John Muckler and His 3 Championships

John Muckler coached in professional hockey from 1960 to 2000 so the odds were for him winning a championship or two behind the bench. Actually, Muckler led three teams to playoff championships in three different professional leagues.

John played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association for three years from 1951-52 to 1953-54 with the Windsor Spitfires and Galt Black Hawks. His pro playing career consisted of eight years in the Eastern Hockey League with the Charlotte Clippers, New York Rovers and Long Island Ducks. With the Ducks, he was player/head coach from 1960-61 to 1962-63.

As a coach, Muckler found himself behind benches in the EHL, CHL, NHL and AHL. At the highest level, he coached the Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Of course, most notable are his years in Edmonton.

Long Island Ducks - EHL

His first championship came in 1964-65 while coaching the Long Island Ducks in the EHL. The team finished the regular season second in the North Division, 17 points behind the division leading Clinton Comets. The Ducks were third overall with the Nashville Dixie Flyers finished first with 108 points.

Long Island faced the Jersey Devils in the opening round and won 3-1. In the semi-finals, they upset the Clinton Comets four games to two. In the finals, they played giant-killer once again, taking down the Dixie Flyers in just five games.

Dallas Black Hawks - CHL

Well over a decade later, Muckler won his second championship, this time in the Central Hockey League. His Dallas Black Hawks finished second in the six team league behind the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Salt Lake finished with 101 points while the Black Hawks were eight behind with 93. Dallas used eight different goaltenders during the regular season, including Gary Bromley, Eddie Mio, Dunc Wilson and Curt Ridley. They had the most goals for and were the most penalized team in the CHL.

Dallas met the Kansas City Red Wings in the opening round and swept the Detroit affiliate in four games. In the finals, they met up with the Golden Eagles and lost just one game to take the championship.

Edmonton Oilers - NHL

Yet another decade and more passed before John’s third championship. In 1989-90, he was behind the bench for the Mark Messier led Edmonton Oilers. Messier finished second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with former teammate Wayne Gretzky. Mark had 129 points while Gretzky had 142 with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Oilers finished second in the Smythe Division with 90 points, nine behind the first place Calgary Flames. In the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets gave Edmonton a scare, going up 3-1 in the series. The Oilers roared back with three straight to advance. The next round was a four game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings. In the semi-finals, Edmonton found themselves in trouble again, down 2-1 to the Chicago Black Hawks before again winning three straight to take the series. The Oilers took the Boston Bruins in five games in the finals to capture the Stanley Cup.