Stuart killing it in Edmonton

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This article was published 09/10/2024 (360 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — Mark Stuart was one of the Atlanta originals, a popular blue-collar player whose hard-nosed style and willing to sacrifice any part of his body for the greater good certainly resonated with Winnipeg Jets fans.

Who can forget the chants of “Stuuuuuu” resonating through the downtown rink after the rugged defenceman had dropped the gloves with an opponent or stepped in front of a blistering slapshot during the six seasons he patrolled the blue line?

“Winnipeg will always hold a special place in my heart,” Stuart told the Free Press on Wednesday. “I played for some great coaches. Played with some great teammates. Met my wife there. My kids were born there. There are a lot of ties we have.”

Including ones that have led to his current gig. Now 40, the Minnesota product is settling in for this third season as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers, who welcomed his previous NHL employer to town for the 2024-25 regular season opener inside Rogers Place.

Although the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl get most of the ink around here, don’t overlook the contribution Stuart has made to the club. He is in charge of a penalty kill unit that went a remarkable 94.3 per cent last spring and was a huge reason the Oilers made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing 2-1 to the Florida Panthers.

“It’s a funny thing, you have your structure, you have your way you want to do things. But power play or penalty kill, you get on a run and confidence is so big,” said Stuart.

“And we were fortunate we got on a run. The guys did an amazing job. I was blessed taking over the kill. They’re good killers and good goaltending, so I was blessed with good pieces to work with.”

Stuart was put into the role only after the team got off to an ugly 2-9-1 start last year and head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant Dave Manson were shown the door. Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey were brought in as replacements to join Stuart and the other remaining assistant, Glen Gulutzan.

“It was a roller-coaster for sure at the start. Nobody really expected — certainly nobody in here — for it to start like that. It wasn’t easy,” said Stuart. “But we were able to turn things around. It ended up being a lot of fun. A pretty heartbreaking ending, but everything leading up to that was amazing.”

While he obviously wanted to be the one sipping champagne out of the Stanley Cup, seeing his former bench boss in Winnipeg, Paul Maurice, finally win the big one was a bit of a silver lining.

“What a career he’s had and is continuing to have. To coach that many games and for that long and with the success he’s had, it doesn’t surprise you seeing a guy like him win,” said Stuart. “He’s definitely put in the time to deserve something like that.”

Funny enough, it was the decision by Maurice during the 2016-17 season to make Stuart a frequent healthy scratch that ultimately set the next stage of his career.

“When you’re going through that, you don’t want to say the end is near, you’re trying to work as hard as you can to get back in the lineup and extend your career, but the thought does come in,” he admitted.

“You’re up watching games, you’re looking at it a little different and thinking about all that. You start to pay attention to things you probably didn’t pay as much attention to before. That’s what planted the seed for me.”

Stuart was bought out of the final season of his contract the following summer and headed over to Germany to play one final pro season before hanging up his skates. He returned to Winnipeg a year later and was hired by True North to be in charge of team services with the Manitoba Moose.

“I’m so glad I did it, looking back. I just got an appreciation for what everyone around an organization does. You communicated with everyone and get to know how everything works behind the scenes,” said Stuart, who played 367 of his 673 career regular-season NHL games with Winnipeg.

He was quick to credit then Moose head coach Pascal Vincent, who invited him to sit in on all player and coaching meetings to gain valuable experience. The following year, Jets assistant coach Todd Woodcroft accepted the head coaching gig at the University of Vermont and invited Stuart to join him on the bench.

That ultimately paved the way for Todd’s brother Jay to bring him to Edmonton at the start of 2022-23. Stuart said he leans on his own playing experience to help shape the penalty kill, which the players can no doubt appreciate. He’s not only talked the talked, but walked the walk.

“At the end of the day you can coach as much as you want, but the players are the ones going out there and doing it,” he said.

“Dave (Manson) is a smart coach, good coach, good person. He’s the one who implemented the penalty kill and kind of laid the foundation for it. Obviously you go through a firing and things change. It’s not an easy or fun thing. But I ended up taking over the kill. I really enjoyed it. It was big for me to come to this level from college and learn from some really good professional coaches and see how they did things.”

After coming so close to a championship, Stuart said his competitive fire is burning hotter than ever.

“You’re never going to forget that, but there’s also a time where you’ve gotta turn the page. Because every single team in this league, no matter how it ended for them — even the Florida Panthers, they’re hungry, they’re hungry to chase it again,” said Stuart.

“A little bit drawing on some experience, which is important, for sure. But turning the page a little bit and having a little bit of a reset, because it’s going to be a marathon starting (Wednesday night).”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg