Coach D.J. Smith FIRED from Ottawa Senators following poor performances in 2023-24 season

D.J. Smith had a 131-154-32 record in his time with the Ottawa Senators as their head coach.

Coach D.J. Smith FIRED from Ottawa Senators following poor performances in 2023-24 season

D.J Smith (Image via Ottawa Sun)

There is another casualty in coaching position in the NHL this season as coach D.J. Smith has become the latest name to leave his office. The coach was fired from his position by the Ottawa Senators following their poor performances in the 2023-24 season.

He now joins former Edmonton Oilers‘ coach Jay Woodcroft, Minnesota Wild‘s Dean Evason, and St. Louis Blues‘ Craig Berube as the coaches to leave their team in the middle of the season. He leaves the Sens with a poor record of 11-15-0 this season.

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This move though was something several people were anticipating. Fans of the Senators had not taken kindly to their poor start of the season and booed the team. Chants of “Fire D.J.” were also heard at the CTC Stadium. Here is one clip shared on X regarding this move by the fans against their former coach:

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Their wish now has come true as the 46-year-old Canadian coach has been relieved of his duties. This move comes after their heavy 6-3 loss at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. Jacques Martin who was hired as the team’s senior adviser will now serve as the interim coach along with Daniel Alfredsson as his assistant.

D.J. Smith accepts responsibility for the failure of Ottawa Senators

In the world of sports, coaches getting sacked or fired is pretty common. Sometimes things just do not work as they were hoped leading to exits. Several coaches often admit their own shortcomings as the reason for their sack, while some just slam the team for this decision. D.J. Smith has done the former and accepted responsibility for the failure of the Ottawa Senators.

D. J. Smith
D.J. Smith (Image via Ottawa Sun)

All eyes in the sporting world fall upon the coach when a team starts doing good or bad. For the Senators, they continued to struggle this season, leading a lot of attention on Smith. The 46-year-old admitted his mistakes but claimed that he has confidence in the team to do better.

As a coach, you take all the responsibility and I deserve that, my team's not winning. I'm the one that's putting them on the ice, I'm the one making the decisions, so I'm my own biggest critic.
D.J. Smith on his sacking through NHL.com.

In his reign as the coach of the Senators, the team failed to make any Stanley Cup playoff runs. He finished his tenure with a 131-154-32 record in 317 regular season games as coach since May 2019.

The Sens are now bottom of the Atlantic Division and will need a miraculous turnaround to save their season. The next coach who comes into this position will have huge work to sort out in the future.

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