I hate writing these articles, because how the hell do I know what goes on behind closed doors? Any kind of speculation on my part is farcical, so why bother? Well, it’s the main story during a period when not much is shaking in Edmonton re: the Oilers. So, here goes.
The rumours of Paul Coffey’s return feels like the owner reaching a breaking point with the stretch pass, loose defensive play and an eight-game home stand that was as miserable as any in memory. I could be wrong, maybe Stan Bwoman feels the current coaching staff will welcome back Coffey and his fresh brand of defenseman whispering.
That isn’t a normal progression for a team that offloaded Coffey over the summer. The people who told you Coffey was part of the problem (running strange defensive combinations that included injured players, two lefties on faceoffs, both with skating issues due to lingering maladies), will have some explaining to do if this comes to pass.
The Oilers as an organization tend to leak a few downbeat facts when someone leaves town, although it’s subtle unless Bob Nicholson is talking about Tobias Rieder. I’m satisfied there’s smoke here, and Coffey will return.
How in h-e-double-hockey sticks does Bowman sell that to head coach Kris Knoblauch? One thing he could say to Knoblauch is that Coffey could save him from what is a stubborn streak on the coaching staff. The Oilers are getting ramroaded because they can’t play defense for 20 seconds at a time (no one can) so the puck ends up in the net, a penalty is called against them, or the goalie makes a massive stop. It’s the Sutter quote in real time.
What Coffey can do is cut back on those low percentage stretch passes and get the forwards to come down lower for outlet passes. That’s the way you beat the two-man-high forecheck. The puck moves faster than people, and is golden with tape-to-tape passes.
If I may continue to extrapolate on situations I can’t possibly know are true, the forwards have to be in the same postal code as the defensemen on the breakouts. This damnable jail break lost the Oilers Game 6 of the final this year and continues to be an issue. The. gaps. are. too. much.
Any road, I had to write about this because not writing about it would mean I had to write about Leon Draisaitl’s sincere comments and tell everyone to relax about the words a leader used to lead. So, this is the subject today. Mr. Coffey arrives to save stubborn Knoblauch from himself. Film at 11. Please read this.
The Lowdown hits at noon today, we’ll feature one older fellow trying to find his keys (Lowetide) and four people flipping him upside down in search of loose change (Declan Krueger, Donovan Paulson, Josh Fenwick and MacKenzie Mclennan) in a verbal tug-of-war that resembles a car crash. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
Oilers face the trade deadline with a limited budget. What are their options?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7031040/2026/02/09/oilers-nhl-trade-deadline-bowman-condors/
Why is the fallback position, Coffey?
If there is an issue with D, and a new coach is needed, go to market, quickly interview the best D coaches out there, and hire the best one.
Is Coffey the best D coach out there?
If not, find the best D coach out there. That’s the task.
KK was found in a pinch and out of nowhere. It can be done.
Yeah, back to the same old well again isn’t necessarily the way to go. Perhaps there is a better fit out there (both in ability and personality) that will move the Oilers forward.
Coffey is a known product anyone else is a crap shot when it comes to system and personality compatibility .
Friedman thinks the Leafs are going to sell.
I hope the Oilers join them in that selling. I hope the Oilers aren’t buying what the Leafs are selling. More and more me thinks the Oilers need a hard reset in terms of roster construction this summer.
How can you give-up on Leon-Connor-Bouchard-Hyman-Nuge-Nurse-Walman-Ekholm-Pod-Jarry-Ros-Savoie-Emberson etc
Who said giving up? Exact opposite. I’m keeping my capital in place until it can be deployed at the best time possible, with the best options available, which is the offseason, which is going to give the team the best chance to compete for Stanley.
I have some time for this idea. However, I have two issues: 1. There’s nothing of value that I’d want to sell, so it would be more of a “keep-your-powder-dry” moment than selling. 2. Is Bowman and Co the right team to reset the roster in the summer? They’re the ones that put us here.
Summarizing!
Nicholl scored on the PP for his 7th goal of the season. Goals in 3 straight now. Lined up at RW again.
Every great coach writes their story in these moments. The fear for fans is it will be a Harlequin Romance, and not a masterpiece
It’s time to show mettle. Strength, motivation, not yelling, not whining
This whole thing smacks of desperation because the Front Office doesn’t have the gumption to do what needs to be done, kind of a theme for this season.
Which is what?
Coffey is still in the organization. Why does having him on the bench change things? Could he be making recommendations from his current position as well? If he has great ideas why aren’t they making it to the team?
I don’t think he’s coming back behind the bench to be honest. Saw some comments below that it might be without KK there and that makes sense to me, but to bring him back with KK feels dysfunctional.
Yes Wyatt Johnston sucks it’s a good thing Holland didn’t listen to Coffey
I MISS WOODGUY
I miss Woodguy too !!!!
I thought you were Woodguy
Lefthanded.
The real question is: how does Coach KK not know this or does he know this but doesn’t know how to fix it?
And perhaps more importantly, how is it that veteran players who have been playing competitive hockey for more than decade do not do this out of habit?
It’s not like it a revolutionary idea.
More then not it’s not the message it’s the messenger.
If Coffey’s assuredness and experience threatens Knoblauch, you don’t avoid Coffey, you fire Knoblauch.
No room in high level professional sports for that.
Hell, there’s no room in U13 hockey for that…
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Looks like Leon Draisaitl will start the Olympics on a line with Lukas Reichel and former Oiler Dominik Kahun. Josh Samanski skated on the third line with Frederik Tiffels and Parker Tuomie.
Be interesting to see if there is any chemistry with Reichel … maybe a buy low candidate if they perform well together?
I can’t see him jumping from the AHL onto the top-6 in Edmonton. He’s not as good as Howard and Ike hasn’t been afforded that opportunity.
However I don’t have an issue flipping a C prospect for Reichel, but he’d go to Bakersfield. I’d put him on par with Jarventie in value, or very close.
If Coffey is brought back and the Oilers improve their fortunes, will the fans say “Sanka very much”?
A hot Coffey may help with the lukewarm starts.
At the very least, I’m sure he will espresso himself well to the team. He is a good communicator after all.
Watching that 1st period of Canada vs USA, Wow, USA went younger and faster and Canada stuck with way more older vets and it is really showing. The Yanks have 12 players born after 2000, The Canadians have 4.
Canada has always had and issue in Women’s National teams in playing young players. It has finally caught up with them.
I think the US team has modelled their Young Women’s development after the men’s under 20 programs, where they train most of the year as teams under 18/17 etc.
It is in Blaine Minnesota . The Men’s is in Plymouth Michigan.
Hope the Candians show a bit better in the 2nd, But they have been schooled all year in X games by the yanks. Yes Poulin is out, but this could be a bit of a rout here
They’re getting smoked badly in this game, and have all year in games leading up to the Olympics. Sad to see, but you’ve got to give the American’s their due (only when it comes to their women’s hockey program) … they caught up to and surpassed the Canadian team in funding, training, coaching and team selection.
This is the same issue with the men’s team- they are too risk adverse, let’s have Doughty, Stone, Marchand, etc. not the young stars. Celebrini is the exception to the rule.
In a related story, Stan Bowman is making the Oilers younger and faster. At some point just have to use them and train them up to snuff. There is safety in veterans, but you have to be able to get to the puck first, and keep the energy jumping
Oiler hockey should be fast, assertive, with some edge
If Coffey creates too much friction, there’s no shortage of other veteran assistant coach types out there. Another (defensive-minded) voice is required.
of note on Coffey – Gregor said on his show yesterday that if Coffey is coming back it would not be with Knoblauch as head coach. He also said he could see Coffey as GM in a few years.
There were lots of rumours ( No clue if it had any merit). That the 2 did not get along at all
He did not say that
People keep looking and hoping for silver bullets. It’s Skinner’s fault. It’s Nurse’s fault. It’s Stuart’s fault. It’s Knoblauch’s deployment and use of players fault. It Bowman’s fault for Frederic and Mangiapane. It the players fault for interfering in the GM’s roster decisions. Coffey will be a deux ex machina.
The Oilers are not connected as an organization on and office the ice at the current time. Until they fix that…
you are not wrong.
If I had my vote I would say roster construction is the #1 problem. I don’t think Stan has brought in enough good players, while at the same time bringing in multiple passengers.
They need a driver for the third line to get the bottom six contributing more offensively.
They were expecting more from Freddy & Mangi in that role, so they need to make some adjustments moving forward with the bottom six. Lazar & Freddy seem to have shown they can operate capably together on a fourth line.
100% They just don’t have the horses, they aren’t good enough as of now. Some of these rookies have to pop at some point to create some depth or depth by other means. They are in a pickle because hands are tied, again. Fine line to winning at the end point, they have been close.
I do agree that system/structure is a factor esp forwards coming down low consistently. They don’t though and are too impatient to wait for offense. Its frustrating to watch as we all know because they can do it. Still though, better horses are needed, just as Drai said, they aren’t good enough.
Calling Frederic and Mangiepanie “passengers” is very kind of you. Theyre not passangers on the good boat Oilers. They are the anchors dragging on the bottom of the sea.
Knoblauch built an untested coaching bench that isn’t NHL quality and everything else is suffering for it.
Bowman needs to take control of it and revert to installing babysitters or a new head coach that aligns with what he’s trying to build.
Do you believe Bowman knows “what he’s trying to build”?
Some of his player acquisitions appear to be random shots in the dark.
Personally I blame Tobias Rieder
If there is such a disconnect as you keep claiming doesn’t that point to the works head coach being employed?
Essentially the HC is the one charged with executing the GM’s strategy. The HC is the connection between the organization’s strategy and the on-ice product.
I do think Knoblauch is where Skinner was last year, fairly or unfairly, it is Cup or bust (You’re fired).
A coaching change right now is not likely to “deus ex machina” this season. Because it is not entirely the coach’s fault. There is a lot of fault to go around. Bowman, Knoblauch, and the player leadership group have to sit down together and fashion a plan for the rest of the season that everyone agrees to and can stick with and execute on.
Do they though? Don’t think I’ve ever heard of the HC or player’s leadership group setting the organizational direction and strategy.
There are things that the GM has to do, there are things that the coach has to do, and there are things the player leadership group have to do. Each stakeholder has to know what they are going to do, and what the other stakeholders are going to do, so they act complementarily. It is a tactical plan for the rest of the season, not organization strategy and direction.
Bingo.
When Frederic and Mangienie were signed this summer, I said, I hope that KK signed off on those since KK faded or refused to use the two biggest signings from the previous summer ie: Jeff Skinner and Arvidsson.
I don’t blame KK for fading Mangie and Frederic however as their performance has clearly warranted a demotion to the AHL.
Bowman committed two cardinal sins with Mangie and Frederic:
1. Don’t sign small wingers that can’t stay on their feet,
2. Don’t sign big wingers if their only skill is MOAR BIG.
The source of most Oilers problems is they have no third line.
Frederic – Henrique – Mangiapnie
Are getting paid to be the third line, but had their lunch money stolen by the likes of Savoie, Samanski, Roslovic, Howard etc etc. All of whom have looked far better in that spot.
That’s on Bowman. Thanks Stan.
I don’t know what’s going to happen here, if anything, but, in my opinion, Paul Coffey and his impact is being highly over-rated.
Lets not forget, the much talked about stretch pass is NOT something new this season.
Lets not forget, this team going through stretches of terrible team defence and terrible puck management is not new this season and was an issue at times during Coffey’s tenure on the bench.
Lets not forget there was a 4-6 week stretch that the current team tightened up and played solid team defensive with structure.
Sounds like a player personnel problem.
It’s not all just any one thing, but when multiple types of players can’t succeed on the Oilers, except elite players (and often they can’t either), I would say it leans more to the coaching
All of the players have played multiple systems, and if they are established NHL players they are that because they could execute the system and please the coaches well enough – they aren’t incompetent
With these Oilers there are a couple of truths – don’t try to integrate Russians, and don’t ask then to play anything very complicated defensively
If they’re established NHL players, then why wouldn’t they be able to execute the Oilers systems?
Are the Oiler systems different from other NHL teams?
Isn’t it the players that need to play the systems? The coaches can’t play it for them.
Does it come down to the definition of insanity?
The players aren’t incompetent, but they only play with structure within the system when they feel like it, much to the shegrin of the coaching staff.
I don’t get it? Are the coaches incompetent?
It’s strange indeed.
Stecher made a comment that he fit in quickly to TO bcs the system was similar. And added that there was always an option for outlets, support from the C
Meaning to me that doesn’t happen with the Oilers. Whatever they are attempting doesn’t work for the group, maybe for no group. I keep mentioning that certain systems make it hard for regular players to do anything, not my idea but from Oates etc
McLellan turned the Wings around. Sometimes coaches are wrong. Everyone suffers. I remember Eakins saying he thought they could play basic defense and chose a system they couldn’t do
Perhaps that’s the problem again. LT mentioned the gap between D and F, you can’t play as a unit if guys are too far apart, and I think that affects breakouts and also the forecheck. Also rush plays because there isn’t enough puck support. Connor and Leon can make plays out of nothing, with no one to pass to, but not most players
I agree OP. Coffey is not the fix.
This team has multiple issues, and none of them are easy fixes.
If Coffey comes in for the stretch and we win the Cup will you change your thoughts on Mr.Coffey’s ability to get this D thinking in unison with the forwards and the goalies?
of course. how could I not? But I don’t think Paul Coffey is going to be able to get this team to win Stanley.
Lets not forget, Coffey’s defensive tactics were much more then the stretch pass.
Let’s not forget, Stuart ran the worst PK ever seen then was promoted for even more responsibility and the results mirrored that unsurprisingly.
Let’s not forget, the Oilers looked great for 4-6 weeks because their stars went into Marvel mode. When McDavid has everyone saying this is the best he’s ever been, the Oilers are probably going to be doing pretty well regardless of the mess behind the bench.
Let’s not forget, you’re not going to get buy in when the players know it’s bullshit. It will never happen. Coffey is a hockey savant, Stuart is a nice guy, probably.
Yes again it comes down to the hatred of the OBC. All I know is Coffey’s deployment and strategy got us in the Final 2 years running. We win the Cup with a PK instead K.K flinching first and stapling Kane to the end of the bench while Bennett becomes the de facto hero cost us a Cup.
I have never once, ever, bitched about “the Old Boys Club” – ever.
My mind must be playing tricks on me as I don’t remember much love for Coffey on his initial hiring. I always thought Coffey was a short turn stopgap get the D back on track and then go back to consolidating kinda guy. I think the success he had regardless of his lack of so called coaching resume should not be taking lightly. Results matter in the real world unless of course you have a rich daddy.
Was I over-ecstatic about the Coffey hiring? Probably not – the guy has zero professional hockey coaching experience and it seemed like an odd choice given his official position in the organization as the liaison to the owner.
At the same time, I have never ever spoken negatively towards the “old boys club” hires including Lowe, Coffey, etc. – ever.
You know the substance of the post I was responding to.
McDavid was only playing lights-out in that span because he was trying to make the Olympic team.
Ha! But seriously, maybe he was playing lights-out so he could get Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard on the Olympic team.
Remember, the team really tried to get Draisaitl his 50 goals, Nurse his contract, Nuge his 100 points, Hyman his 50 goals. (And they succeeded! Of course, if they hadn’t gotten Nurse his contract, they might have later gotten a Stanley Cup…)
What were these tactics of Coffey? All we heard about was his encouragement of the d-man to make plays.
What about Stuart running an all time historic PK in the 2024 playoffs that was a huge part of the run to game 7 of the SCF?
I would suggest the team defence and puck management was much better during the stretch.
Yeah I think you are right unfortunately. They also need to fix line 3 and get an RD as well. But I also really think they really a new coach.
Agreed!
I’d like to see everyone in the organization just take a breath. Coffey returning is an easy fix, and should be done today. But there’s definitely something askew with the team. I totally agree on the stretch pass problem LT, but I think it runs deeper.
They should just get a look at the team with Coffey back after the olympic break, and if the results don’t improve just sit out the deadline madness and prepare for next year. And then Bowman can make any adjustments to the roster over the off-season.
Then next season immediately turns into a referrendum on Knoblauch for Bowman. If they flounder next year, with a roster that is firmly in Bowman’s image, then he needs to bring in a coach who cam maximize the roster. It’s groundhog day….again!
Barring any improvement after the break, doing anything significant at this year’s deadline would be like a guy figuring out that he’s broke, and getting a bunch of payday loans to fix things.
Coffey returning isn’t an easy fix otherwise it would have already been done and tanking isn’t an option either.
Bowman replaces Knoblauch this summer with anything less then a 7 game conference finals.
There are only 12 days between the Olympic roster freeze and the trade deadline.
The Oilers play only 4 games in that period so there is virtually no time to test drive Coffey especially with 3 of the 4 games on the road in 4 days.
It is widely thought that most teams buying and selling are going to do that work before the freeze is lifted and there should be a flurry of deals announced immediately after the freeze.
You’re probably right. I just don’t see a team that should be spending precious assets to get over the hump. I think the hump is further away this year.
And standing pat is not tanking.
I wonder what the owner is thinking?
Playoff revenue is an enormous motivator and the Oilers are seriously in danger of missing the post season.
They’re all in.
The Oilers are the third most profitable team in the entire world of sports; and that’s not even taking into account all the real estate development money from the Ice District. He should be ecstatic with the returns.
If the Oilers can’t make the playoffs with the lineup that they have and with owner spending right up to the cap, then the GM and coach should both be fired in the offseason for gross incompetence.
But if the GM wants to go out and empty the cupboards to get some Bobby McMann’s, then he should be fired immediately … this team is not a legitimate contender this seasons adding some Bobby McMann’s is not going to make it so.
I don’t recall any rich guy who was happy passing up millions of dollars that a long playoff run will produce.
I’m sorry, LT, but I doubt there’s a world where Draisaitl’s public words look like leadership, except in Oilerville, where the blame game trumps the responsibility game.
Leadership would have looked like, “We’re not playing well, and it starts with me. After the break I’m going to live up to the words I gave you at the beginning of the season, and play like Selke matters to me.” And then play that way.
A leader leads by example. He takes responsibility. He doesn’t make mealy-mouthed public statements. His negative opinions and judgements about others, and especially those he leads and those who coach him, these are important. But they are reserved for private conversation.
Speaking out publicly has created the kind of noise that undermines confidence and trust in a group that is struggling. It’s the kind of noise that fans and pundits (and especially the media) in Oilerville love. It sells advertising and interest. It does not build trust and confidence. I hope the Capt has a quiet word with his Lt, and with the team, to bring this group together post-Olympics.
Coda: The Canucks are a warning. They were a very good team not that long ago. They very close to beating the Oilers and competing for the Western Conference championship in 2024. The next year they were hollowed out by February, by noise emanating from a star —a team leader— who would not put the team above himself. This year? Ugh.
There’s no need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. We disagree.
A figure of speech. Any sorrow I feel has to do with the feeling that disagreement with you brings up. I generally agree with your take on the ups & downs & happenings here in Oilerville. And I appreciate your patient and historically informed perspectives. On this one, I’d love hear how speaking out of turn/feeding the noise has ever benefited a professional sports club.
Harsh take on Drai. I feel his comments were inclusive. He takes on undervalued, lower talent wingers every season and rocks it himself while he mentors them, he plays on 1 foot and destroys the playoff points board, he loves to win, is competitive as hell, nasty when he is losing. He speaks from the heart and calls out the media. That is leadership. He isn’t perfect every game but he is a good leader.
He’s the most interesting man alive (Dos Equis) don’t let a Habs fan tell you otherwise.
Ha! Love it Reja.
Indeed. Draisaitl is very interesting player, but that doesn’t mean he has the maturity to handle frustration in a way that helps, rather than hinders, the team.
Last year his frustration early season resulted in a short benching. Whether that is what prompted it or not, from that point on we —fans and team— got maybe the best ever of Draisaitl. 200 feet of him, most of the time.
That was the most interesting player on the Oilers, perhaps in the world. We need that version of Drai, not the guy who has an occasional history of not taking responsibility for himself.
Cheers mate. I do think they miss Corey Perry leadership-tomfoolery to lighten things up. I do think that Connor will also get a jolt from being around Crosby for a couple of weeks.
One of the greatest things about Leon Draisaitl, IMO, is how he mentors. And his compete is awesome.
But a leader doesn’t publicly call out his coach, goalie, fellow players. He publicly says that it starts with him, the change that’s needed. The Selke level play he knows he’s capable of (and that he’s promised the team and the fans). And then he does it.
Harsh? He’s publicly set a high bar for himself: Selke, Stanley. He wears an A. The guy is getting paid $Ms to be a key part of building a Stanley Cup winner. His words have given license to the worst impulses in Oilerville, to blame others and tear down what’s being built. Is it harsh to ask him to take responsibility for this?
I listed all of Leon’s quotes from the 2 interviews the other night. I’m not sure if you saw that, but there are a lot of references to “we” right from the beginning and all the way through. A leader sees the big/complete picture, and he outlined it top to bottom. He was taking responsibility and he included himself. I wish he had done it earlier as I’m sure it inspired his teammates and he probably said what they were all thinking. They know they all need to be better, will take the break and refocus.
When Leon talked about wanting to “be in the Selke conversation”, in Sept/25 (NHL.com, Derek Van Diest), it was an interview about his admiration of and friendship with Anze Kopitar, 2-time Selke winner. If you google “Anze Kopitar quotes when Kings not playing well”, you’ll see comments over the years where they sound the same as what Leon said last week. Kopitar is a proven leader and very respected.
If Leon doesn’t win Selke this season (he was 6th in voting in 24/25) that doesn’t mean he is not a leader or a motivator. I think his comments show leadership and reflect another goal he has to emulate Kopitar as his career is drawing to a close and as Leon’s career progresses.
Kopitar had two cup rings by the time he was 26.
He is a worthy role model for Draisaitl but hard to match.
Don’t forget to put the baseball asterix beside the Kings two Cups. Sutter confirmed what was going on when he said that they should have paid more attention, after the players started running into ‘trouble’ off ice
Then you would need to put an Asterix beside the Oilers cup wins in the 80’s.
I personally witnessed their dabbling in illegal substances.
I dunno…I’ve watched Leon his whole career, and I think he’s an amazing leader.
I don’t know why you would question him not putting the team above himself for those comments, but, like you say…some fans just love the “noise”…lol
No question that with the puck on his stick, Leon leads. He’s probably my favourite NHL player to watch. And last year he led the team in many more ways.
But he has a habit of putting his frustration above the team when he does his ”bad body language” thing. When he takes dumb penalties. And now as he criticizes the team (from coaches through to goalies) publicly after a disappointing game, and again when asked about it the Olympics. “Frustration/anger management” is hard. It’s obviously something Leon Draisaitl hasn’t mastered. Until he does, he’s not being an amazing leader.
We’ll agree to disagree.
If you think Leon Draisaitl said what he said, and then “doubled down” later, without already having addressed it with the team and coaches previously, I believe you’re mistaken.
…and when you rip off 50-50 seasons with regularity, put up 15 points in a 5 game playoff series on one leg, etc, etc, you can have some “bad body language”, take a “pissy” penalty mid-Jan every now and then…
If there is a coach or player that has an issue with the comments, you’ve found your problem…
Could he eliminate some of the lazy plays (e.g. the no-look backhanders that connect at best 10% of the time with the intended target)? Sure.
But he’s been an absolute warrior for years … I’m surprised he hasn’t let his thoughts known like this a long time ago.
The team isn’t a good as they were …. that’s on the GM.
The current squad is playing terribly … that’s on the coaches … shortening the bench to 4 forwards and 2 defensemen is not a strategy that is viable for long-term success.
I’m not talking about what look like “lazy” plays. The guy is a genius —on ice. (The way he moves reminds me of another of my favourites, who was sometimes also called lazy, Frank Mahovlich.) I’m talking about his public aspiration to Selke, something that seems to have been forgotten. This team needs that from him. And especially this team because they are not last year’s team. They are many new faces. They are rookies. That’s on a GM dealing with the kind of churn that aging and Cap bring to the NHL, bringing faster/younger/cheaper into the mix. That’s on a coach who’s balancing a “new” team’s development with the business of winning and entertaining/selling seats/merch.
Draisaitl as “team leadership” shows up big in a couple of ways. In scoring, for sure. In his willingness and capacity to mentor younger or inconsistent line mates (Podkolzin, Kapanen). That’s profoundly important as this team transitions to younger/faster/cheaper. It may be more important than scoring, in the long term. And he undermines that important leadership/team-building when he doesn’t manage his impatience/frustration.
This is a talented group. They need team leaders to be steady, not to sow doubt and drama.
Noise can and will undo much good work. You can read it hear in the comments: people ready to tear apart a talented and gifted organization.
I myself think Leon-McDavid go through spurts of burnout during the long seasons especially as they hit the 30 year-old mark with all the minutes they’ve played. They can’t publicly come out and say we’re not robots we need the team to take a bit of the load off our shoulders. I’ll say it again Leon is frustrated with the 3 game losing streak if we win 2 out of 3 then it’s 10 games over in 1st place and everyone is happy in Oilerville. K.K failure to give minutes to young-fresh-energetic players in Hutson-Howard-Savoie while scaling back minutes on the veterans is costing us wins in the long run.
I think Leon said what needed to be said, everyone needs to be better. If a coach can call out a player, a player can call out a coach…. I think the coaches needed to be called out…
Leon expressly included himself in those that need to be better.
It feels like you didn’t comprehend what Leon was saying.To me, he was clearly holding himself and the organization accountable. Like a leader should…
Lowetide wrote: “How in h-e-double-hockey sticks does Bowman sell that to head coach Kris Knoblauch?”
Just point to the underwhelming season numbers (games, lack of winning streaks, the miserable recent home stretch). If Knoblauch doesn’t like being babysat, he can look in the mirror and think about all the better decisions he could have made since training camp that could have prevented this.
If Knoblauch can’t deal with being babysat after all the shortcomings this year, replace him. And fast.
No kidding. If he can’t see that they need help that is a major issue
They do need help with players personel. Bowman needs to come through ASAP.
I’m not so sure it’s entirely a coaching problem. It’s not clear cut, it’s both.
They could replace Knoblauch with MacT as an intern coach until the end of the season. Have Coffey & MacT together on the bench, that would be an interesting combo for the players to wrap their heads around.
Your comment about the issues partly resting with the player personnel is true too… I agree with you that it’s not 100% on coaching. But I think replacing the coaches is likely easier to do since there are no cap implications.
Having MacT again could be interesting… I think he’s super smart, and I think he would squeeze a lot more out of the players (especially the bottom 6). The way he adapted tactics during the playoff run in ’06 was unbelievable to me.
MacT also really had a problem with Penner, even though Penner at times was his best player. MacT didn’t seem to be able to separate Penner’s contract (and related expectations) from Penner’s on-ice contributions. Penner wasn’t perfect, but the way MacT turned him into a pinata would have me concerned… would MacT do that again and focus on one of the Oilers’ current highly paid players and instead of helping them improve, would he drive them out of town? I’m worried he could be too worried about Bouchard’s defensive deficiencies as opposed to his offensive upside. We would need Bouchard to maintain the offense while working on improving the defense… not sacrificing offense to improve defense.
I do think MacT would probably have a lot more perspective than when he was dealing with Penner, and would likely do a great job during the playoffs this spring.
I wouldn’t worry about MacT he’s older and wiser, plus it would only be for the remainer of the season and however far they go in the playoffs. I have to say that Bowman needs to make a couple astute tweaks to the roster for better results on the ice. But man would that ever be cool if they won the cup with MacT behind the bench and Coffey coaching the defense. LOL.
I fully agree that would be cool. And it would be really nice to see MacT win a cup as a coach. 🙂
I like MacT but note that, a week ago, he stated that Nurse is playing the best hockey of his career – so do with that as you will…..
Knoblauch can say no to Coffey, and make Bowman fire him. Knoblauch has the stronger hand.
The solution to the lack of organizational alignment is not to bring in Coffey, but for the stakeholders to lock themselves in a room until they come up with a plan everyone agrees on for the rest of this season.
If the plan is a good one, everyone will be a bit unhappy, but they will be aligned.
Bowman has the stronger hand, he calls the shots, Knoblauch is just the coach.
What are they going to do ask Cal Nichols what to do?
Usually a G.M has 1 get out of Jail free card which is sacking the coach. If he has to sack 2 coaches then his own ass is also in a sling.
I know what you mean with the famous Sutter quote and I fully agree with the point of it. Good teams don’t defend better they just don’t defend often. And it is true that if you spend enough time in your own zone eventually you’ll break down.
But this team is kind of the opposite. They don’t spend much time in their own zone but in fact do breakdown much quicker and in more severe ways than the average team. NHL Edge has the Oilers 8th in “puck in DZone” time yet 28th in goals against.
So respectfully I don’t think the quote applies all that well. Sutter is implying that any team will break down 40-50 seconds into a shift but THIS team is breaking down 10 seconds into them.
I think the quote is perfect for this team. The problem is the forecheck, something the Oilers have not been able to overcome, extends time in the defensive zone with turnovers. The Oilers DO get the puck, but don’t get the puck out enough, and then are forced to play defense. I’d be interesting to see the Oilers numbers with “possession, under control entering the offensive end of the ice” and then against their opponent. Stretch passes are not an answer for such a skilled team. And I do think the idea that goaltending is the issue is maybe finally dead with the Jarry-Ingram replacements performing at about the same quality as the Skinner-Pickard jazz duo.
Interesting. So you think we’re spending too much time in our zone? I’m not sure we can expect much better than 8th. What would you like to see as a target?
Agree completely that the goaltending is settled as much as it can be.
From my armchair, I’d welcome back Coffey. There’s a fracture here on this team. If great minds like LT and Draisaitl can see the obvious about the defensive play, jailbreak passes and the coach cannot something needs to change. In listening to Leon’s comments I can’t help but think of Tom Petty’s song Time To Move On. Although this was his view of moving on from his divorce with his wife I feel it can be applied to the current state of the organization. Time to get going Oilers ‘Conscientious Objector’.
Everybody in the Oilers organization has a role to play. It isn’t too later yet for everybody to get on board. Not yet anyway.
Prospectusion!
The spotlight shines on the lone OHL rep among the NAmateurs.
Will Nicholl has scored in back-to-back games entering tonight. He lined up at RW last time out, rather than his customary C position. (He saw some action on the wing last year too.) He has 6-6-12 in 15 GP.
Puck drops at 5 p.m. Waiparous time.