Oilers hire 3 new assistants, including former Flames’ coach
NHL’s Battle of Alberta heats up as Gulutzan goes from Calgary to Edmonton
EDMONTON (CP) — 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, along 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,” Gulutzan continued. “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 on the Oilers’ staff.
“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 82-68-24 as their head coach. Gulutzan also spent two seasons as head coach with the Dallas Stars from 2011 to 2013. After that, he had a three-year run working as an assistant with the Vancouver Canucks.
“We’ve known each other for 20 or 25 years. I do consider him a friend,” Gulutzan said of McLellan. “You compete against each other. You see it in business all the time — you end up joining the guy you competed against. You trust that guy. You know they’ve been around and you respect what they’ve done. I think that’s the case here.”
In the aftermath of the Humboldt Broncos’ bus tragedy in April, McLellan and Gulutzan travelled to Saskatoon together to visit the injured players in the hospital.
Yawney, 52, played junior with McLellan in Saskatoon and spent three years as an assistant under McLellan in San Jose from 2008 to 2011, after two years as head coach with the Chicago Blackhawks. Most recently, Yawney spent four seasons as an assistant with the Anaheim Ducks.
McLellan said the Oilers will start next season with a three-man bench, while Viveiros, 52, will primarily work upstairs for the first two periods of each game.