Why are the Ottawa Senators the only NHL team that's fired its head coach and continues to struggle?

By Ryan Gagne

Modified Mar 18, 2024 21:53 GMT

The Ottawa Senators fired head coach D.J. Smith on Dec. 18, 2023, replacing him with his assistant Jacques Martin, who takes over the club for the second time in his career.

At the time, Smith was the fourth NHL head coach fired in 2023-24, and since that day, three others have joined him in unemployment, including Lane Lambert (New York Islanders), Todd McLellan (Los Angeles Kings), and Lindy Ruff (New Jersey Devils).

D.J. Smith, former head coach of the Ottawa Senators

Before the Senators move, the Edmonton Oilers fired Jay Woodcroft, while the Minnesota Wild replaced Dean Evason, and the St. Louis relieved Craig Berube of his duties.

With only a month left in the NHL regular season, no head coaches should be fired in the final days. Management should wait until after the end of the season to relieve any of them of their duties.

Ultimately, with 16 games left, how come the Senators, who have had 40 games under new head coach Martin, continue to play the same as they did under Smith?

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Senators Jacques Martin's statistics compared to new coaches in the NHL

As mentioned, Martin was the fourth head coach hired during the 2023-24 season and now has led the Senators in 40 games, which ranks tied for the most games coached behind Knoblauch and Bannister.

Outside of Green's five-game stint with the Devils, which began on Mar. 5, Martin has the worst win percentage of any new hire this season, which is concerning given the lineup's talent.

	Before Hire						After Hire
		GP	W	L	OT	WIN	GP	W	L	OT	WIN
Knoblauch	Oilers	13	3	9	1	0.231	52	37	12	3	0.712
Hiller	Kings	48	23	15	10	0.479	19	11	7	1	0.579
Bannister	Blues	28	13	14	1	0.464	40	23	15	2	0.575
Hynes	Wild	19	5	10	4	0.263	49	28	17	4	0.571
Roy	Islanders	45	19	15	11	0.422	22	10	8	4	0.455
Martin	Senators	26	11	15	0	0.423	40	17	19	4	0.425
Green	Devils	61	30	27	4	0.492	7	2	5	0	0.286

When Martin took over for Smith on Dec. 19, the team had lost three straight and would go on to lose the next three. Then, they began the new year with a five-game losing streak from Jan. 2 to Jan. 11 before ending the month on the season's longest win streak, four games.

Although he isn't entirely responsible for the six-game losing streak when he assumed the head coaching duties, he is to blame for a seven-game slide from Feb. 26 to Mar. 9, which featured losses to teams lower than them (28th overall) in the standings.

Jacques Martin, Ottawa Senators

Despite winning three out of their last four, all three required extra time, including a shootout. Going back a little further, the previous four Senators wins have come in overtime or a shootout, with their last regulation victory occurring on Feb. 22 against the Dallas Stars.

Realistically, Martin has had 40 games to implement a new system, and turn the team around, getting them into a wildcard position. However, the exact opposite has happened, and instead, the franchise finds itself with a 7.5% chance of drafting first overall.

Head coaching isn't the only reason behind Ottawa's disappointing season

Last year, the Senators came within a few points of qualifying for the playoffs. Their leading scorers were Tim Stützle (90 points), Brady Tkachuk (83 points), and Claude Giroux (79 points).

Unsurprisingly, the trio led the team in scoring for the second consecutive season. However, the production is significantly lower. After 66 games, Stützle only has 64 points, and Tkachuk has 56, the same as Giroux.

Overall, they gave up 270 goals and scored 259 for a goal differential of minus-11. In 2023-24, those numbers are worse, with 233 goals against and only 208 scored, a difference of 25. Of course, they have time to rectify these numbers, but it likely won't happen at their current pace.

One of the most significant reasons behind this decline is the subpar goaltending from holdover Anton Forsberg and free agent signing Joonas Korpisalo.

Without sounding like a broken record, the Senators employed seven goalies in 2022-23, combining for a 39-35-8 record, a .900 save percentage, and a 3.13 goals-against average.

Only Forsberg, Korpisalo, and Mads Søgaard played a game this year, earning a 28-34-4 record in 66 games. However, they have seen the team's numbers implode. Currently, the trio has a combined .887 save percentage and 3.39 goals-against average, all worse numbers than the previous campaign.

Surprisingly, in a season when the Senators were close to reaching the playoffs, they had 41 skaters dress a game, while this year, with the wheels all but falling off, they have employed only 33 skaters. In both seasons, 17 players have reached double digits in points.

In his previous stint with the Senators, from 1995 to 2004, Martin compiled a 341-235-20 record. Although he may not be the long-term solution behind the bench, he's off to a 17-19-4 start in round two.

Ottawa's new owner, Michael Andlauer, who is trying to secure a new arena deal closer to downtown, will not continue to support a mediocre team because it is bad for business.

With talented superstars like Tkachuk, Stützle, and Thomas Chabot in the lineup, they must write off the 2023-24 season and look forward to next year.

Realistically, these 82 games could be a minor setback toward winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup. However, someone needs to come in and light a fire under them or risk watching their core waste away their prime years.