EDMONTON- The Edmonton Oilers general manager has announced the team is parting ways with head coach Ralph Krueger.
Craig MacTavish made the announcement during a media conference Saturday afternoon at the club’s head office. MacTavish said he spoke with Krueger Friday and advised him he was going to be making “a head coaching change with our hockey club.”
He said Krueger was tremendously committed to the Oilers and “we wish him nothing but the best as he moves forward in his very impressive career.”
MacTavish said he spent a week talking to Krueger about bringing on a veteran assistant coach.
“During the process of me conducting those interviews, I recognized I was trying to add a coach that was more closely aligned with the way that I wanted to run the team, and less about supporting Ralph and the head coach of our team at the time.
“In my mind, as a manager, you generally have three very important responsibilities to a coach. The first is to hire the coach. The second is to support the coach to the best of your ability, and if you can’t do that it’s important that you make a coaching change and that’s what led me to this decision.”
“This is solely my decision to make,” MacTavish said Saturday afternoon, “In my mind, at the time, faced with this set of circumstances, it was the right decision and I stand by that decision.”
As for who would be stepping in to take Krueger’s place, MacTavish said “we’re very close with a coaching candidate. But at this point we haven’t formalized a deal so I’ll not say anything on that regard.”
However, many are speculating Dallas Eakins will be named the new head coach. Eakins doesn’t have any NHL experience, but has been the head coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs farm team for the last four seasons.
Watch MacTavish’s address in its entirety below:
Krueger was named the Oilers 11th head coach in June 2012. He joined the team as an associate coach on July 30, 2010.
Krueger led the Oilers to a 12th-place finish, with a 19-22-7 record, in the Western Conference this season. It was the seventh straight year the Oilers missed the playoffs.
MacTavish was named senior vice-president of hockey operations last year. He was promoted to general manager in April, after Steve Tambellini was fired.
Edmonton Oilers GM Craig MacTavish has announced the team was parting ways with head coach Ralph Krueger. MacTavish said the team was close to having a new coach in place, but nothing was announced. However, fans were quick to react to the decision, and speculate over a new coach, on Twitter.