Skip to main content

Edmonton Oilers fire head coach Dallas Eakins

The Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach Dallas Eakins.
  • Author:
  • Publish date:

The Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach Dallas Eakins, the team announced Monday

Darren Dreger of TSN was first to report the firing.

General manager Craig MacTavish, who is expected to take over as interim head coach, will address reporters at 1:45 p.m. ET.

The Oilers are 7-19-5 this season and have lost 15 of their last 16 games, including their last four. Eakins was in his second year as the Oilers' head coach, accumulating a record of 36-63-14 after his June 2013 hire.

• MUIR: Wayne Gretzky in Las Vegas expansion mix; games to watch; more

The Oilers entered the week tied for the worst record in the NHL with 19 points. The club hasn't made the playoffs since 2006, despite a lengthy rebuild that has yielded several high draft picks, including three straight No. 1 overall picks from 2010-12.

Dreger reports that firing Eakins "would have been a very difficult decision" for MacTavish, a "huge" supporter of Eakins.

Eakins played 10 years in the NHL from 1992-2002, appearing in 120 career games.

The Oilers travel to Arizona on Tuesday to play the Coyotes (10-16-4) before a taking a trip to San Jose to play the Sharks (17-11-4) on Thursday.

MIke Fiammetta