Edmonton Oilers fire Jay Woodcroft, Kris Knoblauch to replace him

Edmonton Oilers fire Jay Woodcroft, Kris Knoblauch to replace him

After an underwhelming 3-9-1 record to start the season, the Edmonton Oilers have fired head coach Jay Woodcroft. Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch will replace Woodcroft as their new bench boss, Frank Seravalli was first to report Sunday.

Hearing Kris Knoblauch is incoming as next #Oilers coach.@DailyFaceoff

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 12, 2023

With expectations at an all-time high for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, starting off the season slowly is an immediate firing. This would be the case for former coach Jay Woodcroft.

The Oilers started off the season with a record of 2-9-1, and with a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken last night, it became clear that the team needed to head in a new direction.

Along with Knoblauch joining the Oilers’ bench, Hall-of-Fame player Paul Coffey will be joining the Edmonton staff as an assistant coach.

Both coaches will join the team immediately.

Knoblauch has spent 13 seasons in coaching experience–two seasons in which he spent as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers. Knoblauch has spent multiple years as a head coach in the Canadian junior leagues and AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack. He spent three seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid on the Erie Otters during his OHL days. Across his career, Knoblauch has amassed a record of 298-130-16-13.

Coffey played in the NHL for 21 seasons with nine teams. As for awards, the 21-year season veteran was awarded the James Norris Memorial trophy three times, a four-time Stanley Cup Champion, and played in the NHL All-Star game 14 times.

Did Woodcroft deserve to be fired? What do you think of the hirings of Knoblauch and Coffey? Can the Oilers turn their season around?

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