Senators Announce Jacques Martin's Hiring as Senior Advisor to the Coaching Staff
There is “no doubt”, Jacques Martin has returned to the Ottawa Senators.
In an announcement this morning on ‘X’, the Senators revealed that the iconic former head coach would be rejoining the organization as a senior advisor to the coaching staff.
Martin is the most successful coach in franchise history. He spent parts of nine seasons with the Senators accumulating a record of 246-191-91 in 528 games. Along with Paul MacLean, Martin is one of two Senators coaches awarded the league’s Jack Adams Award. Martin was recognized for his work during the 1998-99 season.
To management and ownership’s credit, today’s news was relatively unexpected. Martin’s presence in the national capital region has grown in recent months. With a recurring weekly segment on TSN 1200, Martin had a platform to talk hockey and share his thoughts on the Senators and their performance.
Full marks to management and ownership, however. They did an exceptional job keeping this announcement under wraps. It may not be the most consequential piece of news, but it speaks volumes that it was safeguarded from the national talking heads and the regional media. It is a welcomed departure from the previous regime that routinely traded information for favourable coverage or other favours.
In a newly created position, Martin’s senior advisor role is intended to help support and insulate the current coaching staff. Like Daniel Alfredsson, Martin will be an eye in the sky watching every game from above in the press box.
Martin was renowned for being an X’s and O’s coach who could teach discipline and structure. Despite having the support of his players and management, what fans have been yearning for is better puck support and structure that would lead to improved defensive metrics. By hiring Martin, the organization has effectively placated the 30 fans in section 323 who have been calling for D.J. Smith’s dismissal.
The organization has effectively kicked that problem down the road and bought Smith and his staff more time to turn this season around.
If they can’t, the organization has conveniently hired someone who will now have full and direct access to the coaches, facilities, players, training staff and management. Should their slide continue, it will now be incredibly simple for management to turn around and slap an interim tag on Martin as a head coach — especially so, since he can simply return to a senior advisor role after the season. Having that kind of job security is important because it is increasingly likely that Senators have a particular candidate in mind for the job who is not available to be hired right now (or simply want to cast as wide of a net as it can this offseason to hire the best prospective candidate possible).
If the Senators are emphasizing getting through the season without having to make too many changes, this is an impressive and easy way for the organization to safeguard their short-term interests while protecting their long-term goals. And, to be able to modernize the organization while bridging some gaps to its successful past is just the icing on the cake.