D.J. Smith was fired as coach of the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
Jacques Martin, who was hired as senior adviser to the coaching staff on Dec. 6, will serve as interim coach. Daniel Alfredsson, the Senators all-time leader in points, will be an assistant to Martin.
They will both be behind the bench when the Senators play at the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, ALT2).
“I think with some of the things that I’ve [seen] with our group, as far as inconsistencies, [are] a strength of Jacques Martin’s, along with Daniel Alfredsson,” Ottawa president of hockey operations and interim general manager Steve Staios said Monday. “I think we’re all looking for more consistency, more detail to our game, more structure. So, I explained the rationale behind it all (to the players), and Jacques has been around the group a little bit now and they’re getting to know him, and Jacques had an opportunity to address the group about what his expectations were.
“Like any time on days like this, there’s disappointment because we all feel somewhat responsible for being in this situation, and optimism moving forward.”
Staios said Martin will be “in the middle of the bench with the clear messaging, the leadership and the calm demeanour,” while Alfredsson will work with the forward group and the power-play units.
Alfredsson was an assistant under Smith during Ottawa’s two games in Stockholm during the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden. Jack Capuano, who was an assistant under Smith, will stay on and work with the defensemen and penalty kill, along with Ben Sexton, who also remained on staff.
Assistant coach Davis Payne was fired along with Smith.
“Even from the beginning, the more that Daniel Alfredsson could be around our group, I think the bigger benefit it was for all of us,” Staios said. “So, I always kept that in mind. In my more recent conversations with him, I think he saw the same things that I did as far as our game play. He cares so much about this team and about this organization, so when I approached him again about coming on full-time, he said, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes.’ So, that started the ball rolling on maybe looking at a different dynamic and having ‘Alfie’ in here.”
The Senators (11-15-0), who are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, are last in the Atlantic Division. They have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2017, when they lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final.
“As a coach, you take all the responsibility and I deserve that, my team’s not winning,” said Smith, was fired after running practice at Mountain America Community Iceplex in Tempe, Arizona. “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. But in saying that, I believe in this group and I believe in the leaders and the core guys that they’re going to find a way.
“The one thing I know is these guys are trying. Part of the growing process is figuring out how to do it right for 60 minutes. Every first period we’re coming out in the right way. And we’ve found ways in the second period maybe to not play the right way. That was the message today, but ultimately, it’s more mental than it is physical or effort based. I know that the leadership group here is outstanding, and I know that these guys are doing everything in their power to get this thing turned around.”
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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