Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators hire D.J. Smith as head coach
Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators hire D.J. Smith as head coach

Published May. 23, 2019 11:16 a.m. ET

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith is the new head coach of the Ottawa Senators.

Smith signed a three-year contract with the club on Thursday. He replaces interim head coach Marc Crawford, who also interviewed for the position.

Guy Boucher was fired as Ottawa's head coach last season, a year in which the Senators finished last in the NHL standings.

Smith, 42, spent the past four seasons as an assistant on Mike Babcock's staff in Toronto.

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Prior to that, he guided the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals for three years, capping that run with a Memorial Cup title in 2015. He also was named OHL coach of the year in 2013-14.

Before his time in Oshawa, Smith spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, capturing back-to-back Memorial Cup titles in 2009 and 2010.

Smith played 45 career NHL games as a defenseman with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche.

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