Report: Former Edmonton Oilers coach Dave Tippett retires

Tippett’s coaching career spanned three organizations and 17 seasons. He broke into the coaching ranks in 1995 as the IHL Houston Aeros assistant coach, and was promoted to head coach part-way through that season.

He remained in Houston before joining the LA Kings as an assistant coach in 1999 where he worked for three seasons before taking on his first head coaching gig with the Dallas Stars.

Over six years behind the bench in Dallas, Tippett posted a 271-156-28 record. The Stars made the playoffs in five out of six seasons, but failed to reach the cup finals in any year.

Fired after the 2008-09 season, he joined the then Phoenix Coyotes where he spent eight seasons. He amassed a 282-256-83 record in the organization with the most successful year coming in 2011-12, when the ‘Yotes made it to the conference finals.

Between 2017 and 2019, Tippett was a team consultant with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, and later a senior advisor with the expansion Seattle Kraken.

He joined the Edmonton Oilers as the 16th head coach in franchise history and had great regular-season success amassing the second-best points percentage of any coach. But in the playoffs, his teams fell apart. In his first year, the Oilers were downed 3-1 in the qualifying round of the playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks and a year later, the Oilers were swept in the first round by the Winnipeg Jets.

The Oilers started strong this year, but completely fell apart in December and January. Tippett was ultimately fired on Feb. 10th.

After he was fired, Oilers GM Ken Holland said he had been hoping to sign Tippett to an extension.