Craig MacTavish, who has played, coached, and served as general manager in the Edmonton Oilers organization over his decades-long career in hockey, was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame this past weekend.
The 65-year-old from London, Ontario spent the majority of his NHL playing career with the Oilers, capturing the Stanley Cup in Edmonton in 1987, 1988, and 1990 before winning again with the New York Rangers in 1994.
After retiring as a player in 1997, MacTavish joined the Oilers as an assistant coach in 1999 and was promoted to head coach a year later, serving in that capacity for eight seasons and leading the team to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.
The Oilers relieved MacTavish of his head coaching duties in 2009 but brought him back three years later to become the team’s senior vice president of hockey operations. He succeeded Steve Tambellini a year later as the team’s general manager, lasting two years in the role before being replaced by Peter Chiarelli.
The Boston Bruins originally selected MacTavish with the No. 153 overall pick in the 1978 NHL Draft. The 6’1″ forward spent parts of five seasons with the Bruins to begin his NHL career before being convicted of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence. After spending a year in jail, MacTavish was released by the Bruins to seek a “fresh start”; the Oilers subsequently opted to sign him.
MacTavish reached or surpassed the 20-goal plateau in four of his first five seasons in Edmonton. He was never the Oilers’ top scorer and often took on more of a defensive role in the playoffs, notably managing just one point in 19 games during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup in 1988. MacTavish was named an alternate captain of the Oilers in 1990 and succeeded Kevin Lowe as captain in 1992.
After a brief stint with the 1994 Rangers alongside fellow ex-Oilers Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Adam Graves, Esa Tikkanen, Jeff Beukeboom, and Lowe, MacTavish split the final three seasons of his career between the Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues. When he finally retired in 1997, MacTavish was the last remaining NHL player to not wear a helmet on the ice during games.
The Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Red Deer and inducted six individuals and one Memorial Cup championship team as its Class of 2024, with Jarome Iginla, Dave King, Kelly Kisio, Shannon Szabados, Billy Dea, and the 2000-01 Red Deer Rebels all joining MacTavish in receiving the honours. The induction gala took place on Saturday at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre on the campus of Red Deer Polytechnic.
