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Do you support a coaching change?

Do you support a coaching change?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 10.6%

  • No

    Votes: 76 89.4%
  • Total voters
    85
  • This poll will close: .
Not this again.

As has been posted so many times the Oilers Win % anytime it gets even .900 goaltending is phenomenal. When looking at attribution it seems clear. Get a goalie, not a new coach.

No coach ever seems to light up all the fanbase but the present one does enough and shows enough that it seems clear KK will have a solid job in NHL for years whether it be here or elsewhere.

We were always looking for a coach that could tighten things up a bit and play more responsibly and now we have one and we have Drai on a Selke tear, and Nurse back to what he is etc.

The scoring is a different story and the coaches aren't the ones firing pucks and coaches don't tell players to look off shots. Thats on the players.

I'll ask one question. Have Drai or Nurse, a couple examples ever looked better? They are canaries in the coalmine.
 
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Jarvi said:
Voted no, but I would try and bring Coach Q in as an Assistant. I know it seems outlandish that he would come on and not be the main guy, but I think there is lots playing in our favor to make it happen. Chance to come into a SC contender with 2 of the best to ever play, Bowman connection, and I think a lower profile role as an Assistant could be somewhat enticing for him considering why he left the game. It could also be known but unspoken that if the team continues to underperform for Knob, Q is most likely the next headcoach. Could be the shot in the arm both the team and Knob need.

I think some championship experience from the modern era behind the bench could be huge for this squad, as it was with Perry and Keith, and the Dcorps with Coffey.
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From what I've read, Queneville and Bowman had a big falling out before his dismissal in Chicago and they really don't see eye to eye. I'm sure the Kyle Beach case didn't mend their relationship either
 
Burnt Biscuits said:
Discuss and feel free to talk about who you want to replace Knoblauch with.
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At some point, it's no longer about the coach. Changing every year without addressing the real issues is why we're always spinning our wheels. Knob was excellent last year, and made all the right decisions in the playoffs. Did he suddenly become dumb? Of course not. He's got 10 or so new players on this roster, so really, a different team. And a whack of guys they were supposed to count on, not pulling their weight. Just as people on here are willing to give Bouch all kinds of rope, based on last years monster playoff, why can't we at least do the same for Knob?
 
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CrazyJoeDavola said:
I don't believe we should change the coach; however, I don't believe woody has all of the qualities you need in terms of personality and coaching style to get over the hump. That being said, we can still win without those, it's just going to be even harder.

I believe the ghost of dallas eakins could've coached this team to the finals last year. McDrai willed the team and nothing more.
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Absolutely disagree. Changing the goalie for 2 of the games against the Canucks took balls, and it's something Woody didn't do. Sitting out underachieving mistake filled guys (McLeod and Foegle) was a necessary pill. And ultimately replacing Desharnais was key.
 
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Satoru Gojo said:
From what I've read, Queneville and Bowman had a big falling out before his dismissal in Chicago and they really don't see eye to eye. I'm sure the Kyle Beach case didn't mend their relationship either
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Really? I never heard any of that, but I didn't follow them that closely either. I don't doubt that their relationship was certainly tested, probably multiple times. But time heals all wounds, and he was fired over 6 years ago. Maybe he would still consider it nowadays if he sees another potential championship here.

Idk, probably just a pipedream. I just think having his experience behind the bench would be huge for this group.
 
K1984 said:
When the team actually played with some amount of energy and attention to detail? Pretty much best in the league on both sides of the puck.

That changed when the group chose to half cock it after the 4 Nations.
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Yup. I’ve maintained when this team is moving their legs there’s a reason so many especially in the media chose edm to win the cup. Ekholm out is a massive loss and is being felt and yes, the team needs to start scoring. But at the end of the day they give a damn come playoff time. They care. It’s skinner that makes me worried the most. If he is his usual inconsistent self this team isn’t getting out of the first round.
 
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Drivesaitl said:
Not this again.

As has been posted so many times the Oilers Win % anytime it gets even .900 goaltending is phenomenal. When looking at attribution it seems clear. Get a goalie, not a new coach.

No coach ever seems to light up all the fanbase but the present one does enough and shows enough that it seems clear KK will have a solid job in NHL for years whether it be here or elsewhere.

We were always looking for a coach that could tighten things up a bit and play more responsibly and now we have one and we have Drai on a Selke tear, and Nurse back to what he is etc.

The scoring is a different story and the coaches aren't the ones firing pucks and coaches don't tell players to look off shots. Thats on the players.

I'll ask one question. Have Drai or Nurse, a couple examples ever looked better? They are canaries in the coalmine.
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This is exactly the heart of the argument.

As I've stated I think Knoblauch is a very good coach and for many the argument ends right there and then, they think in binary terms good coach= keep, bad coach= fire.

My argument isn't worried about next season and wanting to retain a good coach, it's looking at the team we have and the limitations we have a.k.a. bad goaltending + undersized offensive wingers and wanting to extract more value and put forth a gameplan that plays around our weaknesses and strengths and is more likely to win us a Stanley Cup this season. We can't fix goaltending right now, but we can try and gameplan to make that weakness less prominent (rather than play into the weakness) and for me that is getting our offense going so we can outscore a terrible goal, in prior seasons we had that swagger where if we really needed a goal and we were all pushing particularly on the PP we could almost get that goal on command and this season we've lost that ability pretty much entirely.

If Drai and Nurse are canaries, why not McDavid, RNH, Arvidsson, or Henrique this is by far the worst McDavid has ever played and on par with the worst seasons of the other 3.

For many they are looking at this season as a probable early playoff exit, and are ready to accept their lumps. With the plan being fix it in the offseason, cause there are too many issues for a coach to cover it up. For me I see enough right with this team particularly on the back end and our ability to transition the puck, that I do think we can win a Cup this season, but to do that we need to open it up a touch and get more offense from our bottom 6 (the guys on IR should help) + tidy up our special teams.
 
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I've said this before, but the idea the playoff run last year wasn't heavily assisted by the coaching staff is nuts. The team became almost impossible to score on after adjusting to their opponents in spite of below average(but not horrible) goaltending.

In games 4-7 throughout the playoffs the Oilers were 11-2 and allowed only 18 goals against.
 
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Not really. He likely doesn't know what he's doing offensively and relies heavily on just pushing the "McDrai To Score Points!" button, but defensively he has gotten better results from this group than anyone else.

The crap management and bottom tier goaltending tandem are the main drags on the team, there's only so much a coach can do with that. Even having a 40 year old Mike Smith like Tippett and Woodcroft had for some stretches is a big advantage that Knob doesn't have.

Mike Smith was .915 in his last season here, we'd be running away with our division if we had now.
 
No coaching change-- that won't help the fact that the Oilers have 2 guys who have to carry the show on their backs most nights.

Instead, construct a scouting department that can effectively judge talent in terms of the draft, the free agent market and the trade market.

You can't expect the driver to win the race if you don't get him the right horses.

Also, hire someone who can manage an Excel Spread Sheet and call it "Our Cap Space--this is important."

Run multiple iterations and also highlight (in font 18 letters)---"players who could get offer sheets from other clubs."
 
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4 pts out of division lead. Yup let's fire the coach.
new one will certainly give us better goaltending and will make 2 of Klingberg, Emberson, Kulak and Stecher top 4 Dmen.
 
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T-Funk said:
I support getting rid of the worst goalie coach in the league and I support knob getting his head out of his ass, showing some sort of pulse, and realizing you cant win with zero aggression hockey in the big leagues.
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Pretty sure Knob has one of the best winning % in this league so he knows how to win games in regular season and in playoffs.
 
A change now? Not a chance, especially not without a look at the team with a sustained run from a competent goaltender.

I could totally see him fired by this time next year though, he's laying the ground work for it. He's showing classic signs of a coach that rides a coaching bump to a strong first year, but falls apart when his messaging isn't as effortlessly impactful, and biases and personal relationships with players on the team start to impact the on-ice management.
 
No, not at all. They haven't been perfect this year, but the team still plays good hockey. Bad goaltending has broken their brains a bit.

Also for those who don't know, the dark mode option is back.
 
CrazyJoeDavola said:
I don't believe we should change the coach; however, I don't believe woody has all of the qualities you need in terms of personality and coaching style to get over the hump. That being said, we can still win without those, it's just going to be even harder.

I believe the ghost of dallas eakins could've coached this team to the finals last year. McDrai willed the team and nothing more.
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I really disagree with that last part. Knoblauch was hired because he is a modern coach that coaches a zone D system. That is the main reason we got far last year but didn't the years previous. McDavid and Draisaitl were awesome in the playoffs in the disappointing years too, but the issue was that good teams were slicing through our defensive system.

This is also why I give a ton of leeway to Knoblauch's decisions. When there's something that doesn't make sense, like Jeff Skinner's treatment, I tend to believe it must be that even if he's getting some results, he's not fitting in with the defensive structure. That can cut it in the regular season but the playoffs are a different game.
 
Cant judge a coach properly when one player is sewering the team. His line up choices are dumb though and the way he's handled j skinner is the dumbest thing ive seen in a long time from an oilers coach.
 
Oilers problems are nothing to do with coaching. It has everything to do with the 2 clowns upstairs steering the ship. Despite what these clowns have done, I would argue its because of coaching that were still within striking distance of first.
 
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Only way I could see Knob getting fired is if the team goes on a massive slide and somehow ends up outside the playoffs. He got to the cup finals so he has a big leash, and you can't really blame him for the players underperforming or if he is part of the problem he's only a small part. I doubt any other coach really makes a difference for guys like Arvidsson and RNH, who just generally suck this year.
 
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