EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers have opted for significant changes after a difficult start to the season.
Head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant coach Dave Manson were fired Sunday, paying the price for the Oilers’ 3-9-1 record that places them 15th out of 16 teams in the Western Conference .
Kris Knoblauch, head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League, has been hired to helm the Oilers. He will be accompanied by Paul Coffey as deputy.
In the afternoon, general manager Ken Holland introduced Knoblauch to the press, but first he explained the reasons that led to Woodcroft’s firing.
“It’s a tough decision, but we’re in an industry where you have to win games,” Holland said. We thought we would get through our difficulties at the start of the season. But after 3 games, 4 games, 5 games, things continued to get worse. We tried to find solutions, we contacted teams to find out their available players. When it’s this early in the season, it’s difficult to find trading partners.
“After the loss to the Sharks last Thursday, Jeff Jackson and I seriously began discussions about whether we should make a coaching change and we came to this decision,” explained the general manager.
Knoblauch notably managed Connor McDavid during his time in the Ontario League with the Erie Otters. He led the Otters to the title in 2016-2017, as he had previously done with the Kootenay Ice in the WHL, in 2010-2011.
“It’s an incredible opportunity,” said the new head coach. The last 24 hours have been completely crazy. I was on the bench yesterday in Hartford, and I’m now the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. It is a high-profile organization, with a rich culture and passionate fan base. To be here as a coach is a dream for me. “
Knoblauch becomes the Oilers’ 10th head coach in 15 seasons and the fifth since McDavid’s debut in 2015.
Woodcroft went 79-41-13 at the helm of the Oilers, helping McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and company reach the 2022 West Final and the second round of the playoffs earlier this year.
The 47-year-old was named head coach following the firing of Dave Tippett in February 2022. The Oilers claimed a 26-9-3 record in the final 38 games of the season under his watch to take the second place in the Pacific section.
The Oilers then eliminated the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs, then defeated the Calgary Flames in the first Battle of Alberta playoffs since 1991. However, they were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche , eventual Stanley Cup champion.
The Oilers concluded the 2022-23 season with a 50-23-9 record in Woodcroft’s only full season behind the bench. They once again defeated the Kings in the first round, but were then eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights, who were also subsequently crowned champions.
The Alberta club began the current campaign aiming for the Stanley Cup, believing they had learned the lessons of the last two playoff tournaments.
However, he suffered a heavy 8-1 defeat against the Canucks in Vancouver, then lost 4-3 against the same team in Edmonton. The Oilers then earned a 6-1 win over the Nashville Predators before losing four straight games.
Woodcroft had a wealth of offensive weapons in Edmonton with McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane. He also counted on defensemen Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard.
Despite this offensive talent, only six NHL teams average worse than the Oilers’ 2.69 goals per game.
McDavid, who totaled 153 points last season, was limited to 10 points in 11 games. He missed a few games in October with an upper body injury.
Keeping the puck out of the Oilers’ net, however, proved to be the biggest challenge.
But in Knoblauch’s eyes, the first adjustment will be to move the puck faster.
“It’s about playing fast, and a lot of that comes from our defensemen, who move the puck and are very capable of moving the puck, and there are times when that will be necessary,” Kloblauch said.
He also hopes that this change will allow for a fresh start and that the club’s star players will stop putting too much pressure on themselves.
“Right now, I see guys who are down,” he said. They are frustrated. They put so much pressure on themselves to perform, and it hasn’t been healthy for them. Sometimes you have a new head coach, and it’s a new regular season. ”
