List of Edmonton Oilers head coaches
The list of Edmonton Oilers head coaches includes all men who served as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, both as a franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972–79 and as a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) since 1979.
The Oilers had six different head coaches during the seven seasons that they played in the WHA,[1] including three terms by Bill Hunter, who was the team's owner and general manager at the time. Glen Sather became a player-coach during the 1976–77 season, but retired as a player at the end of the year. He coached the team for two more seasons in the WHA, and maintained the position when the Oilers were admitted as an expansion franchise into the NHL.
Since joining the NHL for the 1979–80 season, the Oilers have had twelve different head coaches. Glen Sather has the most games coached and most wins as head coach.[2] He stepped down before the 1980–81 season, but after the Oilers started the season with only four wins in their first eighteen games, he returned to the bench. He remained head coach for the remainder of that season plus eight more seasons, during which time the team won four Stanley Cups, in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988. For the 1985–86 NHL season, he won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success".[3] Sather stepped down as coach a second time after the 1988–89 season, and John Muckler coached the 1990 championship team. Sather would have one more stint as head coach, relieving Ted Green after the team posted just three victories in the first 24 games of the 1993–94 season. Sather was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997 in the builder category.
Former[4] Oilers head coach, Craig MacTavish, played for the team from 1985–94. He was a member of the 1987, 1988, and 1990 Stanley Cup winning teams, and he was team captain from 1992–1994. As of the 2013–14 season, he ranks second in the number of Oilers games coached.
Key
|
Win % and Pts %
|
WHA head coaches
№ | Name | Seasons | Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GC | W | L | T | Win % | GC | W | L | Win % | |||
1 | Ray Kinasewich | 1972–73 | 45 | 20 | 23 | 2 | 0.467 | – | – | – | – |
2 | Bill Hunter | 1972–73 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 0.558 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
3 | Brian Shaw | 1973–74 to 1974–75 | 137 | 68 | 63 | 6 | 0.518 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 |
– | Bill Hunter | 1974–75 | 19 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0.342 | – | – | – | – |
4 | Clare Drake | 1975–76 | 48 | 18 | 28 | 2 | 0.396 | – | – | – | – |
– | Bill Hunter | 1975–76 | 33 | 9 | 21 | 3 | 0.318 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
5 | Bep Guidolin | 1976–77 | 63 | 25 | 36 | 2 | 0.413 | – | – | – | – |
6 | Glen Sather | 1976–77 to 1978–79 | 178 | 95 | 76 | 7 | 0.553 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 0.348 |
NHL head coaches
№ | Name | Seasons | Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GC | W | L | T | OT | Pts % | GC | W | L | Win % | |||
1 | Glen Sather[5][6] | 1979–80 | 80 | 28 | 39 | 13 | – | 0.431 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
2 | Bryan Watson[7][8] | 1980–81[A] | 18 | 4 | 9 | 5 | – | 0.361 | – | – | – | – |
– | Glen Sather | 1980–81 to 1988–89 | 702 | 414 | 202 | 86 | – | 0.651 | 123 | 89 | 34 | 0.724 |
3 | John Muckler[9][10] | 1989–90 to 1990–91 | 160 | 75 | 65 | 20 | – | 0.531 | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0.625 |
4 | Ted Green[11][12] | 1991–92 to 1993–94[B] | 188 | 65 | 102 | 21 | – | 0.402 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0.500 |
– | Glen Sather | 1993–94 | 60 | 22 | 27 | 11 | – | 0.458 | – | – | – | – |
5 | George Burnett[13][14] | 1994–95[C] | 35 | 12 | 20 | 3 | – | 0.386 | – | – | – | – |
6 | Ron Low[15][16] | 1994–95 to 1998–99 | 341 | 139 | 162 | 40 | – | 0.466 | 28 | 10 | 18 | 0.357 |
7 | Kevin Lowe[17][18] | 1999–2000 | 82 | 32 | 26 | 16 | 8 | 0.537[D] | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 |
8 | Craig MacTavish[19][20] | 2000–01 to 2008–09 | 656 | 301 | 252 | 47 | 56 | 0.537[E] | 36 | 19 | 17 | 0.528 |
9 | Pat Quinn[21][22] | 2009–10 | 82 | 27 | 47 | – | 8 | 0.378 | – | – | – | – |
10 | Tom Renney[23][24] | 2010–11 to 2011–12 | 164 | 57 | 85 | – | 22 | 0.415 | – | – | – | – |
11 | Ralph Krueger[25][26] | 2012–13 | 48 | 19 | 22 | – | 7 | 0.469 | – | – | – | – |
12 | Dallas Eakins[27][28] | 2013–14 to 2014–15[F] | 113 | 36 | 63 | – | 14 | 0.381 | – | – | – | – |
13 | Todd Nelson[29][30] | 2014–15 | 51 | 17 | 25 | – | 9 | 0.422 | – | – | – | – |
14 | Todd McLellan[31][32] | 2015–16 to 2018–19[G] | 266 | 123 | 119 | – | 24 | 0.502 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0.538 |
15 | Ken Hitchcock[33] | 2018–19 | 62 | 26 | 28 | – | 8 | 0.484 | – | – | – | – |
16 | Dave Tippett[34] | 2019–20 to present | 71 | 37 | 25 | – | 9 | 0.585 | – | – | – | – |
Notes
- ^ Watson coached the first 18 games of the 1980–81 season and was replaced by Sather.
- ^ Green coached the first 24 games of the 1993–94 season and was replaced by Sather.
- ^ Burnett coached the first 35 games of the 1994–95 season and was replaced by Low.
- ^ Lowe's win/loss/tie record is 32–34–16 for a winning percentage of 0.488.
- ^ MacTavish's win/loss/tie record is 301–273–82 for a winning percentage of 0.521.
- ^ Eakins coached the first 31 games of the 2014–15 season and was replaced by Nelson.
- ^ McLellan coached the first 20 games of the 2018–19 season and was replaced by Hitchcock.
References
- "WHA Oilers Page - Coaches". "The Home of the Oilers". Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Glen "Slats" Sather—Foundation of the Dynasty". Edmonton Oilers Heritage. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Trophies - Jack Adams Award". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Oilers relieve MacTavish of head coaching duties". edmontonoilers.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- "Glen Sather's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Glen Sather Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Bryan Watson's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Bryan Watson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "John Muckler's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "John Muckler Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Ted Green's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Ted Green Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "George Burnett's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "George Burnett Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Ron Low's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Ron Low Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Kevin Lowe's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Kevin Lowe Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Craig MacTavish's profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Craig MacTavish Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- "Pat Quinn hockey statistics & profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- "Pat Quinn NHL & WHA Hockey Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- "Tom Renney hockey statistics & profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- "Tom Renney Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- "Ralph Krueger hockey statistics & profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
- "Ralph Krueger Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
- "Dallas Eakins hockey statistics & profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
- "Dallas Eakins Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
- "Todd Nelson hockey statistics & profile". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
- "Todd Nelson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
- "Todd McLellan named coach of Edmonton Oilers". NHL.com. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
- "Todd McLellan NHL & WHA Hockey Coaching Record | Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
- "Oilers fire head coach Todd McLellan, hire Ken Hitchcock". Edmonton Journal.
- "New Oilers coach Dave Tippett embraces 'unique opportunity'". Sporting News. May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
Sources
- "Edmonton Oilers Legacy - Coaches". Edmonton Oilers Heritage. Retrieved 2008-05-22.