In a Sunday afternoon news dump, the Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach, Jay Woodcroft, and have hired Kris Knoblauch to replace him. The Oilers have entered the first month of the NHL season with an awful record, going 3-9-1 and losing 8 of their last 10 games. This start to the season is very disappointing for the Oilers, considering they were Stanley Cup favorites going into the season. They are tied for last place in the league and the firing of Woodcroft became more and more likely by the day. After their win against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night, many thought that the Oilers may hold off on firing Woodcroft. However, Elliot Friedman of Sportsnet reported the coaching change although he thought the win over Seattle would buy Woodcroft some time.
Woodcroft took over the head coaching job in February 2022, leading him to coach the Oilers to a 50-23-9 record in the 22-23 season. But just after one full season with the position, he was fired, leaving him without a job in the NHL. Although it had looked like the future was bright for Woodcroft and the Oilers after they made it to the second round of the playoffs last postseason, that hope was diminished quickly as it became more and more obvious each day that a change needed to be made, whether it was a trade or a coaching change.
The Oilers additionally fired assistant coach Dave Manson as well with Woodcroft. Manson was hired along with Woodcroft when the coaching change was made in February 2022.
Kris Knoblauch has now taken over the head coaching job in Edmonton and fans are hoping that this change helps lead the Oilers back on the right path to a race for the Stanley Cup. Knoblauch coached Connor McDavid when he was with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. With this past experience with McDavid, many hope to see that connection help the Oilers come back from this drought.
With these changes in Edmonton, the future for the Oilers is still unclear, but many are hoping that things get better, and not worse for the team.
