Giroux defends Smith: 'He's our coach, he's not going anywhere'

Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux told reporters Tuesday he's getting sick of all the speculation surrounding the future of head coach D.J. Smith.

"It's getting pretty old. The fans and the media talking about D.J. It's pretty frustrating actually. He's our coach, he's not going anywhere. We want to play for him. It's a distraction that we don't need right now," Giroux said.

The Senators have dropped five of their last six and sit tied for last in the Eastern Conference with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"I'm my worst critic," Smith said Monday. "I want any time that I coach to play a certain way and to play right and to play hard and to play together. When you don't win, like I said, I'm my biggest critic. I go home and I beat myself up. The noise doesn't bother me. It's the fact that when you're not winning, you're frustrated as a coach because you want them to do what you do and win. But our job as coaches is to get the best of the players. Make them play the best. Make them play the right way and that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna work with them and we're going to get out of this."

"When people say 'Fire DJ' I just said to my wife I just hope they don’t yell 'Fire Dad' because then [my kids will] know they’re talking about me. Every parent wants to shield their kids...there’s pressure and privilege to have this job and we’re lucky to be where we are. I’ll do everything in my power to get these guys going," he said Monday.

In his fifth season behind the bench in Ottawa, Smith said his team needs to drown out the noise around them and focus on what's happening on the ice.

"It's pointless," Smith said of listening to outside criticism. "We know we have to get playing better. Structurally, we were too loose last game and we got stung. But we had a great practice today and sometimes things happen and you become stronger because of it. I think this is one of those instances. I think Timmy [Stützle] probably had his best practice of the year today. It was just dialed in. I think sometimes you just have to stick together more and you trust in the details and the structure of it and you find a way to get out of it.

The Sens have also dealt with other issues in recent weeks, including Shane Pinto's 41-game suspension for activities related to sports wagering and the loss of a first-round pick stemming from the Evgenii Dadonov trade in 2021 that resulted in the firing of general manager Pierre Dorion.

The 46-year-old Smith has a combined record of 124-145-32 during his time behind the Senators' bench. Ottawa has not made the playoffs since reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.

The Sens play in Toronto on Wednesday and then begin a six-game homestand running from Thursday until Monday, Nov. 27.