"The time is now": Oilers GM Holland defends decision to fire Woodcroft
The Edmonton Oilers have a new man behind the bench.
On Sunday, the team announced that theyĀ had relieved head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant coach Dave Manson from their duties. In their place, the organization has hired former Eerie Otters coach Kris Knoblauch to take over as head coach along with Paul Coffey, who will now serve as an assistant coach.
In a press conference to introduce Knoblauch as the team’s next head coach, Oilers GM Ken Holland and CEO Jeff Jackson were asked about the decision-making process that led to the coaching change.
The new head coach of @EdmontonOilers Kris Knoblauch surrounded by new assistant Paul Coffey. Also Pres of Hockey Ops Jeff Jackson and GM Ken Holland. pic.twitter.com/LoPjR7syvO
— Gene Principe (@GenePrincipe) November 12, 2023
“We’re in the win-now mode,” said Holland. “The time is now to try to win… I think if you wait another 10 games [to fire the coach] and things don’t change, it’s probably too late.”
The Oilers are currently second-last in the NHL with a 3-9-1 record through their first 14 games of the season. Woodcroft ended his Edmonton tenure with a regular-season record of 74-41-12 and a franchise-best points percentage of .643.
When asked if Woodcroft lost the room and if players were tuning him out, Holland pushed back.
“I don’t think they tuned him out,” said Holland. “I think there are probably some players [on the team] that are disappointed about this decision today. I’m paid to make decisions, difficult decisions. Some decisions work, some decisions don’t.
“Just felt like we needed to make a change. We weren’t playing good enough. I think there is lots of runway left with this change to try to make a surge here and try to play our way back into the mix.”
One of the stranger parts of the press conference came after Holland was asked if he had talked to any of Edmonton’s veteran players before making the call to fire the coach. Holland said he had talked to players, but Jackson had a different answer.
“We didn’t consult with the players on this decision,” said Jackson. “Never spoke with Connor [McDavid] or Leon [Draisaitl] or [Ryan Nugent-Hopkins] or [Darnell Nurse] or any of the other leadership group.
“These guys are here to play hockey. They know that that’s what they wanna do. They don’t like being involved in these types of decisions. That’s my experience.”
Ken Holland says he spoke with veterans before making this decisionā¦.Jackson then immediately says no players were consulted.
This is a bit of a strange presser so farā¦
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) November 12, 2023
This is only the second time in Holland’s 26-year career as an NHL GM that he has fired a head coach midseason. The first came in 2022 after he fired Dave Tippett and hired Woodcroft in his place.
Knoblauch will get his first game behind the Oilers bench on Monday night as the team returns to Rogers Place to take on the New York Islanders.
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