D.J. Smith’s coaching career has already taken a few turns through the NHL, junior hockey, and back again — and now it’s leading him into a new role with a familiar face on a new bench.
The Edmonton Oilers announced Tuesday that Smith has been hired as an assistant coach under Mike Babcock, adding another experienced voice to the staff as he continues his NHL coaching journey.
Advertisement
The 49-year-old Smith most recently spent time with the Los Angeles Kings, where he stepped in as interim head coach from March 1 through the end of the 2025–26 regular season. He helped guide the club to an 11–6–6 finish during that stretch after initially joining the organization as an assistant in early 2024 before being elevated midseason to replace the fired Jim Hiller, who has since been hired to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The move to Edmonton reunites Smith with Babcock, under whom he began his NHL coaching career as an assistant with the Leafs in 2015. He spent four seasons in Toronto during a formative stretch of the club’s rebuild before eventually landing his first NHL head coaching opportunity.
Smith took over the Ottawa Senators in 2019 and spent parts of five seasons behind the bench, overseeing a long rebuild. Over 317 games, he compiled a 131-154-32 record, ranking second in franchise history in total wins among head coaches despite the team’s overall inconsistency under his tutelage.
Before his NHL coaching career, Smith built his reputation in junior hockey. He joined the Windsor Spitfires coaching staff in 2005 and spent eight seasons there, helping the program capture two Memorial Cup championships.
Advertisement
He later took over the Oshawa Generals in 2012 and quickly turned them into contenders, leading them to an OHL championship and a dominant Memorial Cup title in 2015.
Smith’s path to coaching began as a player. Drafted 41st overall by the New York Islanders in 1995, his rights were later moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 1996 trade.
As a defenseman, he appeared in 45 NHL games split between Toronto and the Colorado Avalanche, while spending most of his playing career in the AHL, where he logged 393 games over nine seasons.
Now with another NHL opportunity in Edmonton, Smith continues a coaching career that has steadily moved between development roles, head coaching responsibilities, and now back into a senior assistant position on a contender’s staff.
Image
Read the full article here