Exactly 30 years after he coached his first game with the Ottawa Senators, Jacques Martin will be immortalized inside Canadian Tire Centre.
The club announced on Thursday that Martin will be added to the Ring of Honour on Saturday, January 24th, ahead of the Senators game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Martin’s first game behind the bench with Ottawa took place on January 24, 1996 – just one week after the Canadian Tire Centre opened.
“I have been privileged to coach outstanding players and not only great players, but great people. And that was the reason I was able to get there,” Martin said after he learned he was being added to the Ring of Honour.
Martin quickly transformed the Senators from a struggling expansion team into a perennial Stanley Cup contender. Under his watch, the Senators qualified for the playoffs in each of his eight full seasons behind the bench. He captured the Jack Adams award as the NHL coach of the year in 1999 and guided the Senators to their only President’s Trophy in the 2002-03 season.
Martin is the franchise’s all-time leader in virtually all coaching categories, including games (748), wins (367) and playoff wins (31). He returned for a second stint with the club during the 2023-24 season and remains an advisor to the current coaching staff.
Martin joins Bryan Murray, Wade Redden and Dr. Don Chow as the fourth member of the Senators Ring of Honour inside the Canadian Tire Centre.
