Former Flames coach Gulutzan joins Oilers as assistant

Glen Gulutzan coached against Todd McLellan for seven seasons in the NHL, including the last two with the Calgary Flames.

Now, he’ll coach alongside him on the other side of the Battle of Alberta with the Edmonton Oilers after being named to McLellan’s staff as an assistant coach with Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros on Friday. “Your sanity hinged on whether you beat the Oilers or not and now it’s gone the other way,” Gulutzan said. “You’ve joined the Oilers, so it’s obviously quite a big flip-flop. It’s a privilege to be in the league and to work for these two organizations is pretty neat.

“I’m really happy to be coming into Edmonton. One, it really works for my family. Two, I’ve known Todd and Trent for a long time and the opportunity to work for them was obviously a draw.

“Then, the most important thing is you always want to go where you feel you can win. Your goal as any coach is to win a championship and you want to go to a place where you think you have that opportunity. That’s a big drawing card.” Gulutzan and Yawney both have NHL experience as head coaches, while Viveiros just led the Swift Current Broncos to the Memorial Cup tournament as coach and GM. They replace Jay Woodcroft, who has taken the job as head coach with the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif., Jim Johnson, who was not retained, and Ian Herbers, who returned to the University of Alberta after three seasons with the Oilers.

“Glen Gulutzan has a variety of experiences at the NHL level as well as the minor league level,” McLellan said. “He understands what it’s like to be a head coach, especially in Canada, western Canada and, in particular, Alberta, so that’s a strong asset for us to have. He brings an upbeat personality and a good hockey mind and I’m going to use him in all situations.”

Gulutzan, 46, led the Flames to the playoffs in 2016-17 and had an overall record of 82-6824 as head coach. Gulutzan also spent two seasons as head coach with the Dallas Stars from 2011 to 2013. He had a threeyear run as an assistant with the Vancouver Canucks after that.