List of Edmonton Oilers head coaches

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Glen Sather coached the Oilers for 842 regular games and 126 playoff games in the NHL.
Glen Sather coached the Oilers for 842 regular games and 126 playoff games in the NHL.

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 eight different head coaches.[2] Glen Sather has the most games coached and most wins as head coach.[3] 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".[4] 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.

The current 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 2007–08 season, he ranks second in the number of Oilers games coached.

Contents

[edit] Key

GC Games Coached
W Wins
L Losses
T Ties
OT Overtime Loss

Win % and Pts %

Win-loss percentage = \frac{W+\frac{1}{2}T}{GC} and Points percentage = \frac{W+\frac{1}{2}T+\frac{1}{2}OT}{GC}
  • For the 1999–00 to 2003–04 seasons, an extra point was awarded for overtime losses. These totals are included as losses for the purpose of calculating win-loss percentage.
  • Since the 2005–06 NHL season, ties are no longer recorded, but single points for overtime or shootout losses are still awarded. These totals are included as ties for the purpose of calculating win-loss percentage.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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] 1999–00 82 32 26 16 8 0.537[D] 5 1 4 0.200
8 Craig MacTavish[19][20] 2000–01 to present[E] 574 263 217 47 47 0.540[F] 36 19 17 0.528

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Watson coached the first 18 games of the 1980–81 season and was replaced by Sather.
  2. ^ Green coached the first 24 games of the 1993–94 season and was replaced by Sather.
  3. ^ Burnett coached the first 35 games of the 1994–95 season and was replaced by Low.
  4. ^ Lowe's win/loss/tie record is 32–34–16 for a winning percentage of 0.488.
  5. ^ Includes the complete 2007–08 season totals.[21]
  6. ^ MacTavish's win/loss/tie record is 263–238–73 for a winning percentage of 0.522.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ WHA Oilers Page - Coaches. "The Home of the Oilers". Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  2. ^ (ed.) Steve Knowles (2007). Edmonton Oilers 2007–08 Media Guide. Edmonton Oilers, p. 16. 
  3. ^ Glen "Slats" Sather—Foundation of the Dynasty. Edmonton Oilers Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  4. ^ Trophies - Jack Adams Award. NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  5. ^ Glen Sather's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  6. ^ Glen Sather Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  7. ^ Bryan Watson's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  8. ^ Bryan Watson Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  9. ^ John Muckler's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  10. ^ John Muckler Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  11. ^ Ted Green's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  12. ^ Ted Green Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  13. ^ George Burnett's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  14. ^ George Burnett Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  15. ^ Ron Low's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  16. ^ Ron Low Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  17. ^ Kevin Lowe's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  18. ^ Kevin Lowe Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  19. ^ Craig MacTavish's profile. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  20. ^ Craig Mactavish Coaching Record. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
  21. ^ Standings - 2007–2008 Regular Season. NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.


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Edmonton Oilers
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Edmonton Oilers Head Coaches
Kinasewich • Hunter • Shaw • Drake • Guidolin • Sather • Watson • Muckler • Green • Burnett • Low • Lowe • MacTavish