Ottawa Senators’ Senior Advisor to the Coaching Staff Jacques Martin has been inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.
With an NHL coaching career spanning nearly four decades, Martin started with the St. Louis Blues in 1986, helping his team make the playoffs in both seasons he was at the helm.
The following season, Martin joined the Chicago Blackhawks as an assistant coach to Mike Keenan. The Blackhawks made the playoffs both years Martin served as their assistant coach. On both occasions, the Blackhawks made it to the conference finals, winning their division in the 1989-90 season.
Martin later served as an assistant coach for the Quebec Nordiques (and later the Colorado Avalanche) between 1990-1996.
In January of 1996, Martin joined the Senators as head coach and began his first tenure with the team, which spanned eight years. In his first full season as the Senators’ head coach, Martin helped the team make their first playoff appearance in franchise history, claiming their first playoff series win as well with a first round defeat of the New Jersey Devils.
Following a strong 1998-99 season that saw the Senators finish first in their division, Martin received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top head coach. During Martin’s tenure as head coach, the Senators won their division on three occasions as well as the Presidents’ Trophy for the top team in the league following the 2002-03 season.
Following his time with the Senators, Martin joined the Florida Panthers as head coach in 2004, later splitting his duties as the team’s general manager as well. Between 2009-2012, Martin joined the Montreal Canadiens as the team’s head coach.
In 2013, Martin joined the Pittsburgh Penguins as an assistant coach. In his first year with the team, the Penguins finished first in their division. That summer, Martin was promoted to the role of Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations. In 2015, he was once more named an assistant coach for the team. Martin is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins, winning back-to-back titles in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Following his tenure with the Penguins, Martin joined the New York Rangers as an assistant coach for the 2020-21 season.
In December of 2023, Martin made his return to the Senators as the team’s Senior Advisor to the Coaching Staff. Later that month, he was named the team’s interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023-24 season until Travis Green joined the team as their current head coach. Today, Martin continues to provide valuable insight and wisdom in his position with the Senators.
Outside of the NHL, Martin won a gold medal as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Additionally, Martin won gold with Canada as an assistant coach at the 2005 World Championship tournament in Austria.
The induction to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame is a well-deserved honour for Jacques Martin, who continues to leave his mark with the Ottawa Senators.
Click HERE to read more about Martin’s induction.
