Dallas Eakins

Dallas Franklin Eakins (né Yoder; 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. As a youth, he played in the 1980 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Peterborough.

Playing career Eakins played 4 seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) 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."

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, and the first to ever record a point. 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. Snyder was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers.

Coaching career 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. In 2009, he was given head coaching duties for the Marlies. 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. In June 2015, the Anaheim Ducks hired Eakins as the head coach of their AHL-affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

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

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.

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

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs 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 NHL 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 playoffsANA 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 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 Lost in Calder Cup Final TOR 2012–13 76 43 23 10 96 1st in North 5 4 Lost in Conference Semifinals SDG 2015–16 68 39 23 6 84 2nd in Pacific 4 5 Lost in Division Finals SDG 2016–17 68 43 20 5 91 2nd in Pacific 4 6 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 Lost in Conference FinalsTotal 584 311 209 64 2 division titles 33 28 5 playoff appearances