Ottawa Senators interim GM Staios explains decision of firing D.J. Smith

On Monday, the Ottawa Senators made the difficult decision to relieve D.J. Smith of his duties as head coach, a move that followed the team's fourth consecutive loss, leaving them four games below .500 and firmly anchored in the NHL's Atlantic Division basement.

The announcement came a day after the Ottawa Senators' latest defeat, with Jacques Martin stepping in as the interim head coach, a decision that had been widely anticipated since his hiring as a senior coaching advisor on Dec. 5:

“As time went on, a lot of the same things were our demise,” Steve Staios said on a Zoom call with reporters late Monday afternoon. “We fell back into the game we were playing early in the season. There’s never good timing [for a firing] but for me, I think this was the right time to make the decision to bring some hope to our players, in search of some consistency to our game.”

Jacques Martin, at 71, holds a special place in Senators history as the longest-serving head coach from 1996-2004, until his dismissal by then-owner Eugene Melnyk. Staios, the Ottawa Senators' president of hockey operations and interim general manager, expressed the necessity of coaching changes, indicating that despite flashes of improved play during the season, the recent slide prompted the decision to part ways with Smith.

“I was encouraged for five games, even though we only won three there were signs of improvement. When I saw our game revert back to where it was before that’s when it was time.”

What will the Ottawa Senators bench look like after the firing of D.J. Smith?

The move to appoint Martin as interim head coach was met with a sense of inevitability, given his coaching experience and the role he assumed in December. Additionally, the iconic Daniel Alfredsson, who had been assisting in practices, now takes on a more impactful role as a full assistant behind the bench.

Staios acknowledged the difficulty of the decision and mentioned that Smith handled the firing professionally, emphasizing his care for the team and his role in developing young players. However, Staios felt that changes were essential to bring hope and consistency to the team's performance:

“He cared about this group and was a big part of the development of a lot of our players, our young players to get them to this level. It was a difficult day for me. It’s difficult for our players because I think we all feel a sense of responsibility — including D.J. He was disappointed in himself.”

While fans and analysts had anticipated a coaching change earlier in the season, Staios provided insight into the timing, citing the need for consistency and hope for the players.