George Burnett

The 1994-95 season was one of the most tumultuous in Oiler history. The National Hockey League (NHL) player lockout limited the Edmonton Oilers to just 48 games during that season. The standoff ended when, after more than 100 days without hockey, a new collective bargaining agreement was reached (retroactive to 1993, when the last one had expired) and the season finally kicked off on January 20, 1995. To add to the confusion, the Oilers coaching staff received a major overhaul as general manager Glen Sather gave the coaching job to George Burnett, who was just 33 at the time.

Burnett was promoted from the American Hockey League, where he coached the Cape Breton Oilers from 1992-1994 and led the Edmonton farm club to a Calder Cup championship in 1993.

The Oilers would win just 12 of their first 35 games under Burnett, who feuded with team captain Shayne Corson. On April 6, while the team was in San Jose, Sather fired Burnett and replaced him with assistant coach Ron Low. Edmonton went 5-7-1 under Low, missing the playoffs for the third straight season.

Meanwhile, Burnett won the Memorial Cup with the Guelph Storm in the spring of 1998. Weeks later, he was hired to coach Canada’s national junior team.

Soon after he accepted the post, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim offered him an assistant coach’s job. Burnett would resign from Team Canada to coach at the pro level once again.

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