The National Hockey League is widely considered the top-ranked professional ice hockey league in the world. With 25 teams from the US and seven from Canada, the NHL has more than 417,000 viewers each year!
This league was founded in 1917, and it started with only four teams. Throughout the years, the NHL became more and more popular, and today it features the best players in the ice hockey scene from 20 different countries!
But what do players do when they retire? Some simply stop working and enjoy their lives, while others decide to remain in the ice hockey scene and become coaches. This is why most of the current NHL coaches used to play in the NHL.
But who are the oldest NHL coaches at the moment? We wrote an article to answer this question!
8. Craig Berube (December 17, 1965 – present)
Current Age (as of June 2022): 56 years, 6 months, 11 days
Coaching: St. Louis Blues
Nationality: Canadian
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Born in 1965, Craig Berube, the current head coach of the St. Louis Blues, is among the oldest NHL coaches at the moment.
Between 1986 and 2003, Berube played a total of 1054 games in the NHL with five different teams. He first signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers and then joined the Toronto Maple Leaves and the Calgary Flames. Before starting his career as a coach, Berube also played for the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders.
He kick-started his coaching career in 2004, working for the Philadelphia Phantoms, but he was soon promoted to the Philadelphia Flyers coaching staff. In June 2017, Berube was named assistant coach of the St. Louis Blues, and a year later, he became an interim coach, after head coach Mike Yeo got fired.
Did You Know?
Craig Berube has First Nations origins. This term refers to Indigenous Canadian People who are neither Métis nor Inuit.
7. Peter Laviolette (December 7, 1964 – présent)
Current Age: 57 years, 6 months, 21 days
Coaching: Washington Capitals
Nationality: American
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Peter Laviolette is currently 57 years old and is the head coach of the Washington Capitals.
He was born in Franklin Massachusetts and played college hockey at Westfield State College. Laviolette started his playing career in 1986 and spent most of it in minor leagues. Some of the teams he played for during this period include the Indianapolis Checkers, the Colorado/Denver Rangers, the Flint Spirits, and the San Diego Gulls.
Laviolette also got the chance to play 12 games in the NHL with the New York Rangers during the 1988-1980 season.
He started his coaching career in 1997, working as head coach of the ECHL Wheeling Nailers. He then signed a contract with the New York Islanders, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Nashville Predators. In September 2020, he was hired as head coach for the Washington Capitals, a position he is still covering to this day.
Did You Know?
In 2020, Peter Laviolette was named the head coach of the United States national team.
6. Lande Lambert (November 18, 1964 – present)
Current Age:57 years, 7 months, 10 days
Coaching: New York Islanders
Nationality: Canadian
photo source: nhl.nbcsports.com
Born in 1964, Lande Lambert is among the oldest NHL coaches at the moment.
Lambert grew up in Melfort in a province of Western Canada and started his playing career in the NHL in 1983. Throughout the years, he played for three main teams, the New York Rangers, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Quebec Nordiques, a professional ice hockey team that used to be part of the NHL.
After retiring, Lambert decided to work as an ice hockey coach. He was first hired in 2007 as head coach for the Milwaukee Admirals for which he worked for four years until he was offered a better job as head coach for the Nashville Predators.
For a short period of time, Lambert also served as an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals before signing a contract with the New York Islanders in 2018. Following the 2021-2022 season he was finally offered the position of head coach for this team.
Did You Know?
Lande Lambert’s second wife, Andi Lambert, died of breast cancer in 2015. Together they have a daughter.
5. Dean Evason (August 22, 1964 – present)
Current Age:57 years, 10 months, 6 days
Coaching: Minnesota Wild
Nationality: Canadian
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Dean Evason is the current head coach of the Minnesota Wild and is 57 years old.
He started his career as a player in 1983 with the Washington Capitals. Dean then proceeded to play with other teams ranging from Hartford Whalers to the San Jose Sharks, the Dallas Stars, and the Calgary Flames. Before retiring, Evason also spent some time with EV Zug, a Swiss team, and EV Landshut, a German one.
Evason retired as an active player in 1999 and immediately started to coach right away. He first spent a few years in the Western Hockey Team and in 2005 he was hired by the Washington Capital as an assistant coach.
In 2012 the Milwaukee Admirals chose him as their head coach, a position that Evason maintained for six seasons. In 2018 he became the assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild, and in 2020 he leveled up to becoming head coach of the team.
Did You Know?
Dean Evason also played in the 1984 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship Canadian team. He was also a member of the Canadian national team in 1997 when his country won the World Championships.
4. Gerard Gallant (September 2, 1963 – present)
Current Age:58 years, 9 months, 26 days
Coaching: New York Rangers
Nationality: Canadian
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Gerard Gallant is currently 58 years old and is among the oldest NHL coaches.
He was born in Summerside, a Canadian city in Prince County. His house was close to an ice rink and, as a kid, Gallant spent most of his time here, playing with friends.
As a junior, he joined three different teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Team and was then drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 1981.
Gallant stayed on this team for most of his career and then moved to the Tampa Bay Lightning to play the 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 seasons. However, in November 1995, he injured his back and could no longer continue playing.
Gallant started his coaching career in the 1995-1996 season. He worked for several teams ranging from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights. In June 2021, he was hired by the New York Rangers to replace David Quinn.
Did You Know?
Gerard Gallant has been extremely successful in his career as a coach. He won the Jack Adams Award, an annual award given to the best NHL coach, in 2018 and was elected coach of the year of the Canadian Hockey League twice.
3. Lindy Ruff (February 17, 1960 – present)
Current Age:62 years, 4 months, 11 days
Coaching: New Jersey Devils
Nationality: Canadian
photo source: wikipedia.org
Lindy Ruff was born in 1960 and is currently 62.
He started his playing career in 1979 with the Buffalo Sabres. Ruff spent most of his career with this team and served as the captain for three years. However, ten years after his first game with the Buffalo Sabres, Ruff was traded to the New York Rangers, in exchange for a draft pick.
Ruff ended his career in 1993 and started to coach in the same year. He first worked as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers and was then hired as a head coach for the Buffalo Sabres in 1997. With this team, he also managed to win the Jack Adams Award in 2006.
Ruff moved to the Dallas Stars in 2013 and worked for a few years for the New York Rangers before being hired to his current position as head manager for the New Jersey Devils.
Did You Know?
Lindy Ruff served as an assistant coach for the 2014 Canadian Olympics ice hockey team.
2. Darryl Sutter (August 19, 1958 – present)
Current Age:63 years, 10 months, 9 days
Coaching: Calgary Flames
Nationality: Canadian
photo source: wikipedia.org
Darryl Sutter is among the oldest ice hockey coaches in the NHL and is currently 63.
He was born in the Sutter family, a family especially famous in the NHL scene. This family is, in fact, composed of seven brothers, six of which played in the NHL in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Sutter played mainly with the Chicago Blackhawks serving as captain for five years. However, he was the first to retire at the early age of 28 due to an injury.
Despite this, Sutter decided to continue his career in the ice hockey field and started to coach. He first worked with the Chicago Blackhawks and then began to train the San Jose Sharks. From 2002 to 2006, Sutter worked as head coach for the Calgary Flames but then stopped to focus on his role as manager of the club.
From 2011, Sutter served as a head coach for the Los Angeles Kings, but in 2018 he announced his retirement. However, a few years later, in 2021, he was re-hired by the Calgary Flames, for which he’s still working as a head coach.
Did You Know?
Darryl Sutter is currently married to Wanda and has three children, Brett, Jessie, and Christopher.
1. Bruce Boudreau (January 9, 1955 – present)
Current Age: 67 years, 5 months, 19 days
Coaching: Vancouver Canucks
Nationality: Canadian
photo source: commons.wikimedia.org
Bruce Boudreau is currently the oldest NHL coach at the age of 67 years old.
He was born in Toronto, Canada, and took part in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament when he was only 12.
Boudreau spent most of his career playing in minor leagues, especially in the American Hockey League. But he also spent a total of eight seasons in the NHL, with teams such as Toronto Maple Leaves and the Chicago Black Hawks.
Boudreau played his last game in 1992 and started to coach in the same year. Before being hired as head coach for the Vancouver Canucks, he worked for the Washington Capitals, the Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota Wild.
Boudreau is married to Crystal and has four children. In 1982 he opened a youthful summer hockey camp in Ontario to introduce kids to his favorite sport.
Did You Know?
Bruce Boudreau has always been a supporter of the Toronto Maple Leaves. He even admitted that, unless the Toronto Maple Leaves are playing against a squad he’s currently coaching, he always cheers for them.
