Senators fire head coach Smith, name Martin as interim replacement

The Ottawa Senators have fired head coach D.J. Smith amid yet another losing season in the nation's capital.

The Senators made the announcement a day after Ottawa lost its fourth straight game with a 6-3 defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

Jacques Martin, who previously served as Senators head coach and recently joined Smith's staff as a senior adviser, will take over on an interim basis.

Former team captain Daniel Alfredsson will join Martin's staff as an on-bench assistant coach.

The Senators have missed the playoffs for four straight seasons under Smith.

They are currently 12 points behind the Washington Capitals for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with an 11-15-0 record.

Fans at Canadian Tire Centre have shouted "Fire D.J." on numerous occasions as the team continued to struggle. He was the sixth-longest tenured coach in the NHL and the fourth to be fired this season.

The 46-year-old Smith follows former general manager Pierre Dorion out the door after the latter parted ways with the organization on Nov. 1.

New Senators owner Michael Andlauer and president of hockey operations Steve Staios have preached a need for stability since Dorion's departure, which appeared to signal some temporary job security for Smith.

Staios bolstered Smith's staff by adding Martin, Alfredsson (player development) and Matt Nichol (Director of Player Health and Performance) in the last months.

Ottawa, however, lost 11 of 18 games after Dorion left the organization.

Smith, 46, went a combined 121-154-32 in the nation's capital after getting hired in May 2019.

The Senators were in full rebuild mode when the Windsor, Ont., native took over, but expectations grew exponentially heading into the last two seasons.

WA