The new head coach of the Ottawa Senators is building his staff, including one person with Windsor connections.
Head coach D.J. Smith, a former assistant coach with the Windsor Spitfires, has announced the addition of another former Spits bench boss, Bob Jones, to the Senators' coaching crew. The announcement was made by the NHL club Friday morning.
Jones coached the Spitfires for one season, 2010-11, and has also been assistant in Windsor. He was also an assistant for three seasons under Smith with the OHL's Oshawa Generals and then was promoted to head coach in 2015 after Smith left to join the Toronto Maple Leafs staff. Last season, Jones was the head coach for the AHL Texas Stars, the top developmental club for the Dallas Stars.
Rounding out the staff in Ottawa for the coming season are associate coach Jack Capuano, who was last an assistant with the Florida Panthers; assistant coach David Payne, who was most recently with the Buffalo Sabres and had been an assistant on the Los Angeles Kings team that won the Stanley Cup in 2014; and video coach Mike King. The only returning member of the staff is goaltending coach Pierre Groulx.
