It’s heartbreaking: A very Edomonton Oilers player has announced his sudden retirement, sending a powerful statement and bidding the team and supporters a heartfelt farewell.
Connor McDavid, front, left to right, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman are positioned behind Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft, back, on the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver, November 6, 2023. In his nine NHL seasons, Connor McDavid has had five different coaches.
He has seen four people leave the building. The captain of the Edmonton Oilers remarked, “It’s very hard,” when a bench boss was let go. “People occasionally overlook the human aspect of professional sports. There is a connection there. “These are people with families, and it’s hard.” Darryl Dyck, The Canadian Press
In his nine NHL seasons, Connor McDavid has had five different coaches.
He has seen four people leave the building.
The captain of the Edmonton Oilers remarked, “It’s very hard,” when a bench boss was let go. “People occasionally overlook the human aspect of professional sports. There is a connection there.
“These are people with families, and it’s hard.”
It is a component of the high-stakes game as well.
But when the dust settles, how does the dynamic between a player and a former coach change, particularly for a member of the leadership group like McDavid, who was fired by Jay Woodcroft last month following a dismal season debut?
These are individuals who frequently communicate on a daily basis through meetings, calls, and texts as they look for the secret to success.
Then one day, without warning, they were gone.
The St. Louis Blues, who won the 2019 Stanley Cup with the team, fired head coach Craig Berube on Tuesday night, becoming the third team to do so this season.
The captain of the New York Rangers, Jacob Trouba, stated that those kinds of relationships don’t simply vanish.
“You are invested in the guy, and he is invested in you. That’s how it ends,” declared Trouba, who bid farewell to Gerard Gallant in May as he was given his pink slip. “You give him a call and wish him luck. I keep in touch with former coaches.”
In many cases, he continued, there’s much more than just a professional relationship.
Trouba remarked, “You kind of build friendships.” We experience many highs and lows. We had a great time attending the conference final with Gallant in 2022. He is not a person who has vanished from your life.
“When I was made captain, he was the coach. These are the things I will never forget, and they will always influence my work. It’s not something you can ignore or push out the door.”
This also applies to general managers.
John Tavares was returned to Toronto in free agency, thanks in large part to the efforts of Kyle Dubas, who was let go by the Maple Leafs in May after serving as general manager.
And Tavares rose to the rank of captain during his tenure.
The player said, “When the change happened, we exchanged messages.” However, it is undoubtedly difficult to summarize everything in a few sentences. There’s a lot to process. Typically, a period of time elapses.”
February 28, 2024
Executive Dubas was very hands-on. He was present when Tavares sustained a horrific injury during the 2021 playoffs, and during those tense moments when he was being carried off the ice, he kept his family informed.
“There’s always going to be a strong relationship between him and myself and other guys he had a big influence on,” Tavares stated. “As time goes on, there’s more appreciation, more understanding.”
After the shocking move, Dubas promptly joined the Pittsburgh Penguins as their president of hockey operations. Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said he spoke with Dubas.
“I’ve probably felt that with him leaving more than I have in the past,” said Rielly. “Just part of the business.”
However, no two circumstances or partnerships are the same.
Paul Maurice, the head coach of the Florida Panthers, rarely keeps in touch with former players.
“I’m not a connector or an over-communicator,” he stated. “Text me, and I’ll respond within five days. Many of them I don’t keep in touch with. Everyone is alright. I wasn’t needed by them at first. They were fine when I left, having received coaching from me.
“Actually,, probably a little happier.”
Hall of Famer and Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis stated that when a coach is fired, players experience some guilt.
“I didn’t get the job done,, and that’s what cost him his job,” he stated. “Everyone enters this knowing that they could be fired or traded at any time.
“Nature of the beast.”
Nothing gets any simpler.
It “takes a toll,” according to McDavid. “But it just makes you cherish those moments that you have with your teammates and your coaches all the more.”
PULLING OILERS
Kris Knoblauch took over as coach in Edmonton after Woodcroft was fired, and it appears to have worked.
When the axe fell, the Oilers were struggling at 3-9-1, but after eight games—seven of which came in regulation—they are now 13-12-1.
At least by his own standards, Auston Matthews had a somewhat disappointing 2022–23 season, scoring 40 goals in 74 games after tallying 60 in 73 games the previous season.
Filling the net again is the center for the Leafs.
With 21 goals in 26 games this season, Matthews would tie Phil Esposito (1971–72) and Lanny McDonald (1982–83) for 21st place on the NHL’s all-time single-season list with a pace of 66 goals.
