Former Spitfires' Captain and Coach Smith Named Associate Coach of Oilers Under Babcock

'Want others to be good': Mike Babcock's associate D.J. Smith weighs in on McDavid, Draisaitl, Bouchard, Nurse and more

As voluble as D.J. (Dennis Joseph) Smith is as the new Edmonton Oilers associate coach — he’s a talker who can fill a writer’s notebook or fill an hour on a podcast — he’s also valuable because he knows this team better than his boss Mike Babcock.

Former Spitfires' captain and coach Smith named associate coach of Oilers under Babcock

Windsor’s D.J. Smith is reuniting with Mike Babock.

Mike Babcock adds former Leafs assistant to his Oiler coachng staff

The Edmonton Oilers are wasting no time assembling the pieces around their new head coach. After naming Mike Babcock as the franchise's next bench boss on Tuesday, the club quickly moved to fill out his coaching staff with a name that carries both familiarity and a long resume of its own. The hire signals a clear desire to blend experience with established chemistry as the team looks to maximize its championship window with Connor McDavid and Le…

RELEASE: Oilers add D.J. Smith as Associate Coach

The 49-year-old rejoins Mike Babcock behind the bench in Edmonton after starting his coaching career under him in Toronto in 2015; most recently served as interim head coach of Los Angeles last season