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, [cite web |title=WHA Oilers Page - Coaches |work="The Home of the Oilers" |url=http://homeoftheoilers.orgfree.com/coaches.html |accessdate=2008-05-22] 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. [cite book |title=Edmonton Oilers 2007–08 Media Guide |publisher=Edmonton Oilers |author=(ed.) Steve Knowles |year=2007 |pages=p. 16] Glen Sather has the most games coached and most wins as head coach. [cite web |title=Glen "Slats" Sather—Foundation of the Dynasty |work=Edmonton Oilers Heritage |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/legacy/contributions_coaches_glensather.html |accessdate=2008-05-22] 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". [cite web |title=Trophies - Jack Adams Award |work=NHL.com |publisher=National Hockey League |url=http://www.nhl.com/trophies/adams.html |accessdate=2008-05-22] 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.

Key

WHA head coaches

NHL head coaches

Notes

1. note label|Watson|A|noneWatson coached the first 18 games of the 1980–81 season and was replaced by Sather.
2. note label|Green|B|noneGreen coached the first 24 games of the 1993–94 season and was replaced by Sather.
3. note label|Burnett|C|noneBurnett coached the first 35 games of the 1994–95 season and was replaced by Low.
4. note label|Lowe|D|noneLowe's win/loss/tie record is 32–34–16 for a winning percentage of 0.488.
5. note label|present|E|noneIncludes the complete 2007–08 season totals. [cite web |title=Standings - 2007–2008 Regular Season |work=NHL.com |publisher=National Hockey League |url=http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=StandingsPage&type=CON |accessdate=2008-05-22]
6. note label|MacTavish|F|noneMacTavish's win/loss/tie record is 263–238–73 for a winning percentage of 0.522.

References

*cite web |title=Edmonton Oilers Legacy - Coaches |work=Edmonton Oilers Heritage |url=http://www.oilersheritage.com/legacy/contributions_coaches.html |accessdate=2008-05-22