The Edmonton Oilers supporters want the head coach sacked because they are so furious with him.
Even a 4-1 victory on Saturday night in Seattle was unable to turn the tide.
The Edmonton Oilers made their first in-season coaching change of the 2023–24 season on Sunday morning. Pascal Vincent, of course, took Mike Babcock’s place. However, that occurred on September 17, prior to the start of training camp and before Babcock had coached a game for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Oilers, who currently have a 3-9-1 record and are ranked second-last in the NHL, announced on Sunday that head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant Dave Manson had been sacked.
New head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant Paul Coffey will take their places. As special advisor to owner Daryl Katz since 2022, Coffey, 62, is a legend of the Oilers and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. This position has kept Coffey engaged in every facet of the Oilers organization.
Knoblauch, 45, had been in charge of the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League for five seasons prior to his hire. With a 7-3-1 record thus far this season, that team is good for second place in the Atlantic Division of the league. Knoblauch also filled in as an interim coach for the Wolf Pack’s parent team, the New York Rangers, for eight games in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons. He replaced David Quinn, who coached six games, and Gerard Gallant, who coached two, after they entered COVID procedure.
Prior to joining the Wolf Pack, Knoblauch worked for the Philadelphia Flyers for two seasons as an NHL assistant, assisting Scott Gordon and Dave Hakstol. Knoblauch has previously played junior hockey for two stints, winning an OHL title with the Erie Otters in 2017 and a WHL championship with the Kootenay Ice in 2011.
In addition to coaching Connor McDavid for the first two and a half years of his time in Erie, Knoblauch oversaw the player’s growth and helped him become the first overall choice chosen by the Oilers in the 2015 draft.
