"Bob and his family's wishes are to take the courageous steps of making his condition public in an effort to drive ALS awareness as he fights this disease," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said Tuesday.
Jones will continue his coaching duties and "he has the full support of the organization to take any time he needs away from the club during the season to concentrate on his health and his family," Dorion said.
"The thoughts and wishes of the entire National Hockey League family are with Ottawa Senators assistant coach Bob Jones and his family," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We admire his courage in making his battle with ALS public and we will support him and his family in this fight."
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control.
"He's been having some issues earlier in the year and then got tested probably about three weeks ago, a month maybe," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "He was diagnosed but then wanted to get a bunch of different tests from different people. He's had three now and they have diagnosed him with ALS.
"It's tough. I've coached with him for years in Winsdor (in the Ontario Hockey League). I've known him for a long time. Players love him. Just right now, his wife, his kids, all of his friends ... he's just a guy who's cared about players for decades. Horrible news, and he wants to be around for his mental health, joking with the guys and keeping his spirits up rather than just go home and deal with it there. He has the freedom to come and go, but at this point he's at the rink and he's deadling with it the best he can."
Hockey Hall of Famer Borje Salming died Nov. 24, 2022, at 71 following a short battle with ALS. He played 17 seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, and had 787 points (150 goals, 637 assists) in 1,148 regular-season games and 49 points (12 goals, 37 assists) in 81 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow has been fighting ALS for the past three years. He and his family created the Weak Side Strong Challenge to help raise money for ALS research and treatment.
Snow presented the Norris Trophy, awarded to the top NHL defenseman, with his family at the 2022 NHL Awards to raise awareness of the progressive neuromuscular disease.
Jones is in his fourth season as a Senators assistant after being appointed to coach D.J. Smith's staff on July 5, 2019. The 53-year-old also coached for more than 20 years in the American Hockey League and OHL. He worked with Smith under coach Bob Boughner when Windsor won back-to-back OHL championships and the Memorial Cup in 2009 and 2010.
"He wants to raise awareness for the disease so that there's more help, there's more science, there's more cure, there's more medication," Smith said. "There's all these things that can be better and we all know that takes funding."
As a player, Jones was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the ninth round (No. 179) of the 1989 NHL Draft. A defenseman, he played six seasons with Adirondack of the AHL, San Diego and Fort Wayne of the International Hockey League and Muskegon and Saginaw of the Colonial Hockey League.
The Senators (21-23-3) won 2-1 against the New York Islanders at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday.
"It makes us want to just leave it all out there," captain Brady Tkachuk said. "We think that a loss or a bad game is the end of the world, but there are people in life going through way harder things. The fact that he wants to be here every step of the way and see all of us as a group and an organization accomplish our dreams, I think it says a lot about the person he is and how much he cares about this team and the players in the locker room. It just makes us want to find that extra level to get the job done in honor of him."
