Oilers play under Kris Knoblauch

[deleted user]

Lol. He'll inevitably be blamed for the collapse/disappointment that's coming. Can't wait.

 

[ManofSteel55]

I mean by that logic there are no Jack Adams contenders currently.

The voting for Jack Adams often tells the same story. Take a team that was bad the year before and showed the most improvement and there is your probable Jack Adams winner. So...Rick Tocchet, if the Canucks maintain pace.

 

[Dieseloil]

The breakout out their own end is light years better than it was under Woodcroft. They use the middle a lot more, and there seems to almost always be a player in position to receive the pass. This compared to Woodcroft and gang’s Keystone Cop’s approach. Add in mediocre goaltending at best and disgusting at worst, stupid penalties and general mayhem and that was the early part of this season. The last couple of games bad habits have started to creep back in. Still winning.

 

[Satire]

He's the new Woodcroft lol. Can we compare the stats of their red hot coaching starts?

If McDavid wasn't playing the first part through injury they would've had a better record and Woodcroft would still be their coach.

A bit alarming how terrible their team looked for that stretch. Good teams can withstand injuries to their top player for short to medium term.

They didn't look THAT bad honestly, I think about half the games they looked disinterested and the other half they were snake-bitten. They were playing .500 hockey but nothing was going their way. I think 6/12 of those first 12 games they were putting up 40+ shots and had pretty good underlying analytics (like too 5'ish) but nothing was going right. Combine that with shaky goaltending, a system change that wasn't working, and you have a lot of games lost.

Woodcroft was not the problem, but this far I think Knob has done a good job of getting the players to buy in.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Oilers' real test is the playoffs with this coach and how he utilizes the roster. Regular season I guess the turnaround is good, but they're what, back on pace to being as good as last year like? Also the firing was very quick for a coach that led to them to a lot of success the last 2 seasons.

It's weird to think a coach that had a career record of 79-41-14 and .643 win % was terrible. And it was like 13 games and pure panic. As mentioned above - had they waited it out would it have turned around? Given the track record of Woodcroft? Probably.

The bloke took the Oilers to round 3 and round 2. He's had more success as an Oilers coach than anyone else since 2005-06 when they lost in the finals. Seems weird anyone would trash Woodcroft. Surprised he hasn't turned up as a coaching candidate yet. Likely just enjoying the salary still. I feel like he should be on the radar for the Senators so poor old Jacques Martin can relax at 71yrs old.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Bringing in Paul coffee has also helped.

See usually you'd fire the assistants when your coach has done what Jay has the last 2, I guess in the end its worked out well so far but I am curious about a coach like Woodcroft and his next team.

League needs more new blood for coaches instead of the same old wankers playing musical chairs. Woodcroft was a long time coming for a head coach and Knob is a new one as well.

Bizarre why Billy would hire Hynes for example, I know he's familiar of him from the Pens but Hynes sucks.

 

[North]

Feels like there’s a thread like this everytime they hire a new coach.

Here’s a thread saying how awesome Woodcroft is until he’s not

Woodcraft for Jack Adams?

Saw some crazy stat that for over 100 games he has #2 win percentage of all time. When he arrived last year Oilers were out of playoff spot, took them to Western Finals and again this year posting a great record. Should he be a nominee at all? Hard to vote against Montgomery but imo Woodcraft...

forums.hfboards.com

Woodcroft looked bad because McDavid was injured and playing like crap. Now that he’s on fire again the new coach comes in and looks like s genius.

Not entirely true.

Woodcroft went away from things that worked for him and then tried to overhaul the defensive system completely and it wasn’t working.

 

[North Cole]

Feels like there’s a thread like this everytime they hire a new coach.

Here’s a thread saying how awesome Woodcroft is until he’s not

Woodcraft for Jack Adams?

Saw some crazy stat that for over 100 games he has #2 win percentage of all time. When he arrived last year Oilers were out of playoff spot, took them to Western Finals and again this year posting a great record. Should he be a nominee at all? Hard to vote against Montgomery but imo Woodcraft...

forums.hfboards.com

Woodcroft looked bad because McDavid was injured and playing like crap. Now that he’s on fire again the new coach comes in and looks like s genius.

Lmao, "the coach is awesome until he's not"
So basically every coach in the league. More at 6.

 

[Coffey]

Lmao, "the coach is awesome until he's not"
So basically every coach in the league. More at 6.

Ya, it's a pretty f***ing stupid comment to make.
In the entire NHL, there are only SIX coaches that were hired pre-2020.

Flames and Canucks fans flapping their gums like their current coaches both weren't hired in 2023.

 

[snag]

He's the new Woodcroft lol. Can we compare the stats of their red hot coaching starts?

If McDavid wasn't playing the first part through injury they would've had a better record and Woodcroft would still be their coach.

A bit alarming how terrible their team looked for that stretch. Good teams can withstand injuries to their top player for short to medium term.

There was more to it than that though too.

 

[Commander Clueless]

My grandpappy always said sometimes you gotta knob a lock.

I have no idea what he meant but the Oilers are obviously taking that advice to heart!

 

[tfong]

And he magically forgot how to coach over the summer? My point is every time Edmonton thinks they found "the guy" he ended getting fired less than 2 years later.

Same with goalies. The recency biased is crazy up there.

 

[CupofOil]

And he magically forgot how to coach over the summer? My point is every time Edmonton thinks they found "the guy" he ended getting fired less than 2 years later.

He did, he changed the system that made them successful last season and resorted back to the McDrai line while playing the bottom 6 minimal minutes.
He also, by all accounts, ran very light practices compared to the previous season so it was no wonder that the team wasn't prepared to play games and stunk after extended breaks.

I'm not saying that coaching is the main difference with the turnaround but Woodcroft absolutely lost the plot this season.
I think he started to get a little too full of himself after the initial success.

 

[centipede2233]

10 coaches in 13 years, even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in awhile…

 

[Muffin]

Lmao, "the coach is awesome until he's not"
So basically every coach in the league. More at 6.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the average team goes through 5 coaches in 8 years.

 

[tfong]

Isn't hockey like one of the most violatile coaching sports? Meanwhile football teams like Chelsea or something have like their coach for like 20 years.

 

[North Cole]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the average team goes through 5 coaches in 8 years.

So we are a team that fires a lot of coaches, thus it's notable that one is doing really well, no?

Woodcroft had a good start to his career. Knob is having a good start to his career. Outside of stating the obvious that coaches are good until they aren't, which is a hallmark of the league as a whole, I don't see why you're bringing up the woodcroft thread like some kind of dismissal of this thread. Talking about our overall coaching failures directly supports why someone might think this is notable.

 

[Sniper99]

Kris. There it is!
This years Bruce Boudreau.

Doesnt swear as much as Boudreau, Then again no one swore as much as Boudreau

 

[CycloneSweep]

List 10 points of things Knoblauch changed, because I see very little difference.

It's the goaltending and players getting healthy that's been the difference.

1. More balanced ice time alignment. Much less reliance on McDavid and Draisaitl to play heavy minutes
2. McDrai dont play much together anymore. They are mostly running their own lines with playing PP and some after PK shifts together.
3. Giving other guys a try in the top 6. We have a killer 2nd line right now with Foegele and McLeod as wingers, Woody would never.
4. This is more of a Coffey thing than Knoblauch, but it is his coaching staff, the defense is now focusing on making plays instead of whatever they were attempting before. Moving the puck has been a highlight lately and it has led to a lot less dangerous own zone time.
5. Penalty kill has been changed. Pairings have changed and the entire structure has been. And with it our PK has actually been a strength.
6. No more 11-7. He is running a proper 12-6 roster which has helped keep McDrais ice time down and less confusion on the roster.
7. Second unit PP has been getting more time which has actually led to goals and confidence for those players
8. Team is prepared to start games now. Before, as most Oilers coaches, team has always come out slow out the gate but the team has been pushing hard to start lots of games.

There is a lot of defensive zone stuff that I have a hard time explaining but thats been better.

I don't think Knoblauch has been the big improvement, necessarily but not having Dave Manson back there has been good. Defense was reallly rough same with the PK and that was on him. That said, his wife passed away this summer so his head probably wasn't fully in it.

 

[Machinehead]

I always liked him and I'm glad he's gotten an opportunity.

 

[94 Oil Drops]

If the Oilers win in Detroit and then Montreal, that's a franchise record breaking winning streak for most wins in a row. Not even the 80s Oilers could win 10 straight. Kris definitely deserves a nomination at the very least if that happens and if the team plays solid the rest of the season.

 

[iCanada]

You don’t see one third of the season so far as a significant difference?
Of course it’s significant.

12/82 = 14%.

Literally less than half of a third of a season. Like a third of a third of a season. Lol.

 

[Stealth1616]

The Oilers start was a combination of injuries, bad goaltending and bad luck.

Most of which were always going to correct itself. Woody took the brunt of all this but really wasn’t his fault

 

[WetcoastOrca]

12

12/82 = 14%.

Literally less than half of a third of a season. Like a third of a third of a season. Lol.

12/37 = 32.5%
Lol. Indeed!

 

[John Mandalorian]

You can overdo it with garlic.