The Oilers announced on Thursday that associate coach Keith Acton and assistant coach Craig Ramsay were let go and will not return for the 2015-16 season.
Acton spent two seasons with Edmonton while Ramsay was originally hired at the beginning of the 2014-15 season. Both were brought in under former head coach Dallas Eakins and stayed on with interim head coach Todd Nelson after Eakins was fired in December. Nelson’s future with the organization has yet to be made clear.
Acton, 57, has spent 18 seasons in various coaching roles split between five NHL clubs — starting as an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1994. His longest tenure with one organization came with the Toronto Maple Leafs between 2001 and 2011.
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Ramsay, 64, has 22 years of NHL coaching experience including head-coaching roles with the Buffalo Sabres, Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers.
McLellan, who is Edmonton’s sixth head coach since 2009, was hired by the Oilers in May after spending seven seasons coaching the San Jose Sharks. He took the Sharks to the playoffs six times and made the Western Conference final on two occasions.
Edmonton has missed the playoffs the last nine seasons, but will have the first-overall pick at this summer’s NHL Draft for the fourth time in six years. The club is expected to take junior phenom Connor McDavid.
