Do you know who has run the Sens for the last 33 years? Learn more about the history of Ottawa Senators coaches since reforming in 1992 with Betway.
The Ottawa Senators haven’t had it easy since reforming for the NHL in 1992; despite their previous namesake’s eleven Stanley Cup wins, the modern team has yet to win the Cup, and ranked as having the least loyal fanbase in the league.
However, there have been fifteen Ottawa Senators coaches (including a two-game tenure from Roger Neilson) since reforming, and each has brought a new style of leadership and play. Let’s take a look at current and former Ottawa Senators coaches through history, and which have had the most success on the ice.
Ottawa Senators Coaches, 1992 to Present
Travis Green: 2024 – present
Green was hired to the head coach position with the Senators in May 2024, the third NHL team he has coached. He had previously been working with the New Jersey Devils. Despite some trepidation from Sens fans when Green was picked for the head coach role, the team finally made it to the playoffs in the 2024-2025 season for the first time since 2017, and Green has been bolstered by renewed support from the fans.
Green’s focus on moving away from static positioning and increasing player rotation appears to have paid off so far, and with the 2025 draft coming up and the Sens set to pick 21st overall in the first round, many sportsbooks have their eye on the Sens as playoff contenders in the 2025-2026 season.
Jacques Martin: 2023 – 2024
Having set records for both his length of service and number of wins, former Ottawa Senators head coach Martin returned to the Sens as an interim head coach to replace DJ Smith. Unfortunately, the team went just 26-26-4 in the last 56 games of the season and missed the playoffs.
He is currently serving as Senior Advisor to the Coaching Staff for the Senators, and was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in May 2025.
DJ Smith: 2019 – 2023
Smith was brought in for a three-year contract to be the team’s head coach in 2019, followed up with a two-year extension in 2021 running through the 2024-2024 season. Currently, Smith holds the second-longest tenure as a Sens head coach, working with the team across four seasons, and was the first head coach since Jacques Martin to make it longer than two seasons with the team.
Unfortunately, the franchise missed the playoffs in every season under his leadership, and after a disappointing 11-15-0 start to the 2023-2024 season, Smith was relieved of duty.
Marc Crawford: 2019 – 2019
Crawford had been working as an Ottawa Senators associate coach since 2016 but was brought in as an interim head coach following the firing of former Ottawa Senators coach Guy Boucher. He went 7-10-1 for the rest of the season and DJ Smith was announced for the 2019-2020 season, while Crawford moved to the Chicago Blackhawks, returning to his position as an assistant coach.
Guy Boucher: 2016 – 2019
In his first season with the Sens, Boucher showed a lot of promise as a head coach, driving the team as far as the Eastern Conference Final against the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sens lost in overtime, but spirits were high.
In Boucher’s second season, the team’s rating plummeted to 30th place overall. Boucher didn’t manage to claw back the lost ground, and was fired in 2019 with the club in 31st place overall, but many fans remember him fondly for getting the team back to the ECF.
Dave Cameron: 2014 – 2016
Having worked as an Ottawa Senators assistant coach under Paul Maclean since 2011, Cameron was promoted to head coach following MacLean’s firing. The Sens won 23 of 31 games in the regular season in 2015 under his guidance, making it to the playoffs where they were unfortunately knocked out in the first round.
The following season, the team failed to make the playoffs, and Cameron was fired with a 70–50–17 record.
Paul MacLean: 2011 – 2014
Maclean’s performance as coach saw him twice nominated for the Jack Adams trophy, winning it on his second nomination in 2013. The 2012-2013 season had been plagued by injuries for the Sens and had posed a particularly difficult situation for Maclean as a coach, but he felt his long experience as an assistant coach had uniquely prepared him to handle the trials he faced, and he proved it as the team made the playoffs.
Maclean was signed to a three-year contract with the team, but was fired at the end of 2014 as the team looked unlikely to make the playoffs.
Cory Clouston: 2009 – 2011
Initially named as an interim coach to fill in after Craig Hartsburg was fired, Clouston’s offence-heavy performed well in the early stages of his Senators career – compared with the uninspiring defensive strategy touted by his predecessor – and he was rewarded with a two-year contract. In his first full season of coaching, the team made the playoffs.
However, in his second season things went awry, and the team dropped to the bottom of the standings. Although GM Murray made a series of changes to the team to save the season, they fell short of the playoffs and Clouston was fired.
Craig Hartsburg: 2008 – 2009
Hartsburg retired as a player at age 30 and took up coaching. He signed onto a three-year contract with the Sens in 2008, but the team continued its sub .500 record and after just 48 games, Hartsburg was fired from the team with a record of 17-24-7.
Bryan Murray: 2008 – 2008
Returning to the position of Ottawa Senators head coach, Bryan Murray returned to the bench as interim coach after firing John Paddock to finish out the 2007-2008 season, leading the team through to the playoffs where they lost in the first round. He remained with the team as the GM until 2016.
John Paddock: 2007 – 2008
Paddock stepped into the head coaching position following the promotion of his predecessor, Bryan Murray and, that season, the franchise set records for the strongest start in NHL history as they won 15 out of their first 17 games.
However, the team’s performance declined rapidly after that first burst of success, and after several devastating losses and some controversial choices with the team, Murray fired Paddock (as well as the Ottawa Senators assistant coach Ron Low) and took over himself. Both Paddock and Low were given roles elsewhere within the franchise.
Bryan Murray: 2005 – 2007
Murray coached the Sens for two seasons, during which the team made it all the way to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007 with a 48-25-9 record, where they were beaten by the Mighty Ducks (who Murray had previously worked with both as a coach and a GM).
Following the Finals, the Sens risked losing Murray as his contract to coach was due to expire, while then-GM Muckler had one more season left to go. In order to keep Murray with the team, Murray was promoted to replace Muckler as GM.
Jacques Martin: 1996 – 2004
In his first experience as the Ottawa Senators head coach, Martin worked with the Sens for nine seasons, completing the 1995-1996 season after Dave Allison was fired and stepping into a team with an 8–35–1 record. In 1999, he became the first Senators coach to win the Jack Adams Award.
His leadership was briefly interrupted when he stepped back to bring in Roger Neilson for the last two games of the 2001-2002 season, allowing Neilson to become the ninth man to coach 1,000 games. Following Neilson’s brief stint in his shoes, Martin returned to the bench and went on to drive the Sens to greater success than his predecessors.
Despite wins in the regular season, the Sens continued to struggle for playoffs success. In the 2003-2004 season, the Sens were heavy favourites to win the Stanley Cup, but after losing the first round of the playoffs to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Martin was fired from the team.
Dave Allison: 1995 – 1996
Brought into replace Bowness, Allison is the only person to have his spent his entire career as a head coach in the NHL with the Sens – in his time during the 1995-1996 season, the Sens won just two of 27 games played under his leadership, and he was fired with a record of 2–22–3. Allison also worked as a head coach across various leagues, including the ECHL, OHL, AHL and UHL.
Rick Bowness: 1992 – 1995
As the first head coach of the expansion Ottawa Senators, Bowness led the team through some tough expansion years – speaking on theComing in Hot podcast, Bowness said, “I probably wasn’t ready for that challenge […] we were so bad that first year that they had to change all the draft rules.” Despite a win in their very first game against eventual Stanley Cup champions the Montreal Canadiens, it was a rough year for the Senators, finishing with a league-worst 10–70–4 record and tying for last place with the San Jose Sharks.
Bowness made it through three full seasons with the Senators, but nineteen games into his fourth season, the team was on a low 6-13-0, and Bowness was fired. Nonetheless, Bowness had enjoyed a nine-year professional playing career and coached numerous teams over his career; in 1997, he was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.
Who is the longest serving Ottawa Senators head coach?
Jacques Martin currently holds the record for the longest tenure as the modern Ottawa Senators coach, having been head coach for nine seasons between 1994 and 2004. DJ Smith takes second place, leading the team through three full seasons and beginning a fourth.
Who is the current Ottawa Senators head coach?
As of 2024, the Ottawa Senators head coach is Travis Green, a former centre turned coach. He has previously worked with the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils in the NHL.
When it comes to coaching the Sens, Green has said:
“I’ve watched this team from afar for a while now. I see a very young, talented team, but also has a lot of room to grow. There’s a lot of room for growth here. And I think I check that box as far as teaching, developing and working with young players. So, for me, that was exciting, looking at where this team was at.”
Who is the most successful Ottawa Senators coach?
Jacques Martin is generally considered the most successful Sens head coach, achieving records during his leadership for most regular-season game wins at 341, as well as the most playoff game wins at 31. However, when it comes to win-loss percentages in the playoffs, Guy Boucher could be considered more successful, with a .579.
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