Craig MacTavish returns for his eighth season as the Edmonton Oilers’ head coach in 2007-08.

“MacT” begins the season tied with Minnesota Wild’s head coach, Jacques Lemaire, for the third longest tenure among current NHL coaches. Both MacTavish and Lemaire began their streak of eight seasons with the same team in 2000-01 and trail only Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff, who enters his 11th season with the Sabres, and Barry Trotz of Nashville, who is in his 10th campaign behind the bench of the Predators.

Named the eighth coach of the Oilers on June 22, 2000, MacTavish has compiled a career record of 222-203-67 (.519) in 492 games. His 222 wins are 13th among active NHL coaches as are his 492 games coached. The former Oilers’ captain has a 19-17 (.528) record in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and became the third coach to guide the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final.

Signed to a four-year contract (July 20, 2006) prior to the start of the 2006-07 season, MacTavish registered his 200th career NHL victory with a 6-2 win versus the St. Louis Blues on November 16, 2006. He was behind the Edmonton bench for the Oilers’ 1,000th regular season victory – a 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers at Rexall Place on January 2, 2007.

The 2005-06 season saw MacTavish guide the Oilers to their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 1990 as Edmonton fell in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. After finishing the regular season in eighth place in the NHL’s Western Conference standings with a 41-28-13 record, MacTavish led the Oilers to within a game of their sixth Stanley Cup. In the post-season the Oilers went 15-9 and defeated Detroit, San Jose and Anaheim during their playoff drive.

MacTavish led Edmonton past the NHL’s top team in the opening round of the 2006 playoffs as the Oilers defeated the President Trophy winning Detroit Red Wings 4-2 in the conference quarterfinals. The Oilers then defeated the San Jose Sharks and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on their way to winning the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as Western Conference champions.

MacTavish reached the 40-win mark for the first time in his career during 2005-06, as he led the Oilers to 41 victories, marking the 8th time in franchise history that the team has won 40-or-more games in a single season and the first time since 1987-88.

MacTavish ranks second on Edmonton’s all-time coaching list in games (492), wins (222), ties/ot losses (67) and is third in winning percentage (.519). In the post-season, he is third in playoff games coached (36), playoff wins (19) and winning percentage (.528).

Named the eighth coach in team history on June 22, 2000, he has guided the Oilers to a .500 or better record, winning at least 32 games in each campaign and earned Stanley Cup Playoff berths in 2000-01, 2002-03 and 2005-06.

MacTavish guided the Oilers to a 36-29-12-5 (.543) record In 2003-04 and in the process became the second winningest coach in team history. He moved past Ron Low into sole possession of 2nd place on the Oilers all-time coaching wins list with his 140th victory – a 5-4 OT win versus the Phoenix Coyotes on March 2, 2004.

He has twice represented Canada as a coach on the international stage. In December of 2004, he was named an assistant coach with Team Canada for the 2004 Loto Cup and he served as an assistant with Team Canada at the 2005 World Championship.

One of the most popular players in Oilers’ history, MacTavish returned to Edmonton as an assistant coach on Kevin Lowe’s staff for the 1999-00 season after spending the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers.

The 48-year-old native of London, Ontario, played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League, breaking in with the Boston Bruins in 1979-80 and retiring following the 1996-97 season with the St. Louis Blues. The last player in the NHL to skate without a helmet, MacTavish scored 213 goals and 267 assists for 480 points and 891 penalty minutes in 1,093 career games with Boston, Edmonton, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia and St. Louis. He also appeared in 193 playoff games, scoring 58 points on 20 goals and 38 assists with 218 minutes in penalties and was a member of four Stanley Cup championship teams, including three with the Oilers.

Joining the Oilers in 1985-86, MacTavish played eight and a half seasons with Edmonton before being dealt to the Rangers for Todd Marchant on March 21 1994. During his tenure with the Oilers, the former centreman played an integral part in three Stanley Cup championship teams (1987, 1988, 1990) and became the seventh player in team history to be named team captain. He wore the “C” for both the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons.

With 331 career points in 701 games as an Oiler, MacTavish’s name can be found among the list of Edmonton’s team leaders in several categories. The 13th leading scorer in Oilers’ history, he is 7th in games played, 10th in goals (155), 13th in assists (176), 4th in shorthanded goals (29) and 7th in game-winning goals. He also skated in a team record 518 consecutive games from October 11, 1986 to January 2, 1994, ranking 10th all-time in the NHL. He added 13-24-37 in 113 post-season games to rank 16th on the Oilers’ all-time Stanley Cup scoring list.

Craig, his wife, Debbie and their three children – sons, Nathan and Sean and daughter, Brianna – make their home in Edmonton.