Entraineurs
Craig Mac Tavish
-Entraineur chef-
Craig MacTavish - Head Coach
Craig MacTavish returns for his second season behind the bench of the Calgary Flames in 2005-06.
MacTavish made his debut behind the Oilers bench in 2000-01, leading Edmonton to a sixth place finish in the NHL’s Western Conference standings, second place in the Northwest Division and a Stanley Cup Playoff berth with a 39-28-12-3 record. In 2001-02 the Oilers went 38-28- 12-4 for 92 points as they fell two points shy of a playoff berth in the highly competitive Western Conference. Edmonton finished second in the NHL in 2002-03 with a 2.19 goals-against average as they allowed the second fewest goals during the regular season with a team record 182. During the 2004-05 season, MacTavish worked closely with his assistant coaches – Charlie Huddy, Bill Moores and Craig Simpson – in helping to evaluate players in the Oilers’ minor league system as well as conducting a series of coaching clinics in the Edmonton area and northern Alberta.
In December of 2004, he was named an assistant coach with Team Canada for the 2004 Loto Cup. In his first international coaching role as a member of the national team’s coaching staff, he helped lead Canada to the bronze medal at the four-team tournament held in Piestany, Slovakia. One of the most popular players in Oilers’ history, “MacT” returned to Edmonton as an assistant coach on Kevin Lowe’s staff for the 1999-00 season after spending the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers. The 46-year-old native of London, Ontario, played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League, breaking in with the Boston Bruins in 1979-80 and retiring following the 1996-97 season with the St. Louis Blues. The last player in the NHL to skate without a helmet, MacTavish scored 213 goals and 267 assists for 480 points and 891 penalty minutes in 1,093 career games with Boston, Edmonton, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
He also appeared in 193 playoff games, scoring 58 points on 20 goals and 38 assists with 218 minutes in penalties and was a member of four Stanley Cup championship teams, including three with the Oilers.
After being drafted by Boston in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, MacTavish, who earned NCAA Division II All-American honours with Lowell University in 1979, spent five seasons (1979-80 to 1983-84) with the Bruins before signing with the Oilers as a free agent on February 1, 1985. Joining the Oilers in 1985-86, MacTavish played eight and a half seasons with Edmonton before being dealt to the Rangers for Todd Marchant on March 21 1994. During his tenure with the Oilers, the former centreman played an integral part in three Stanley Cup championship teams (1987, 1988, 1990) and became the seventh player in team history to be named team captain. He wore the “C” for both the 1993-94 and 1994- 95 seasons.
With 331 career points in 701 games as an Oiler, MacTavish’s name can be found among the list of Edmonton’s team leaders in several categories. The 13th leading scorer in Oilers’ history, he is 6th in games played, 10th in goals (155), 13th in assists (176), 4th in shorthanded goals (29) and 7th in game-winning goals. He also skated in a team record 518 consecutive games from October 11, 1986 to January 2, 1994, ranking 10th all-time in the NHL. He added 13-24-37 in 113 post-season games to rank 15th on the Oilers’ all-time Stanley Cup scoring list. Following his trade to New York, MacTavish helped the Rangers win their first Stanley Cup since 1940 with a seven-game victory over the Vancouver Canucks in 1993-94. He then signed as a free agent with Philadelphia and played two seasons with the Flyers (1994-95 to 1995-96) and was the Flyers’ representative at the 1996 NHL All-Star Game. Traded to St. Louis for Dale Hawerchuk on March 15, 1996, he concluded his NHL career with the Blues in 1996-97.
Craig, his wife Debbie and their three children – sons, Nathan, Sean and daughter, Brianna – make their home in Calgary.
