Top 5 Coaches in Edmonton Oilers History

On July 14, the Edmonton Oilers made an announcement about major changes to their coaching staff. Gone from the 2024-25 Oilers coaching staff are goalie coach Dustin Schwartz, Glen Gulutzan, who was hired as head coach of the Dallas Stars, and Paul Coffey, who moves upstairs as a special advisor to owner Daryl Katz. In for the 2025-26 season are Paul McFarland, a power-play specialist, Peter Aubry, who will be the new goalie coach; and Connor Allen, who will be in a skills development role.

With the focus on coaches recently, I started thinking about the legacy of all 18 head coaches in Oilers history and who I would consider to be their top five. Counting down from five to number one, here’s my list:

5. Ron Low

1995-1999
.466% Winning Percentage

The reason I have Ron Low so high in the history of Oilers head coaches is he truly was able to get blood from a stone, especially before the salary cap era in the NHL. Low guided the Oilers to 139 wins and 162 losses during his time behind the bench, and missed the playoffs twice, but it was his exploits during the playoffs that have him ranked high. In the first round of the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Oilers faced the Stars, and upset the heavily favoured Stars 4 games to 3 thanks to an incredible goaltending performance from Curtis Joseph and a series-winning goal from Todd Marchant. It was one of the most exciting series in Oilers history.

The following season, under Low’s guidance, the Oilers managed to beat Stanley Cup contender Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of their first round series in 1998 with Joseph outplaying Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy. Both of these series wins with Low at the helm were statement wins for a franchise that was behind the eight-ball of the Dallas and Colorado franchises, who outspent them by almost a two-to-one margin. I could imagine how well Low would’ve done had he coached in the salary cap era.

4. Craig MacTavish

2001-2009
.537% Winning Percentage

Craig MacTavish won three Stanley Cups as a player with the Oilers and as head coach guided the franchise to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 where the Oilers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. McTavish knew how to motivate his team and push the right buttons at the right time with his roster over the years. He was a great motivator, tactician and all-around strong hockey mind. He also knew how to evaluate talent and might be best known for selecting Darnell Nurse and future superstar Leon Draisaitl when he was in the general manager’s chair in the 2013 and 2014 NHL Drafts.

3. Kris Knoblauch

2024-2026
.656% Winning Percentage

What has Kris Knoblauch done in his one and three-quarter seasons with the Oilers? Nothing but guide the team to back-to-back Western Conference Championships. His calm demeanour behind the Oilers bench and his ability to be able to read his players so well have him ranked high on the overall list. He has an uncanny ability to insert the right player into the lineup just at the right time. From inserting goalie Calvin Pickard in net in Game 4 of the Oilers’ second round playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024 to placing Kasperi Kapanen into the lineup against the Vegas Golden Knights in 2025, where he would go on to score the series-clinching goal despite being a healthy scratch for the first nine games of the playoffs.