When the Ottawa Senators' 2023-24 season began, head coach DJ Smith said the goal for his team was to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Just a few short months later, Smith is no longer the coach, Ottawa is 11-17 after losing six straight games, and things have gone completely off the rails in Canada's capital.

Captain Brady Tkachuk didn't hold back after the club's latest defeat, a 6-4 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

“It's hard to look at positives right now,” Tkachuk said, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. “It's a pretty s****y feeling, and I don't think I've felt worse in my life. This is not fun right now.”

The Senators can't buy a win, failing to secure two points in a game since Dec. 9 against the Detroit Red Wings and surrendering an abysmal 29 goals in that stretch. The Sens lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche, in that order.

Brady Tkachuk struggling along with his team

DJ Smith being fired by the Ottawa Senators.

“At the end of the day, it starts with me as a leader,” Tkachuk continued. “I've got to do a better job. Individually I'm not there, I'm not playing where I need to be playing. I feel like it's trickling down. It's on me as the guy in charge, as a leader, to do a better job. It's unfortunate. I've got to find a way to do a better job and help this team win.”

Tkachuk has certainly had a forgettable 2023 thus far; the 24-year-old is fourth in team scoring with 21 points in 28 games, but has only two points in his last eight. This is after he put up a career-high 35 goals and 83 points in 2022-23.

DJ Smith was fired on Monday after the Senators lost 6-3 to the Golden Knights, being replaced on an interim basis by Jacques Martin. Along with Daniel Alfredsson — the Ottawa legend who was appointed to assistant coach on Monday — the duo remain without a point through two games.

Without a win in seven tries, the Sens have fallen to 30th in league standings with just 22 points in 28 games. They're last in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

A promising start to the season has been derailed in Canada's capital, and it might already be time to look to 2024-25. The Senators will look to stem the bleeding against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday before the Christmas break.