MacTavish, Coffey named Team Canada coaches for 2019 Spengler Cup

Former Oilers GM Craig MacTavish. Jason Franson/CP

Hockey Canada has announced its coaching and management group for the upcoming Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland.

Former Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish will serve as head coach of the Canadian team, with former Oilers teammate Paul Coffey serving as an assistant coach behind his bench. Misha Donskov, the director of hockey operations for the Vegas Golden Knights, will serve as the team’s other assistant coach.

Donskov will also serve as director of hockey operations for Team Canada, with Sean Burke serving as general manager and Shane Doan rounding out the management group.

“Sean has been a valuable member of the management group for Canada’s national men’s team for a number of years, and we believe his experience combined with Shane’s storied career will be beneficial to our team as we look to capture another Spengler Cup,” Hockey Canada president and COO Scott Smith said via a release.

“Our coaching staff will also bring a wealth of talent and experience from playing and coaching at the professional and international levels, and we are excited to have Craig, Paul and Misha work with the management group as we look to build a championship team.”

The tournament begins Dec. 26 with Canada facing off against HC Ocelari Trinec. The Red-and-White will be going for their 16th Spengler Cup gold since first entering the tournament in 1984.

The Canadians finished second to KalPa Kuopio in last year’s tournament, after three straight first-place finishes from 2015-17.

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