Smith, a former assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, became the 14th coach in the Sens' history when he was hired in May 2019. He has a 48-62-17 record over his first two seasons at the helm, with Ottawa finishing second-last in the all-Canadian North Division last season. Before jumping to the NHL, Smith served as head coach of the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League and guided the team to a Memorial Cup win in 2015. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement that Smith has an "exceptional ability to communicate with our players, with the team's coaching staff and with our management group."