SportsHockeyOilers

Historically bad ex-Edmonton Oilers coach is in the running for Maple Leafs job

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Jun 9 2026, 7:06 pm
Historically bad ex-Edmonton Oilers coach is in the running for Maple Leafs job
Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins may be getting another kick at the can behind the bench.

Eakins, who coached the Oilers through parts of two seasons from 2013 to 2015, sounds as though he is in the running for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ head coaching vacancy. The Leafs have been conducting plenty of interviews since firing Craig Berube last month.

“It also looks like that Dallas Eakins, he interviewed last week, and I believe he’s still in this mix,” David Pagnotta said to Brendon Escott on 880 CHED. “Whether he’s going to be one of the finalists I’m not sure, but he is still in that mix.”

Though it was plenty of time ago, mentioning Eakins would garner a harsh reaction from most Oilers fans. His tenure with the organization turned out to be a flat-out disaster, hence why he lasted less than two seasons.

In a combined 113 games behind the Oilers bench, Eakins had a record of 36-63-14. That translates to a winning percentage of .381, which is among the worst in Oilers history.

oilers-coaching-records

Hockey Reference

Aside from one season from Pat Quinn, along with a brief 18-game stint for Bryan Watson back in 1981, Eakins owns the worst winning percentage of all Oilers coaches. In his defence, he wasn’t given a good roster, though his tenure with the Anaheim Ducks years later didn’t go a whole lot better.

Eakins was hired as the Ducks’ head coach ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, and wound up lasting four seasons before being fired after 2022-23. Though once again tasked with a rebuilding roster, he had a record of just 100-147-44 for a winning percentage of .419.

Though Eakins hasn’t appeared behind an NHL bench since his tenure with the Ducks, he continues to coach, serving as both the head coach and sporting director for Adler Mannheim in the DEL.

Eakins does have ties to the Maple Leafs organization, as he spent four years as the head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies before being hired by the Oilers.

Though Eakins, who is now 59, has certainly learned from some of his past unsuccessful tenures in the NHL, hiring him would not likely go over well with Maple Leafs fans.

ADVERTISEMENT