sure...but if they lose in Arizona, it has to happen, right?

Right???!!?

We're starting to see the tangible harm of keeping a sub-standard NHL coach for too long... no sense of accountability, recurring problems that never get solved, demoralized players who aren't being taught what they need to be successful, and now the beginning of a negative reaction from the paying fans. I understand the position that the new owner/GM are in, but it's relatively clear that DJ Smith isn't capable of taking this team beyond the point of mediocrity, and they're now facing the reality of a lost season under their watch. The only real question is how bad things have to get before action is taken.

On the plus side, DJ is nearly back to the level of performance from 2019/20 in terms of team record after 26GP...

2019/20 - 23Pts in 26GP (11-14-1)
2020/21 - 17Pts in 26GP (8-17-1)
2021/22 - 19Pts in 26GP (9-16-1)
2022/23 - 22Pts in 26GP (10-14-2)
2023/24 - 22Pts in 26GP (11-15-0)

For reference, the 2019/20 team had Duclair, Brown, Pageau, Ennis, Tierney, Namestnikov, White, and Anisimov in the top-10 scoring, and the 2nd leading D-man in scoring was Mark Borowiecki. Evidence, perhaps, that DJ Smith's coaching style is more conducive to getting average results from a low-skill roster than getting good results from a high-skill roster.

We're starting to see the tangible harm of keeping a sub-standard NHL coach for too long... no sense of accountability, recurring problems that never get solved, demoralized players who aren't being taught what they need to be successful, and now the beginning of a negative reaction from the paying fans. I understand the position that the new owner/GM are in, but it's relatively clear that DJ Smith isn't capable of taking this team beyond the point of mediocrity, and they're now facing the reality of a lost season under their watch. The only real question is how bad things have to get before action is taken.

On the plus side, DJ is nearly back to the level of performance from 2019/20 in terms of team record after 26GP...

2019/20 - 23Pts in 26GP (11-14-1)
2020/21 - 17Pts in 26GP (8-17-1)
2021/22 - 19Pts in 26GP (9-16-1)
2022/23 - 22Pts in 26GP (10-14-2)
2023/24 - 22Pts in 26GP (11-15-0)

For reference, the 2019/20 team had Duclair, Brown, Pageau, Ennis, Tierney, Namestnikov, White, and Anisimov in the top-10 scoring, and the 2nd leading D-man in scoring was Mark Borowiecki. Evidence, perhaps, that DJ Smith's coaching style is more conducive to getting average results from a low-skill roster than getting good results from a high-skill roster.
- khawk

It's disgusting and disrespectful to Sens fans he is still coaching

I'm just bored at this point.

At this point, it has to be inhumane treatment/torture to keep this coaching staff. I imagine this could be insufferable if he coaches another home game.

I'm even bummed watching.

Sighhhh

all audlauer is doing right now by keeping smith is tanking next year season ticket sales.

i did not watch the game but OTT lost to a team with a G who was injured in the 3rd and still played because Hill went down in the first period and OTT could not even capitalize on it..

"Thompson showed signs of a lower-body injury suffered in the third period, as he hunched over between shots, and was slow to get up each time he went down to block a shot."

I cant blame dj on the basic lapse of pro hockey decisions made by the players last night.
Truly mind boggling some of those desicions. And it happens every game.
These players are broken , why?

Perpetual losing being seen as a joke.

What if a coaching change happens, and nothing changes. It will be back to ground zero. At this point i dont believe a coaching change will make a difference but it cant hurt , cant get any lower

I can understand that Andlauer and Staios are trying to be patient and gauge what they have before making major moves. I can understand that the team sale was dragged out and they didn’t have adequate time in the offseason to make some changes that they may have wanted to make. I can even understand that the Pinto and Dadanov trades created some major distractions.

What I cannot understand is how they can be complacent with an entire season of inadequate play. While they are just a few months in their roles, this brand of hockey has been on display for DJ Smith’s entire tenure as head coach. Are they not able to review past seasons and notice the same old issues? Are they going to wait another few years to see how he works because they are here now? It doesn’t make sense.

I can understand that you want a GM in place before hiring a new coach. What I cannot understand is how long this GM search is taking or why that affects the employment of DJ Smith and co. You can remove a coach and replace him with an interim guy. If a guy does not want an interim label. Great. We will chat later once a GM is in place. There should be lots of guys looking for an opportunity to coach an NHL team. Heck, put fans names in a hat and draw one to go behind the bench. Anything is better than what is happening now.

Andlauer and Staios really have to be careful with a losing culture taking hold. Like it or not, this team has invested heavily in their young players, and you are stuck with them. It’s not ideal that Brady is turning into a guy just looking for fights in the 3rd period to create the illusion that these guys give a (frank). That is not what a captain does. From there, player development across the board will unravel and it’s hard to get it back together if you let it drag on too long.

I can understand that Andlauer and Staios are trying to be patient and gauge what they have before making major moves. I can understand that the team sale was dragged out and they didn’t have adequate time in the offseason to make some changes that they may have wanted to make. I can even understand that the Pinto and Dadanov trades created some major distractions.

What I cannot understand is how they can be complacent with an entire season of inadequate play. While they are just a few months in their roles, this brand of hockey has been on display for DJ Smith’s entire tenure as head coach. Are they not able to review past seasons and notice the same old issues? Are they going to wait another few years to see how he works because they are here now? It doesn’t make sense.

I can understand that you want a GM in place before hiring a new coach. What I cannot understand is how long this GM search is taking or why that affects the employment of DJ Smith and co. You can remove a coach and replace him with an interim guy. If a guy does not want an interim label. Great. We will chat later once a GM is in place. There should be lots of guys looking for an opportunity to coach an NHL team. Heck, put fans names in a hat and draw one to go behind the bench. Anything is better than what is happening now.

Andlauer and Staios really have to be careful with a losing culture taking hold. Like it or not, this team has invested heavily in their young players, and you are stuck with them. It’s not ideal that Brady is turning into a guy just looking for fights in the 3rd period to create the illusion that these guys give a (frank). That is not what a captain does. From there, player development across the board will unravel and it’s hard to get it back together if you let it drag on too long.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Interesting comments.
I think Smith has had a long enough run to prove he is not a great coach.
Look how guys like Tortorella and Tocchet have completely changed the culture of the teams they took over.
But I would also suggest if you had better than average goaltending, your record would be a lot better. Demko and Hart make those two coaches way better.
For example the game you played against the Leafs you should have won because you carried most of the play, but our guy was great until he got hurt and your guy was just OK.
Why Dorion thought a journeyman like Korpisalo was going to be the saviour I have no idea. He is just an average goalie based on his career stats.
Not sure if you have any goalie prospects in the pipeline but trading for a Varlamov or someone like that would be costly but worth it in my view.

At this point, it has to be inhumane treatment/torture to keep this coaching staff. I imagine this could be insufferable if he coaches another home game.
- OttawaB

100%

Interesting comments.
I think Smith has had a long enough run to prove he is not a great coach.
Look how guys like Tortorella and Tocchet have completely changed the culture of the teams they took over.
But I would also suggest if you had better than average goaltending, your record would be a lot better. Demko and Hart make those two coaches way better.
For example the game you played against the Leafs you should have won because you carried most of the play, but our guy was great until he got hurt and your guy was just OK.
Why Dorion thought a journeyman like Korpisalo was going to be the saviour I have no idea. He is just an average goalie based on his career stats.
Not sure if you have any goalie prospects in the pipeline but trading for a Varlamov or someone like that would be costly but worth it in my view.
- Rang

Goaltending has stunk. Absolutely correct. The team can’t trust either goalie at all. I was very skeptical about Forsberg’s contract signing and then his ability to bounce back from dual knee injuries. Now you have an overpaid backup who is not even AHL quality right now.

No one should have been thrilled with the Korpisalo signing but I think most folks wanted to see his work firsthand before making a strong conclusion. He’s only marginally better than Forsberg now but that is not saying much. At the end of the day, the Dorion era will go down as some of the worst goaltending scouting/contracts of all time.

The goaltending has contributed to the 31st ranked penalty kill.

With that said, this team is just 23rd in the NHL for goals and has the 21st ranked powerplay. Can’t blame the goalie when your team can’t score goals. If this team had adequate goaltending, they might have a couple of more wins but likely would still be struggling.

Honestly, this team has so many issues right now, to blame only one or two would not be truthful to the terrible play we have seen all season.

Goaltending has stunk. Absolutely correct. The team can’t trust either goalie at all. I was very skeptical about Forsberg’s contract signing and then his ability to bounce back from dual knee injuries. Now you have an overpaid backup who is not even AHL quality right now.

No one should have been thrilled with the Korpisalo signing but I think most folks wanted to see his work firsthand before making a strong conclusion. He’s only marginally better than Forsberg now but that is not saying much. At the end of the day, the Dorion era will go down as some of the worst goaltending scouting/contracts of all time.

The goaltending has contributed to the 31st ranked penalty kill.

With that said, this team is just 23rd in the NHL for goals and has the 21st ranked powerplay. Can’t blame the goalie when your team can’t score goals. If this team had adequate goaltending, they might have a couple of more wins but likely would still be struggling.

Honestly, this team has so many issues right now, to blame only one or two would not be truthful to the terrible play we have seen all season.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Well I hope you get it figured out .
To me it's ideal to have all the Canadian teams doing well.
The more playoff series with Canadian teams against the other the better .

Goaltending has stunk. Absolutely correct. The team can’t trust either goalie at all. I was very skeptical about Forsberg’s contract signing and then his ability to bounce back from dual knee injuries. Now you have an overpaid backup who is not even AHL quality right now.

No one should have been thrilled with the Korpisalo signing but I think most folks wanted to see his work firsthand before making a strong conclusion. He’s only marginally better than Forsberg now but that is not saying much. At the end of the day, the Dorion era will go down as some of the worst goaltending scouting/contracts of all time.

The goaltending has contributed to the 31st ranked penalty kill.

With that said, this team is just 23rd in the NHL for goals and has the 21st ranked powerplay. Can’t blame the goalie when your team can’t score goals. If this team had adequate goaltending, they might have a couple of more wins but likely would still be struggling.

Honestly, this team has so many issues right now, to blame only one or two would not be truthful to the terrible play we have seen all season.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

It's funny - while the goaltending statistically has been poor, I often find myself not blaming them when you see the quality of the shots they face. Forsberg clearly looks worse than Korpisalo, but both are in the basement of the league. Why you wouldn't try running Sogard once or twice, just to, you know, try *anything* new to see if things might change, is beyond me.

Frankly I don't understand why Andlauer hasn't made Staios the GM - clearly Staios has indicated he doesn't want that responsibility, that he wants to be Ottawa's Shanahan, insulated from most reproach with a nice paycheque. If the coach won't make any changes, at some point these guys up above need to do something.

It's funny - while the goaltending statistically has been poor, I often find myself not blaming them when you see the quality of the shots they face. Forsberg clearly looks worse than Korpisalo, but both are in the basement of the league. Why you wouldn't try running Sogard once or twice, just to, you know, try *anything* new to see if things might change, is beyond me.

Frankly I don't understand why Andlauer hasn't made Staios the GM - clearly Staios has indicated he doesn't want that responsibility, that he wants to be Ottawa's Shanahan, insulated from most reproach with a nice paycheque. If the coach won't make any changes, at some point these guys up above need to do something.
- Bartacus

The goalies are hung out to dry on a lot of plays. The amount of odd man rushes, poor positioning, and just plain old lack of hustle creates some grade-A scoring chances for opposing teams. The last couple of seasons, I always wondered how much the hockey gods hate the Sens with other teams getting such good opportunities to score and the Sens just can’t get those same opportunities. It’s painfully clear now that nearly every team this team plays against has a working (some better than others) system and the Sens have no system and have zero ability to adjust their gameplan mid-game.

Sure, some of these players might not be as good as we think they are/would be and that might be contributing to the struggles. However, when nearly every player is appearing to be struggling in some way, you have to look at the dudes calling the shots behind the bench.

I believe every team that has fired their coach this season is over .500 since the coaching change. It’s time for a change. The players had their chance to win under DJ. They failed. Embarrassingly. Time to move on. This group of players is far too young to force management decisions.

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.

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.
- OttawaB

Good God. Finally.

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.
- OttawaB

Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and interim general manager Steve Staios announced today that the team has relieved D.J. Smith of his head coaching duties. In addition to Smith, assistant coach Davis Payne has also been relieved of his role. The remaining members of the coaching staff have been retained. Jacques Martin will serve as the team’s interim head coach.

The team also announced that former longtime captain and the franchise’s all-time points’ leader, Daniel Alfredsson, is joining Martin’s staff as an assistant coach. Martin will make his return to the Ottawa bench when te team visits the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. Alfredsson will also assume an on-bench role.

Originally hired as the team’s third head coach on Jan. 24, 1996, Martin spent nine seasons with the Senators and posted a 341-255-96 (.562) regular-season record with the franchise ahead of his return to the organization earlier this month. Set to become the second head coach to make a return to the Senators bench after Bryan Murray did so during the 2007-08 campaign, Martin remains the team’s all-time leader in games coached (692), regular-season wins (341), playoff wins (31) and playoff games coached (69).

Staios will be available to media on Monday afternoon via Zoom from the team’s hotel in Tempe, Ariz. Timing will be communicated.

Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and interim general manager Steve Staios announced today that the team has relieved D.J. Smith of his head coaching duties. In addition to Smith, assistant coach Davis Payne has also been relieved of his role. The remaining members of the coaching staff have been retained. Jacques Martin will serve as the team’s interim head coach.

The team also announced that former longtime captain and the franchise’s all-time points’ leader, Daniel Alfredsson, is joining Martin’s staff as an assistant coach. Martin will make his return to the Ottawa bench when te team visits the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. Alfredsson will also assume an on-bench role.

Originally hired as the team’s third head coach on Jan. 24, 1996, Martin spent nine seasons with the Senators and posted a 341-255-96 (.562) regular-season record with the franchise ahead of his return to the organization earlier this month. Set to become the second head coach to make a return to the Senators bench after Bryan Murray did so during the 2007-08 campaign, Martin remains the team’s all-time leader in games coached (692), regular-season wins (341), playoff wins (31) and playoff games coached (69).

Staios will be available to media on Monday afternoon via Zoom from the team’s hotel in Tempe, Ariz. Timing will be communicated.
- OttawaB

FINALLY.

Strange feeling seeing Jacques back behind the bench. It will certainly improve the defence. Short term this is good , not sure he's the guy long term this team would need, but beggers can't be choosers at this point.

Sens Fire DJ. JM takes over.

Let there be bonfires and dancing in the streets of Ottawa.

I'm actually curious to see how Alfredsson works out as an assistant.

It took too long, but kudos again goes to this ownership for bringing back characters like Martin, Alfie, heck even Lyndon Slewidge - all from an era where this team did little else but win. The last 10 years with a lifelong Leaf fan owner saw us eat their gristle over and over. Trading for Phaneuf, trading for Zaitsev, and cherry on top - signing the coach of their much maligned defense to be our HC. This team has inexplicably and inexcusably done more to save the Leafs from cap and management hell in recent past than it has improved its own lot. Finally with this firing, our toxic Leaf connections are exorcised.

Shed the mantle, start anew with some familiar faces from Christmas past. Here's hoping this moves the needle.

It took too long, but kudos again goes to this ownership for bringing back characters like Martin, Alfie, heck even Lyndon Slewidge - all from an era where this team did little else but win. The last 10 years with a lifelong Leaf fan owner saw us eat their gristle over and over. Trading for Phaneuf, trading for Zaitsev, and cherry on top - signing the coach of their much maligned defense to be our HC. This team has inexplicably and inexcusably done more to save the Leafs from cap and management hell in recent past than it has improved its own lot. Finally with this firing, our toxic Leaf connections are exorcised.

Shed the mantle, start anew with some familiar faces from Christmas past. Here's hoping this moves the needle.
- Bartacus

And now you have a lifelong Habs fan as an owner.

Only 21 coaches have more NHL wins than Jacques Martin (613). 5 wins will pass Jacques Lemaire and Bruce Boudreau for 20th all time! He also has a chance to bump Bryan Murray for 19th all time (620 wins).