Former NHL coach Ralph Krueger reveals he has Parkinson’s disease

A longtime bench boss has revealed that he has a terminal illness.

In an interview with Swiss news outlet Watson, former NHL head coach Ralph Krueger made it public that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He noted that he received the diagnosis in the fall of 2024.

In the translated interview, Krueger noted that his condition has led him to pull himself out of the spotlight for a little over a year.

“Two or three weeks after my 65th birthday,” Krueger said. “My hand suddenly started trembling. I thought it was because I probably drink too much coffee. It wasn’t until two months later that I went to the doctor and received the diagnosis in November 2024.”

Krueger, a self-admitted perfectionist, acknowledged the changes he had to make in his life, but never let the illness affect his mentality.

“At first, everything revolves around this problem. You think about it 24 hours a day. Gradually, with excellent support and from my family, I learned to accept that this illness is now a part of me—but not everything. I don’t waste time asking, ‘Why?’ Since the diagnosis, I’ve never become depressed. Yes, I have no control. But I’m learning to live with my illness. I can control how I react to it.”

Krueger noted that he is more active than ever before, a proven way to alleviate symptoms of Parkinson’s. He’s also found other ways to manage tremors, to give lectures about his book Teamlife, which was released a quarter-century ago.

“I’m right-handed and fortunate that my left side is more affected. I’ve reduced my lecturing somewhat, but I haven’t given it up.”Krueger is most known on this side of the pond for his two stints in the NHL, coaching the Edmonton Oilers during the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign, as well as parts of two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, coaching the entire 2019-20 season before being let go after 28 games in 2021. He was also the coach for Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, guiding the team to a second-place finish after losing to Canada in the final.