John Muckler

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CanadaCanada  John Muckler Ice hockey player
John Muckler
Date of birth April 13, 1934
place of birth Midland , Ontario , Canada
size 185 cm
Weight 91 kg
position defender
Shot hand Left
Career stations
1949-1951 Detroit Hettche
1951-1952 Windsor Spitfires
1952-1953 Galt Black Hawks
1954-1955 Chatham Maroons
1955-1956 Baltimore Clippers
Charlotte Rebels
1956-1959 Charlotte Clippers
1959-1961 New York Rovers
1961-1963 Long Island Ducks

John Muckler (born April 13, 1934 in Midland , Ontario ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player and was active as a coach with the Edmonton Oilers , Buffalo Sabers and New York Rangers from the National Hockey League . He was also General Manager of the Ottawa Senators .

Career

John Muckler began his career as a player in 1949 with the Detroit Hettche from the International Hockey League . He never made the leap into the high-class National Hockey League and instead played in lower-class leagues, mainly in the Eastern Hockey League . Muckler, who played in defense, took over in addition to his duties as a player in 1959, the coaching post with the New York Rovers . In 1961 he moved to the Long Island Ducks , where he ended his playing career two years later and became a coach in 1964.

In 1967, the Memphis South Stars from the Central Professional Hockey League , who served as the farm team of the newly formed NHL franchise Minnesota North Stars , signed him as head coach. During the 1968/69 season, Muckler first moved to the NHL when the North Stars appointed him interim coach. In 35 games he was behind the gang, but could only celebrate six wins and had to leave the team again.

In 1970 Muckler took over the coaching post with the Cleveland Barons from the American Hockey League , which he coached for three years before the team moved to Jacksonville and he moved within the league to the Providence Reds . In his first year with the team, he reached the final of the Calder Cup . After another successful year, the team's performance declined and the franchise was relocated to Rhode Island in 1976 . But there the team continued to weaken and Muckler was dismissed during the season.

In 1978 Muckler went back to the CHL and won the playoffs there with the Dallas Black Hawks before joining the Wichita Wind , the then farm team of the Edmonton Oilers . After a season with the CHL team, he took over the position of assistant coach for the Oilers at the side of head coach and general manager Glen Sather . The team around Wayne Gretzky , Mark Messier , Grant Fuhr , Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri made it to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 1983 , where they were defeated by the New York Islanders , who won their fourth title in a row. The following year, however, the Oilers achieved their first Stanley Cup victory and in 1985 they were able to defend the championship.

After winning the second title, Sather wanted to concentrate more on his management tasks, which is why Muckler was given more responsibility as a coach. As head coach with equal rights, they led the team from now on, while Sather continued to be the official owner of the post. In this line-up they won two more Stanley Cups in the following four years and in 1989 Muckler was the sole head coach of the Oilers and was able to win the trophy again.

After the 1990/91 season ended unsuccessfully, Muckler left the Edmonton Oilers and moved to the Buffalo Sabers , where he took over the post of Director of Hockey Operations. When the Sabers started the 1991/92 season with just nine wins from 28 games , coach Rick Dudley was dismissed and Muckler was his successor and finally took over the position of general manager in 1993. In the 1993/94 season the Sabers reached the mark of 40 victories for the first time in four years and Muckler was nominated for his coaching performance for the Jack Adams Award , but a year later he resigned his coaching office and concentrated on his duties as a general Manager.

His successor as coach was Ted Nolan , who missed the playoffs in his first season with the Sabers. The second year went much better, but there was a tense relationship between Nolan on the one hand and goalkeeper Dominik Hašek and Muckler on the other. After the end of the very successful 1996/97 season , the argument between the coach and general manager culminated with the dismissal of Muckler.

But already in the following season 1997/98 Muckler found a new job when the New York Rangers hired him as head coach after Colin Campbell was dismissed for poor performance of the team. But not much changed under Muckler and he had to leave the Rangers in 2000.

In June 2002, Muckler was appointed General Manager of the Ottawa Senators , and the franchise's most successful season to date followed with 52 wins in 82 league games, making them the best team of the regular season, winning the Presidents' Trophy and making the playoffs to the finals the Eastern Conference . The successes cast a positive light on the franchise, which had filed for bankruptcy a few months earlier, but the takeover of the team by Eugene Melnyk averted the ultimate bankruptcy.

The most important decisions in his time with the Senators fell Muckler in the lockout- related long break between summer 2004 and autumn 2005, when he signed Bryan Murray as the new coach and brought striker Dany Heatley from Atlanta. Both were among the main factors in reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2006/07 , which they lost to the Anaheim Ducks . Shortly thereafter, however, the Ottawa Senators separated from Muckler.

In the summer of 2007 there were talks between the Toronto Maple Leafs and John Muckler about a possible position in a leading position in the franchise, but the talks were unsuccessful.

In addition to his coaching activities in the NHL in 1984 and 1987, John Muckler was part of the coaching staff of the Canadian national team at the Canada Cup .

Achievements and Awards

As a trainer

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Muckler, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Midland , Ontario