Knoblauch, Oilers see 'a lot of runway left' in season

EDMONTON -- Ken Holland is hoping lightning can strike twice for the Edmonton Oilers following an in-season coaching change.

The Oilers general manager, along with CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson, announced on Sunday that they had fired coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant Dave Manson. They were replaced by Kris Knoblauch and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey.

Holland had hired Woodcroft to replace Dave Tippett on Feb. 10, 2022, when Edmonton was six points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. In the final 38 games of that season, Woodcroft led the Oilers to a 26-9-3 record, helping them finish second in the Pacific Division. They then defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games in the first round of the playoffs and the Calgary Flames in five games in the second round before they were swept in the Western Conference Final by the Colorado Avalanche, who would go on to win the Cup.

“It was almost two years ago when the decision was made to go from Dave Tippett to [Woodcroft], and the team really responded,” Holland said. “I don’t think ‘Woody’ came in and made a whole lot of changes, he made a few tweaks. I think he went to 11 (forwards) and seven (defensemen) and did a couple of things. We were six or seven points out of a playoff berth and played our way into the playoffs and went on to the final four.”

Last season, Edmonton again finished second in the Pacific, but for the second straight season, it was eliminated by the eventual Cup champion, losing in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.

The Oilers (3-9-1) then got off to a slow start this season, losing six of their first seven games (1-5-1). They currently sit in seventh in the Pacific Division, ahead of only the San Jose Sharks (2-11-1).

“It’s been these consistent mental mistakes,” Holland said. “You play, you can do lots of good things, and then you have one mental mistake, a bad pinch or a bad turnover, and it’s in the net. It’s not only the one (goal) that goes on the board, but what it does psychologically to your team.

“I don’t really know if that’s on Jay, but we made a coaching change, and I’m hoping with the coaching change that there is going to be less of those mental mistakes.”

The Oilers were expected to be a Stanley Cup contender this season, but now they are going to have to rely on Knoblauch just to get them back into playoff contention. This will be the first NHL head coaching job for the 45-year-old, who had been the head coach of the New York Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford since July 29, 2019.

“I don’t think [the team] tuned [Woodcroft] out,” Holland said. “I think there are some players in there that are disappointed about this decision today. I’m paid to make decisions, difficult decisions. Some decisions work, some decisions don’t, but certainly I felt, with lots of communication with Jeff, that we needed to make a change. We weren’t playing good enough. There’s a lot of runway left with this change to make a surge and try to play our way back in the mix. I don’t think they lost him, but I couldn’t wait another 10 games or 15 games to find out.”

Holland said the decision to replace Woodcroft and Manson was made after Edmonton lost 3-2 to San Jose on Thursday. Woodcroft, however, was allowed to coach against the Seattle Kraken in the final game of a three-game road trip on Saturday, which Edmonton won 4-1.

In his three seasons with the Oilers, Woodcroft went 79-41-13 in 133 regular-season games, and 14-14 in 28 postseason games. His .643 points percentage in the regular season is the best in Edmonton history.

Knoblauch will now attempt to replicate that success, and he will get the chance to do it with a familiar face. He previously coached Oilers captain Connor McDavid for three seasons (2012-15) with Erie of the Ontario Hockey League.

“I’ve only had one experience coming in, in midseason, and that was a long time ago (Erie in 2012),” Knoblauch said. “The first time, I’ll admit, I did terribly, and l learned so much from it. And I know coming in midseason you can only do so much on changing the system and lines. The players have to have some stability, and there are things as a coach you want to put your stamp on.

“Ultimately, I see a very talented team underperforming, and that’s why I’m here. I’m trying to build something so that we can have the success that was anticipated at the beginning of the year.”

Helping Knoblauch try to accomplish that will be Coffey, who will be an assistant for the first time in the NHL.

Coffey, a four-time Stanley Cup champion (three times with Edmonton) and three-time Norris Trophy winner, will work with the Oilers' defensemen, who have struggled this season. Edmonton's poor defensive play, it ranks 30th in the NHL in goals allowed per game (3.92), was one of the reasons that led to the firing of Woodcroft and Manson, who was in charge of the defensemen.

“I’ve liked everything about our blue line. Unfortunately, sometimes we’ve been a little inconsistent,” Coffey said. “There are guys that have really good games, and the simplest thing for me with Kris and [assistants Glen Gulutzan and Mark Stuart], my approach is trying to get them consistent as possible, not trying to play outside themselves. Play their game and play the odds.”