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Dallas Eakins

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Dallas Eakins
Eakins in 2023
Born (1967-01-20) January 20, 1967 (age 57)
Dade City, Florida, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Winnipeg Jets
Florida Panthers
St. Louis Blues
Phoenix Coyotes
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
New York Islanders
Calgary Flames
Current coach Adler Mannheim
Coached for Edmonton Oilers
Anaheim Ducks
NHL draft 208th overall, 1985
Washington Capitals
Playing career 1988–2004
Coaching career 2005–present

Dallas Franklin Eakins[1] (né Yoder;[2] January 20, 1967) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He previously served as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He currently serves as head coach and general manager of the Adler Mannheim of the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga.[3]

Early years

[edit]

Eakins' mother, Carol Ploof, was a native of Macon, Georgia.[2] His birth father was a Native American, Ted Yoder,[2] who Eakins believes was Cherokee.[2] Both parents split up shortly after his birth. Ploof later married Jim Eakins, a Canadian long-distance truck driver,[2] and Dallas subsequently adopted his stepfather's last name.[2]

In October 1974, Eakins' family relocated to Peterborough, Ontario.[4] As a youth, he played in the 1980 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Peterborough.[5]

Playing career

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Eakins played 4 seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)[6] for the Peterborough Petes, being named the captain in his final year and also the team's best defenseman that season. Jeff Twohey who was with the Petes for 3 decades called him the best captain the team ever had, saying "He was a great leader. He was a hard worker, loyal, tough, and never afraid to confront people. He knew how to keep players in line."[7]

Eakins was drafted 208th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play 120 career NHL games, scoring no goals and 9 assists for 9 points, thus becoming the second Floridian to play in the NHL, but the first to ever record a point.[8] Eakins is the first player born in the state of Florida to play for the Florida Panthers, having played for the club on two separate stints (but was raised primarily in Canada). However, the majority of Eakins' career was played in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the International Hockey League (IHL). In those two leagues, Eakins played 882 games, scoring 43 goals and 179 assists for 222 points, whilst playing for 10 different teams. Eakins also won a Calder Cup and a Turner Cup as a member of the Chicago Wolves.

Eakins once made a bet with Cincinnati radio personality Dennis "Wildman" Walker of WEBN while a member of the Cincinnati Cyclones that he would not score more than 3 goals in one season. Walker stated that Eakins could shave his head at center ice of the Cincinnati Gardens if he eclipsed that mark. Eakins not only scored six goals but did it in 30 games. The head shaving took place at center ice, before a game in December 1994, against the Long Beach Ice Dogs.

While serving as the captain of the Manitoba Moose in the 2003–04, Eakins switched from his number 6 to number 37, in honor of his friend and former Wolves teammate, Dan Snyder, who was killed in a car accident in Atlanta, Georgia.[9] Snyder was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers.

Coaching career

[edit]
Eakins coaching the Edmonton Oilers in 2014

After retiring as a player, Eakins joined the Toronto Maple Leafs organization as an assistant coach for the Toronto Marlies and later the Maple Leafs in 2006.[10] In 2009, he was given head coaching duties for the Marlies.[11][12] While with the Marlies, Eakins was named as one of two head coaches representing the Western Conference for the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 seasons AHL All-Star games.

Eakins left the Marlies in the summer of 2013 to become the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, but was fired from his position after only 18 months on December 15, 2014.[13][14] In June 2015, the Anaheim Ducks hired Eakins as the head coach of their AHL-affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.[15]

On June 17, 2019, the Anaheim Ducks named Eakins as the franchise's 10th head coach.[16] On April 14, 2023, the Ducks announced Eakins' contract would not be renewed, ending his four-year tenure as head coach.[17]

On November 27, 2023, Eakins was announced as the new head coach and general manager of a struggling Adler Mannheim in the German DEL, after a mid-season dismissal of general manager Jan-Axel Alavaara and head coach Johan Lundskog.[3]

Personal life

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Eakins is married to actress Ingrid Kavelaars. They have two daughters together.[18] His career is profiled in the book Journeymen: 24 Bittersweet Tales of Short Major League Sports Careers by Kurt Dusterberg.[19]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84 Peterborough Travelways OMHA 29 7 20 27 67 — — — — —
1983–84 Peterborough Legionnaires OMHA 5 0 3 3 4 — — — — —
1984–85 Peterborough Petes OHL 48 0 8 8 96 7 0 0 0 18
1985–86 Peterborough Petes OHL 60 6 16 22 134 16 0 1 1 30
1986–87 Peterborough Petes OHL 54 3 11 14 145 12 1 4 5 37
1987–88 Peterborough Petes OHL 64 11 27 38 129 12 3 12 15 16
1988–89 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 62 0 10 10 139 — — — — —
1989–90 Moncton Hawks AHL 75 2 11 13 189 — — — — —
1990–91 Moncton Hawks AHL 75 1 12 13 132 9 0 1 1 44
1991–92 Moncton Hawks AHL 67 3 13 16 136 11 2 1 3 16
1992–93 Winnipeg Jets NHL 14 0 2 2 38 — — — — —
1992–93 Moncton Hawks AHL 55 4 6 10 132 — — — — —
1993–94 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1993–94 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 80 1 18 19 143 8 0 1 1 41
1994–95 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 59 6 12 18 69 — — — — —
1994–95 Florida Panthers NHL 17 0 1 1 35 — — — — —
1995–96 St. Louis Blues NHL 16 0 1 1 34 — — — — —
1995–96 Worcester IceCats AHL 4 0 0 0 12 — — — — —
1995–96 Winnipeg Jets NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 4 0 0 0 10 — — — — —
1996–97 Springfield Falcons AHL 38 6 7 13 63 — — — — —
1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 3 0 0 0 6 4 0 0 0 4
1996–97 Binghamton Rangers AHL 19 1 7 8 15 — — — — —
1997–98 Florida Panthers NHL 23 0 1 1 44 — — — — —
1997–98 Beast of New Haven AHL 4 0 1 1 7 — — — — —
1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 18 0 2 2 24 1 0 0 0 0
1998–99 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 20 3 7 10 16 5 0 1 1 6
1998–99 Chicago Wolves IHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1999–2000 New York Islanders NHL 2 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1999–2000 Chicago Wolves IHL 68 5 26 31 99 16 1 4 5 16
2000–01 Calgary Flames NHL 17 0 1 1 11 — — — — —
2000–01 Chicago Wolves IHL 64 3 16 19 49 14 0 0 0 24
2001–02 Calgary Flames NHL 3 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2001–02 Chicago Wolves AHL 54 2 15 17 58 25 0 6 6 53
2002–03 Chicago Wolves AHL 72 4 11 15 84 9 1 0 1 31
2003–04 Manitoba Moose AHL 64 1 7 8 68 — — — — —
AHL totals 609 27 107 134 1051 59 3 9 12 150
NHL totals 120 0 9 9 208 5 0 0 0 4
IHL totals 273 15 72 87 360 38 1 5 6 81

Head coaching record

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NHL

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
EDM 2013–14 82 29 44 9 67 7th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
EDM 2014–15 31 7 19 5 19 (fired) — — — —
EDM total 113 36 63 14     — — —
ANA 2019–20 71* 29 33 9 67 6th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
ANA 2020–21 56* 17 30 9 43 8th in West — — — Missed playoffs
ANA 2021–22 82 31 37 14 76 7th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
ANA 2022–23 82 23 47 12 58 8th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
ANA total 291 100 147 44     — — —
Total 404 137 210 58     — — —  

* Shortened seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons

AHL

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
TOR 2009–10 80 33 35 12 78 5th in North — — — Missed playoffs
TOR 2010–11 80 37 32 11 85 5th in North — — — Missed playoffs
TOR 2011–12 76 44 24 8 96 1st in North 11 6 .647 Lost in Calder Cup Final
TOR 2012–13 76 43 23 10 96 1st in North 5 4 .556 Lost in Conference Semifinals
SDG 2015–16 68 39 23 6 84 2nd in Pacific 4 5 .444 Lost in Division Finals
SDG 2016–17 68 43 20 5 91 2nd in Pacific 4 6 .400 Lost in Division Finals
SDG 2017–18 68 36 28 4 76 5th in Pacific — — — Missed playoffs
SDG 2018–19 68 36 24 8 80 3rd in Pacific 9 7 .563 Lost in Conference Finals
Total 584 311 209 64   2 division titles 33 28 .541 5 playoff appearances

References

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  1. ^ "NHL Player Search – Player – Dallas Eakins". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Toronto Marlies: a team with a dream | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  3. ^ a b Brooks, Carter (2023-11-27). "Former Jet Dallas Eakins Takes on New Role in Germany". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  4. ^ "Toronto Marlies: Dallas Eakins, part one | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  5. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  6. ^ OHL Alumni Classics: OHL Grads Coaching In The AHL
  7. ^ "The Peterborough Examiner COLUMN: Dallas Eakins deserving of NHL job". Archived from the original on 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  8. ^ "NHL Players Born in Florida, United States". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  9. ^ Dallas Eakins To Coach The Toronto Marlies
  10. ^ "LIFE Photos | Classic Pictures From LIFE Magazine's Archives". LIFE.com. Retrieved 2013-02-04.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Dallas Eakins Named Head Coach Of Toronto Marlies – The Official Site of the Toronto Marlies". Torontomarlies.com. 2009-08-04. Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  12. ^ Toronto tabs Eakins as Marlies head coach
  13. ^ "Oilers name Dallas Eakins new head coach". oilers.nhl.com. 2013-06-10.
  14. ^ "Oilers fire head coach Eakins". TSN.ca. December 15, 2014.
  15. ^ Mcwilliam, Bryan (June 26, 2015). "Dallas Eakins named head coach of AHL's San Diego Gulls". The Score. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  16. ^ "Ducks Name Eakins Head Coach". NHL.com. June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  17. ^ "Ducks Head Coach Dallas Eakins Will Not Return". Anaheim Ducks. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  18. ^ "Ingrid Kavelaars Biography". Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  19. ^ Journeymen: 24 Bittersweet Tales of Short Major League Sports Careers.
[edit]
Preceded by Head coach of the Edmonton Oilers
2013–2014 		Succeeded by
Todd Nelson
(interim)
Preceded by
Bob Murray
Interim
 Head coach of the Anaheim Ducks
2019–2023 		Succeeded by
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