John Muckler obit

Former Edmonton Oilers coach John Muckler dies

 

 He was not on the list.

If Glen Sather was the architect of the Edmonton Oilers championship ride, John Muckler was the engineer during their glory days of five Stanley Cups.

Muckler, who passed away Monday at 86, was Sather’s right-hand man for the first four NHL titles, then was the head coach in 1990 for their last Cup win over Boston when Sather stepped aside just to look after the general manager duties.

“John had a heart attack, then he had heart surgery, then he fell in his recovery, then he got Covid,” said Sather, from his off-season home in California.

“This is a tough day for me … he was a good man. He was methodical and had a great mind. He and (Teddy) Green and I worked really well. Now John and Teddy are gone.”

While Sather pushed all the right buttons once the game was on, getting the right people on the ice and being part coach, part psychologist with his stable of young stars, Muckler was very much the X’s and O’s side of the equation. He made sure the players who liked to score, liked to check once the regular-season was winding down, and into the playoffs. He knew how to break down other team’s tendencies.

The technical side made sense for John. He was really good at it. A good coach in all aspects. He was perfect for our winning,” said Sather, who waited a year after Wayne Gretzky was sold to the Los Angeles Kings before handing the reins to Muckler.

“Like I said, he was a helluva coach. I remember going to see him for a few games when he was coaching our farm team in Wichita, the Wichita Wind, and I thought ‘this guy is a a really good coach.’ So I brought him to us.”

Muckler joined the Oilers in 1981 following two decades in various positions with the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers as well as a short head coaching stint with the Minnesota North Stars in 1968-69. He stayed with them until 1991 when he left for the Buffalo Sabres to be head of their hockey ops, and then was behind their bench for 268 games. He later was head coach of the Rangers and general manager of the Ottawa Senators.

“When you have 22 pretty good hockey players and have enjoyed some success, it’s hard to imagine that the addition of an associate coach would be the final piece to getting the Oilers to the top of the mountain, but that’s exactly what happened when John joined the team,” said Gretzky in a statement. “He was tough, strict but most importantly fair.

“He helped lay the groundwork to make our team more accountable to each other and that propelled us to becoming champions. A wonderful family man and great friend, he personally took my career to another level. I will always cherish the hours he talked, from breaking down defences to raising a family. Rest in peace John. You will be missed.

“On behalf of John’s many friends in hockey, I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to (wife) Audrey and the entire Muckler family.”

Muckler was born in Midland but he grew up in Paris, the town in Ontario, not the city in France. He started as an Oilers assistant coach, won his first Cup in that role in 1984 against the New York Islanders and another in 1985 against Philadelphia Flyers before becoming associate coach in ’87 and ’88. He was head coach for two Oilers seasons ’89-90 and ’90-91 going 75-65-20 and he also got the Oilers to the NHL’s Final Four in ’91.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any more years like that ride,” said Muckler after his days with the Senators ended. “I mean, that was phenomenal. Five Stanley Cups and we went to the final six times. It was unbelievable.”

Muckler went to Buffalo to get into management but was soon behind the bench for four years. After taking a year off when he left the Sabres, he coached Rangers for three seasons, then went to Ottawa as GM and they reached the Cup final in 2007 losing to Anaheim. He was a senior advisor in Phoenix in 2008.

Muckler spent over 2,000 NHL games as either a coach or in management. He was also part of Canada’s coaching squad in the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cups.

He also coached the Minnesota North Stars, Providence Reds, Cleveland Barons, and was a senior advisor for the Pheonix Coyotes. He played for the Greensboro Generals as well.