Kings name D.J. Smith as assistant coach

Not exactly breaking news, after reports yesterday afternoon, but the Kings have made it official here this morning – The organization has hired D.J. Smith as an assistant coach under Interim Head Coach Jim Hiller.

Smith rounds out the staff under Hiller for the remainder of the season, joining existing assistants Trent Yawney and Derik Johnston, as well as goaltending coach Mike Buckley and video coordinator Samson Lee.

This isn’t exactly a surprising move, considering Hiller and Smith’s time together with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The pair were assistant coaches in the Toronto organization from 2015-19, before Smith left to become the Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators, while Hiller went on to the New York Islanders organization, and eventually the Kings last summer.

Regarding Smith’s credentials, he served as the bench boss in Ottawa until he was relieved of his duties in December. Smith was previously a part of a staff, alongside Hiller, that led Toronto to three postseason appearances. He was also one of the best coaches in the OHL prior to that, leading the Oshawa Generals to a Memorial Cup in 2015, winning at least one round in the playoffs in each of the three seasons behind the bench. While Smith’s Senators teams did not find the success they were hopeful of, Smith’s open communication with players, professionalism and positive approach were widely spoken of in Ottawa. Coming in as an assistant coach, those are perhaps what are more valuable, seeing as the roles and responsibilities change. Plus, the Senators have won just 9 of 21 games since making the change, allowing a league-high 81 goals. So….yeah.

Coming out of Rob Blake’s availability yesterday, it was clear that he and the Kings valued an outside opinion to add onto the staff. They wanted someone who could come in and “bring a different look”. Smith has seen this Kings team firsthand as an opposing head coach over the last three seasons. That brings with it an individual who has gameplanned against the Kings, looking for strengths and weaknesses that an opposing team would look to exploit or defend against. Those opinions also come without bias of seeing things from the inside, working with players individually or knowing how pieces come together. There’s a lot of value in that.

Smith does have a few ties to the Kings organization, however, though certainly not enough to discredit the above. Smith coached Cam Talbot in Ottawa during the 2022-23 season, his lone campaign in Ottawa. Smith also coached defenseman Andreas Englund during the 2019-20 season, when the Swedish blueliner logged 24 games with the big club. He was on the Toronto staff in 2018-19, when Trevor Moore made his NHL debut, with the Thousand Oaks native playing 25 games with the Maple Leafs that season.

Expecting to see Smith at the Kings’ practice on Thursday at Toyota Sports Performance Center and expecting to hear from Hiller about Smith during his introductory press conference that day.

From the team’s official release –

The LA Kings have named D.J. Smith as an assistant coach, joining assistant coaches Trent Yawney and Derik Johnson, goaltending coach Mike Buckley and video coordinator Samson Lee on interim head coach Jim Hiller’s staff.

Smith, 46, joins the Kings organization after serving as the head coach of the Ottawa Senators for parts of the last five seasons (2019-24). Smith also served as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs (2015-19), spending four seasons behind the bench alongside Hiller before being hired by Ottawa.

Prior to his NHL coaching career, the Windsor, Ontario native spent a decade coaching in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between his hometown Windsor Spitfires (2005-12) and Oshawa Generals (2012-15). During his time in Windsor as assistant and associate coach, Smith helped guide the Spitfires to back-to-back J. Ross Robertson Cups (OHL championship) and Memorial Cups in 2009 and 2010 as the best team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).

Following his time in Windsor, Smith was named head coach of the Oshawa General for three seasons. In that time, Smith accumulated a 135-53-16 record, including a 42-20-6 record in the 2013-14 campaign to earn OHL’s Coach of the Year honors. In his third and final season with Oshawa, Smith’s squad captured both the J. Ross Robertson Cup and the Memorial Cup.

Smith was drafted in the second round (41st overall) by the New York Islanders in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Smith skated in 45 NHL games as a defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1996-97; 99-00) and Colorado Avalanche (2002-03).