John Muckler

John Muckler holds the distinction of being the last head coach to guide the Edmonton Oilers to a Stanley Cup.

The milestone came in 1990 as the Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins to win their fifth Cup in seven seasons. The victory marked the first championship the Oilers won without either Glen Sather behind the bench or Wayne Gretzky on the ice.

Sather devoted his energy to the general manager’s role, while Gretzky completed his second season with the Los Angeles Kings.

Experience en route to Edmonton

Muckler, who was raised in Paris, Ontario, has more than 50 years of professional hockey experience as a part-owner, general manager, director of player personnel, director of hockey operations, head coach, assistant coach and player.

He began his professional coaching career as a player/coach in 1959 with the old Eastern Hockey League’s New York Rovers. He spent the next 20 years working for the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and Vancouver Canucks before joining the Oilers in 1981.

With the Oilers, Muckler served as an assistant coach with Stanley Cup winners in 1984 and 1985 and was designated co-coach for championships in 1987 and 1988.

Bench boss’s benchmark

Muckler’s Oilers finished the 1989/90 season with a record of 38-28-14, good enough for second place in the Smythe Division. His club outlasted Winnipeg in seven games in the division semi-finals before dispatching Gretzky’s Kings in four games in the division finals.

It took the Oilers six games to get past the Chicago Blackhawks in the Campbell Conference finals en route to defeating the Boston Bruins in five games for the Stanley Cup.

The following season, Muckler’s men finished with a record of 37-37-6. After playoff wins over the archrival Calgary Flames and the Gretzky-led L.A. Kings, the Oilers lost to the Minnesota North Stars in five games in the Campbell Conference finals.

After Edmonton

Muckler left the Oilers for the Buffalo Sabres following the 1990-91 season. Initially the club’s director of hockey operations, Muckler quickly stepped behind the bench and coached the Sabres for the next four seasons. He also assumed the role of general manager in 1993.

Nominated as the NHL’s Coach of the Year in 1994, he stepped down from coaching in 1995 to focus on his front-office duties and was named National Hockey League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News for the 1996-97 season.

Muckler became the general manager of the Ottawa Senators on June 12, 2002. Prior to joining the Senators, he last worked in the NHL as the head coach of the New York Rangers from 1997-2000. His career coaching record in the NHL is 276-288-84.

His coaching pedigree also includes three appearances at NHL all-star games and two stints (1984 and 1987) with Canada Cup coaching staffs.

Despite overall success, Muckler endured a rough beginning to his NHL coaching career. He became Minnesota’s head coach at the age of 34 in 1968-69, but the North Stars won only 36 games under his leadership and, as a result, he was fired.

He spent the 1970s coaching in the minors, working in the Vancouver Canucks system. Hired by Sather to coach Edmonton’s Central Hockey League farm team in 1982, he would eventually replace Oilers assistant coach Billy Harris.

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