 Under Martin, the Senators was more competitive, going 10–24–4 in his 38 games to finish the year with an 18–59–5, their fourth straight season at the bottom of the NHL standings.After taking over from the fired Randy Sexton as General Manager, on December 6, 1995, Pierre Gauthier made three moves to strengthen the club.He hired Jacques Martin as head coach, signed hold-out Alexei Yashin to a contract and engineered a blockbuster trade on January 23, 1996, dealing away Don Beaupre, Martin Straka, and Bryan Berard, while acquiring Damian Rhodes and Wade Redden.