Former Senators assistant coach Bob Jones dies at age 54
The team in Canada’s capital is mourning the loss of one of their own.
On Friday, the Ottawa Senators announced that former assistant coach Bob Jones passed away at the age of 54.
News Release: After a courageous battle with ALS, the #Sens are mourning the loss of former assistant coach Bob Jones: https://t.co/91HxAJMArz
Communiqué : Les #Sens pleurent le décès de l’ancien entraîneur adjoint Bob Jones : https://t.co/w0ZEDFeNJ5 pic.twitter.com/uYuHfq0cPg
Jones was hired by the Senators on July 5, 2019, his first job in the NHL. In December 2022, he was diagnosed with ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Jones went public with his diagnosis the following month, but that did not stop him from performing his duties with the team, coaching all the way through the 2023-24 season.
The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native became an advocate for ALS research and awareness after receiving his diagnosis.
“The entire Senators’ organization is thinking of Bob’s loved ones and sending our sincere condolences to his family,” Senators owner Michael Andlauer said in a release. “For both our current players and for the members of our staff who had the privilege of working with Bob, his loss brings considerable sorrow. Bob will be fondly remembered for having a true joy for life and for his determined commitment to routinely help better individual players and all hockey organizations for which he worked.”
Jones was brought into the Senators’ fold with head coach D.J. Smith. The two worked together until Smith was fired by the team in December of this past season, with Jones serving under Jacques Martin for the remainder of the campaign.
Prior to coming to the NHL, Jones was an assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Texas Stars for the 2018-19 season. He also coached in the Ontario Hockey League for over two decades, serving as head coach of the Windsor Spitfires (2010-11) and Oshawa Generals (2015-18).
He also played for a number of years at the professional level. The former Soo Greyhound played in the International Hockey League with the San Diego Gulls and Fort Wayne Komets, before heading to Michigan to play for the Muskegon Fury and the Saginaw Wheels of the Colonial Hockey League.
He is survived by his wife, Paige and their two adult children, Blake and Brianna.