The Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant coach Dave Manson, the franchise announced Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Edmonton has a 3-9-1 record this season, the second-worst record in the NHL. The Oilers have lost eight of their last 10 games.
- Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch will temporarily replace Woodcroft in Edmonton. According to a league source, Steve Smith will take over as interim head coach in Hartford following Knoblauch’s departure.
- Woodcroft took over for Dave Tippett in February 2022 and led the Oilers to a 79-41-13 record. It is the fifth-best coaching record in the NHL during that time.
- Oilers star Connor McDavid has just 10 points this season, on pace for 80 points, which would be the lowest output of his career aside from his injury-shortened 2015-16 rookie season. He told the media this week his confidence was “not very high.”
Why Edmonton made this move
Woodcroft’s system changes in the neutral and defensive zones didn’t work well enough or quickly enough. The Oilers missed rushing opportunities and their goaltenders struggled to stop them. The hope was that these tweaks would pay off in the long run and make the Oilers a better defensive team when it mattered most – in the playoffs. Instead, the Oilers have dug themselves into a massive hole that may be too deep to overcome.
No one could see this beginning. System changes are certainly a factor. The main reason Woodcroft is out as coach is the team’s worst save percentage in the league and the team’s second-worst shooting percentage at five-on-five. It’s hard to win like that. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Oilers beat writer
What garlic brings to the Oilers
Knoblauch coached McDavid for three years with the Erie Otters of the OHL and is considered an up-and-coming name to keep an eye on in NHL circles. He is the fifth coach to lead the Oilers during the McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era in Edmonton, joining Woodcroft, Tippett, Ken Hitchcock and Todd McLellan.
Knoblauch most recently served as coach of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, where he spent parts of five seasons, and before that spent two years as an assistant on Dave Hakstol’s staff with the Philadelphia Flyers. His resume also includes a highly successful coaching career in junior hockey, where he won an OHL title with Erie in 2017 and a WHL title with Kootenay in 2011. Knoblauch was selected in the seventh round of the 1997 draft by the New York Islanders and his playing career spanned five years with the Golden Bears of the University of Alberta in Edmonton. — Chris Johnston, senior NHL writer
Will GM Ken Holland stay with the Oilers?
Ken Holland remains the general manager. Sunday’s moves essentially mean he has that title in name only. Knoblauch was considered a rising star in the coaching ranks when he was McDavid’s bench boss as a junior in OHL Erie, but was never really a serious candidate for an NHL coaching job. Paul Coffey has never stood behind a bench in professional ice hockey and has never expressed any interest in doing so. He will be the eyes and ears of owner Daryl Katz.
It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Holland would make these moves if he had both hands on the wheel. The fingerprints of hockey division CEO Jeff Jackson can be seen on these decisions. Sunday marks a clear shift in power as Holland completes the final months of his contract. — Nugent-Bowman
Required reading
(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today)