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Edmonton Oilers Fire Jay Woodcroft, Hire Kris Knoblauch

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Despite a convincing victory last night, the Edmonton Oilers are making a surprising coaching move. They are expected to relieve head coach Jay Woodcroft of his duties, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch will be named the next Oilers head coach.

The Oilers have now officially announced the moves, alongside one more change: Dave Manson is out as an assistant coach for the team, and legendary former Oilers blueliner Paul Coffey has been hired as an assistant coach in Manson’s place. Coffey was previously a senior advisor to the club.

A Zach Hyman hat trick lifted the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken last night, though the team still sits second to last in the NHL with a 3-9-1 record. In a Stanley Cup-or-bust season, The Oilers atrociously bad start to the season—highlighted by the team’s dispiriting loss to fellow basement-dwellers, the San Jose Sharks— has now cost Woodcroft his job.

Per the Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones, this move will be the fifth head coaching change of the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl partnership. Of all the coaches to man the bench for McDavid and Draisaitl, its Woodcroft who has arguably had the most success.

Woodcroft rose from Bakersfield Condors bench boss to the big job in Edmonton, and posted a .643 points percentage across 133 games. That’s the highest in Oilers history, above even the .616 mark posted by legendary coach Glen Sather.

Woodcroft took the Oilers to the Western Conference Final in 2022, where they would fall to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. He lost to the eventual champions once again in 2023, dropping a hard-fought battle with the Vegas Golden Knights.

But with their season on life support, the Oilers needed to make changes in order to resurrect their Stanley Cup hopes. With no cap space to make trades, the easiest path to major change in Edmonton was via a coaching change, and the Oilers have now taken that route.

This is an attractive job due to the presence of the best player in the world on their roster, but there are some issues here. After this season, Draisaitl will have just one year remaining on his contract. If the Oilers fall well short of the playoffs this season, Draisaitl could reasonably question whether he’ll be able to win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton should he commit what is likely to be the rest of his prime years to the franchise.

McDavid has an extra year on his contract, so there will naturally be questions regarding his future as well, though the hire of his former agent Jeff Jackson as the team’s CEO of hockey operations position makes it more likely he’ll eventually reach a deal on a contract extension.

Those questions are all for the offseason and beyond, though. The Oilers have a more immediate problem to wrestle with: how are they going to revive their playoff chances in a season where they were viewed by many as a true Stanley Cup contender? Now with Woodcroft out, it appears the Oilers believe the first step to answering that question is a coaching change.

The choice of the next Oilers coach appears to be at least somewhat McDavid-oriented. Knoblauch was McDavid’s coach in the OHL with the Erie Otters, and he won an OHL title with the team in 2016-17. A two-time championship-winning coach in the CHL, Knoblauch, 45, is in his fifth season as the bench boss of the Wolf Pack.

He led the team on a run to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs last season, upsetting the favored Providence Bruins along the way. He leaves Hartford this season with a 7-3-1 record.

The New York Post’s Mollie Walker reports that Wolf Pack assistant coach Steve Smith will take up head coaching duties in the immediate term, although the search for the team’s next head coach will “begin immediately.” Smith is actually a former Oilers coach himself, having served as an assistant on three separate coaching staffs from 2010 to 2014.

Knoblauch hasn’t been an NHL head coach before, save for a short stint during the pandemic when health-related absences put him behind the Rangers’ bench due to necessity. But despite his lack of NHL experience, he was viewed as a contender for the Rangers’ vacancy before they hired Peter Laviolette. Now, he gets his first shot behind an NHL bench with some former players on his roster and an immediate, pressing task ahead: save the Oilers season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Oilers Notes: Goaltending, Bourgault, Coaching

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Edmonton’s goaltending situation certainly hasn’t been good this season with Stuart Skinner and now-demoted Jack Campbell combining for a 4.10 GAA and a .862 SV%, a big reason why the Oilers are now tied with San Jose for last in the NHL.  Accordingly, there has been an expectation that a move will be made to shore up their netminders.  In a recent 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed that there were some in the league who thought Edmonton was nearing a deal to do just that on Wednesday.  Clearly, that hasn’t come to fruition (yet, at least) but it would appear as if GM Ken Holland is trying to get something done on that front.  But with the team in a money-in, money-out situation to stay cap-compliant, it’ll be easier said than done.

More from Edmonton:

  • Speaking today on TSN 690 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger indicated that prospect Xavier Bourgault is “a piece the Canadiens have coveted for a while”. The 21-year-old was the 22nd pick back in 2021 and is in his second season with AHL Bakersfield.  A strong scorer in junior, Bourgault had a decent rookie campaign with 34 points in 62 games last season while he has four in seven contests so far this year.  Montreal is one of the teams still carrying three goalies although Jake Allen might not work in their salary structure, extension talks have started with Samuel Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau isn’t the proven solution between the pipes that Edmonton should be looking for.
  • TSN’s Ryan Rishaug relayed earlier today (Twitter link) that nothing was imminent with regards to possible coaching change. Jay Woodcroft is only in his second full season with the team and even with the ugly start this season, his teams have played to a .640 point percentage.  Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski notes that a change, if one is made, would give them their fifth bench boss in eight years with a good chunk of the core there for all of those moves.  As a result, while making a move behind the bench might be the easiest lever to pull, recent history would suggest that it might not change a whole lot.

Darnell Nurse Suspended For One Game

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The NHL Department of Player Safety announced they’ve upheld the automatic one-game suspension against Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of regulation time, holding him out of a pivotal Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Head coach Jay Woodcroft was also fined $10,000 as a result of the incident in last night’s Game 4 win.

The automatic suspension holds Nurse, Edmonton’s leader in average time on ice among defensemen, out of Edmonton’s most important game this season to date, with their Second Round series locked in at two games apiece against Vegas.

The incident in question occurred with 50 seconds remaining in Edmonton’s 4-1 Game 4 win, with officials determining Nurse instigated a fight with Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague. With play still going on, Nurse pinched in from the hash marks to fight Hague, who was stationed in a puck battle behind the Vegas net.

It means youngster Philip Broberg, who’s averaged under seven minutes of ice time per game throughout the playoffs, will draw back into the lineup with increased responsibility. The 21-year-old has yet to record a point this postseason but does lead Oiler defenders with a +3 rating. Mattias Ekholm, who’s been paired with youngster Evan Bouchard since joining the team at the trade deadline, could elevate to the top pairing alongside Cody Ceci.

Evening Notes: Canucks, O’Brien, Broberg, Barkov, MacEwen

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When looking back on previous NHL seasons, each seems to have one or two stories that, even if it wasn’t the most memorable part of that season, dominated the headlines. Last season, that story seemed to be the availability of Jakob Chychrun, which has carried into this season, and the year before was COVID absences and protocols, which carried into last season too. This season’s headlines, besides Chychrun, seem to be dominated by the Vancouver Canucks: their struggles, their work on extensions, and now, the availability of their players in trades.

Earlier this evening on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman continued that discussion. Friedman clarified the Canucks’ position, who apparently have just one untouchable player: Elias Pettersson. That one might feel obvious, but immediately begs another question: what about Quinn Hughes? As Friedman reports, while Hughes isn’t an untouchable, it would take “an absolutely mammoth offer” to pry the defenseman away from the Canucks. Despite having just the one untouchable, Friedman adds that the team isn’t interested in a rebuild or complete teardown, but instead is looking to change their mix and breath new life into the team. Finally from Friedman, it appears Vancouver isn’t willing to give Bo Horvat more than the $56MM J.T. Miller was extended for, however Horvat’s career-year has now put him over that number.

  • Arizona Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury suffered last night against the New York Islanders, the team announced. The forward played just 9:41 last night in the win over the Islanders, lower than his 12:01 average this season. Not shy from fighting, it is notable that O’Brien did have a fight in the third period against Islanders’ defenseman Scott Mayfield, who’s experienced in that regard too.
  • Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg, who was scratched for today’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks, missed the game with an injury he suffered yesterday, head coach Jay Woodcroft confirmed postgame, via The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Given Broberg’s play in 11 games this season, a healthy scratch wouldn’t be confusing, but certainly wasn’t deserved either, so news of an injury does make sense. It also further explains the decision to recall fellow defenseman Markus Niemelainen yesterday. Woodcroft did not elaborate further on the details or severity of Broberg’s injury.
  • Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was forced to leave tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils early with a lower-body injury, the team announced. Barkov appeared to be experiencing some discomfort after taking a faceoff earlier in the game. The center has played the last five games after missing two weeks with a bout of pneumonia. The extent of Barkov’s injury is unclear at this point.
  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Zack MacEwen missed this evening’s game against the New York Rangers with an illness, reports The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. Of course, no forced absence is a good thing, however one would expect an injury to carry a shorter timeframe, which would be preferable to getting MacEwen back into the lineup. MacEwen has just eight points in 28 games this season, but with Philadelphia showing value in grit this year, the forward’s 38 penalty minutes are much appreciated.

Minor Notes: Cross, Chaulk, Henault

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The 2021-22 campaign was an extremely successful one for the Springfield Thunderbirds, who fell just short of winning the 2022 Calder Cup. Newly affiliated with the St. Louis Blues, the Thunderbirds made the Calder Cup Final in the first season this iteration of the Springfield AHL franchise even made the playoffs.

Now, the team announced today that the man who captained them there is sticking around. Veteran defenseman Tommy Cross is staying in Springfield on a one-year AHL contract, continuing what’s been a long minor-league career for him. Now 32, the Connecticut native was a 2007 second-round pick of the Boston Bruins who, although he didn’t get a solid NHL role, stayed in the organization until 2018. He did get into four NHL games (three regular-season, one playoff) in Boston, registering a combined two assists. He was a captain in their organization as well, serving in the role for Providence from 2015-2018. One of the most well-respected leaders in the minors, Cross will get another chance at lifting the Calder Cup for the first time.

  • Colin Chaulk stepped into the head coaching role for the Bakersfield Condors when Jay Woodcroft got the call-up to Edmonton mid-season. Today, Bakersfield announced he’ll be sticking around, stripping away the interim tag and naming him the ninth head coach in team history. The Condors won their best-of-three First Round series against the Abbotsford Canucks, but were swept 3-0 in the Division Semifinals by the Stockton Heat.
  • The Baby Rangers are making moves. Via a team release, the Hartford Wolf Pack announced a one-year AHL contract for defenseman Louka Henault. The 2001-born Henault is an undrafted free agent, and after serving as the captain of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires last season, will head to Hartford professionally. In his last season of juniors, Henault scored eight goals, 57 assists, and 65 points in 63 regular-season games, adding 16 points in 25 playoff games.

Edmonton Oilers Agree To Contract With Jay Woodcroft

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June 21: After reports earlier confirmed a deal was done, the Oilers have officially announced a three-year contract for Woodcroft, taking away the interim tag. Extending through the 2024-25 season, the coach will have his chance to take Edmonton all the way after an outstanding debut in the second half.

June 19: With Edmonton making it to the Western Conference Final, the expectation was that Oilers would lift the interim tag off head coach Jay Woodcroft.  They’re getting close to doing just that as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton is making progress on a three-year contract with the bench boss.  Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins adds that expects the deal to be finalized by the end of the month.

Edmonton’s turnaround after Woodcroft was promoted from AHL Bakersfield to replace Dave Tippett back in February was quite astounding.  The Oilers played to a .724 points percentage with a 26-9-3 record under his tutelage, a far cry from the 8-13-3 the team had put up under Tippett in the nearly ten weeks leading up to his departure.  They showed considerable improvement defensively without significantly affecting one of the strongest offenses in the league which allowed them to finish second in the Pacific Division at the end of the season.

From there, Edmonton squeaked by Los Angeles in the first round before stunning provincial rival Calgary (who won the Pacific) with a five-game series victory.  They weren’t as successful against Colorado, however, as they were ousted in four straight.  Still, it was a strong season overall for the Oilers so the news that they’re getting closer to getting Woodcroft signed shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

While they don’t have to get it done right away, the sooner GM Ken Holland can get this done, the better.  Edmonton has several prominent pending free agents highlighted by winger Evander Kane among those eligible for unrestricted free agency and wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi among the RFA-eligible players.  With minimal cap space to work with, Holland will need to focus most of his time on getting things settled on that front so getting Woodcroft’s deal signed sooner than later will give him more time to focus on their needed roster movement this summer.

West Notes: Woodcroft, Nill, Preseason

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A few months ago, many would have identified the Edmonton Oilers as a team with coaching uncertainty heading into the offseason after they fired Dave Tippett mid-season. However, after their run to the Western Conference Final this year, Jay Woodcroft would appear to have earned the confidence of the team and fanbase to continue in his role. TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting today that Woodcroft and the Oilers continue to have ongoing discussions about a new contract this week, although there’s still more to be done.

With the Oilers yet to be linked publicly to any other coaching free agents, it’s becoming clear that the team prefers to retain Woodcroft as their head coach. It’s important to note that Woodcroft was fully named the head coach when he took over for Tippett; he was not given the interim title. Woodcroft led the Oilers on a 26-9-3 run to end the regular season in addition to their playoff run.

  • One team that isn’t having such a smooth time with their coaching hiring process is the Dallas Stars. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that potential candidates are hesitant to commit to the Stars given the fact that general manager Jim Nill only has one year left on his deal. It’s understandable that when a coach commits long-term, they’d like to have a solid idea of the team’s vision for the future. With Nill’s future uncertain, Dallas’ new coach won’t have that guarantee.
  • The Stars will be playing in two neutral-site preseason games come September and October. On October 1, they’ll be facing off against the St. Louis Blues at Cable Dahmer Arena in Kansas City, home of the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. Before that, though, they’ll be playing the Arizona Coyotes in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 27, as previously announced. It marks a return to normalcy for the NHL’s regular-season preparations.

More On Edmonton Oilers Offseason Plans

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After the conclusion of the Edmonton Oilers’ season on Monday at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the organization held the standard media availability and wind down, custom of teams at the conclusion of their season, where new details emerge about the current state of the organization. Today was no different, with news coming out that none of Edmonton’s injured players need surgery, and that Ken Holland will address his goaltending, but didn’t seem too enthusiastic about forward Jesse Puljujarvi’s expiring contract and arbitration eligibility. Intriguing as those storylines are, there is plenty more as it comes to the Oilers’ offseason to-do list, including the head coach position, forward Evander Kane, and free agent forward Andrei Kuzmenko.

Oilers GM Ken Holland said in his availability that he would love to have head coach Jay Woodcroft back for next season, though he still has to talk to the coach and about their respective plans (link). It’s no surprise that Edmonton would want their coach to return after the impressive stretch he lead the team on after replacing former head coach Dave Tippett in mid-February. At the time of the change, Edmonton was five points out of a playoff spot, but with Woodcroft, the team went 26-9-3, finishing second in the Pacific Division, and of course leading them to the Western Conference Finals. With the availability of a myriad of head coach options, including elite names like Barry Trotz and Bruce Cassidy, it could be tempting for Edmonton to try to upgrade at the position, but after Woodcroft’s success with a group that seemed destined to free-fall down the NHL standings, it would be hard not to try to replicate that success over a full season.

Holland also put forth the same sentiment towards Kane as he had for Woodcroft, saying he would love to have him back next season, but of course he would still need to work that out. Interestingly, the GM added that while Kane played for a $2MM cap hit this year, he doesn’t expect Kane to play for that same number again next year. Given Kane’s excellent performance for the Oilers after signing with them in January, his sensational playoff run, and his apparent chemistry with Edmonton’s stars, it’s clear why Holland would want to re-sign him, but also clear why he does not believe it will be for the same $2MM cap hit. In 43 regular season games, Kane had 22 goals and 17 assists, and followed it up with 13 goals and four assists in 15 playoff games.

Moving from one talented winger the Oilers would like to have to another, The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that free agent forward Andrei Kuzmenko arrived in Los Angeles today and will begin meeting with teams on his short list. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector adds that Edmonton is among the teams on Kuzmenko’s shortlist. Recall last week, when Thomas Drance reported on Sportsnet that Kuzmenko was going to begin the process of second interviews with teams. Interestingly, considering the circumstances, Kuzmenko shares an agent with Evander Kane in that of Dan Millstein. The similarity won’t necessarily give Edmonton any edge in signing either player since the decision is the player’s, but should give Holland and Millstein a sense of comfort and familiarity if they work on both. As Spector points out, the pitch to Kuzmenko would also be very similar to the one they gave Kane when he had his pick of teams in January: come play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and build value for the next contract.

Kuzmenko, who has spent his entire professional career in the KHL, doesn’t appear to have the allure that other point-producers on this year’s free agent market seem to have, which could be due in some part to several factors, including but not limited to the political situation in Russia, the fact that the KHL plays at times generally inaccessible to most North American fans, and the up and down results from other KHL free agents who have made the jump to the NHL. These factors aside, the 26-year-old winger is not wanting for production. After a slow start to his career, Kuzmenko has slowly but steadily improved his play year after year, culminating in a dominant 2021-22 for St. Petersburg, where he scored 20 goals to go with 33 assists in 45 games, adding another seven goals and seven assists in 16 playoff games. If Edmonton can secure his services, he should factor as another strong top-six option the organization can give McDavid and Draisaitl to utilize, and should give Kuzmenko an easy opportunity to show off his skillset as well.

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