Oilers change out most of the assistant coaches
The Oilers recently had most of the contracts of their assistant coaches expire, and most of them were not brought back save for Mark Stuart. Everyone else has already left for a promotion with another club or is simply not coming back - or in the case of Dustin Schwartz, will simply be working two jobs instead of three.
Let's go through those now.
Glen Gulatzan leaves the organization to be the head coach of the Dallas Stars
This is the biggest story with the coaching staff, where Gulutzan will be going to Dallas for his second tour of duty as head coach of the Stars. He was previously head coach of the stars from 2011-2013 and was also head coach of the Flames from 2016-2018, and in between was an assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks as well prior to taking the Oilers job as assistant coach in 2018. Gulutzan's tenure here has been a bit unorthodox in that he has had the rare fortune of surviving the axe of multiple head coaches, something most assistant coaches don't get because head coaches and GMs all like to hire their own people. For the record, Gulutzan has survived the axe of Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchock, Dave Tippett, and Jay Woodcroft, and has only now left voluntarily under Kris Knoblauch. That's quite an accomplishment, and is a testament to his overall superb handling of coaching the PP here, something that in some seasons of his tenure was literally the only bright spot on the team.
Oddly enough, if you listen to Gulutzan's press conference on the Star's website, he was asked how this would be different than the last time. He said he "feels more ready" to be a head coach this time around, whereas he didn't the first time in Dallas.......interesting. He also stated that he has been around the block more so he understands the game better. Only time will tell if this will help the Stars get past the Oilers after losing to them the last two playoffs in a row in the third round.
Paul Mcfarland will replace Gulutzan as PP coach. He is well traveled as an assistant coach in both the CHL and NHL, most recently working for the Flames' WHL team the Calgary Hitmen.
Glen Gulutzan poaches David Pelletier for his staff
Former Olympian medalist and skating coach David Pelletier will be joining Gulutzan in Dallas as an assistant coach. An interesting choice considering that Pelletier's background is as a figure skater, not a hockey player. Pelletier joined the Oilers in 2014 and will be serving as the coach at the Star's media level during games. Good luck to him - except of course when he plays the Oilers.
No replacement for Pelletier on the Oilers has been named at the time of this writing. Unless there is a replacement hired by training camp, I would assume that Pelletier's duties have been incorporated into the role of skills coach Conor Allen.
Paul Coffey goes back to a management advisor position
Paul Coffey never meant to move into a coaching position over the long term so we always knew he would be going back upstairs at some point. His previous stint with Knoblauch was only supposed to last for one season but he ended coming back for an additional season. That second season was up at the end of this season. Coffey will now move back upstairs to the less strenuous position of special advisor to Daryl Katz and the rest of the hockey operations at large. The one returnee Mark Stuart will now expanded responsibilities as he takes on coaching the entire defense corps as well as PK coach instead of just the latter.
Dustin Schwartz is out as goaltender coach
This is the one that excites a large % of Oilers fans as Schwartz has gotten a lot of hatred over the years - and he was our goalie coach for the past 11 years so that's a lot of hate. Personally I never bought in to the hatred of Schwartz and always thought it was very unwarranted - never underestimate the power of the Schwartz.
In his place is Peter Aubry, a guy who has connections to Stan Bowman as he worked with the Hawks from 2015-2024. Sorry folks, Corey Crawford was already well established as the starter for the Hawks by that time and they had already won two of their three 2010 Cups by that time so he can't take credit for that. His biggest wins were Kevin Lankinen, Anton Forsberg, and Arvid Soderblom - a track record that isn't bad but doesn't exactly scream "my guys set the league on fire" either.
Aubry mentioned to the media that he intends to bring consistency to the play of both Skinner and Pickard, which should be music to everyone's ears. It'll be interesting to see what he brings to the table and what he can do with Skinner and Pickard.
Schwartz, meanwhile, is not exactly hurting for work as he is still a part time goaltending consultant for the WHL and is also a goaltending and science teacher at Vimy Ridge Academy here in the city, a private school that is very hockey-focused. I'm sure the incompetence that you all claim DS has is all rooted in ensuring that he will continue to "ruin" all the goalies coming out of the WHL for years to come. Feel free to wipe up the puddle of dripping sarcasm I just unloaded on you. :)
Kris Knoblauch's extension TBD - Knoblauch is entering the final year of his original contract with the Oilers, but after getting them to the Cup finals two years in a row plus his connections to Connor Mcdavid, you better believe he's getting extended.