If you fire the coach you need a replacement and I have to wonder what decent NHL coach would want to sign with a team that has terrible forward depth, a Titanic defense, and goal tending that resembles Swiss cheese.
Does that leave you with Glen Gulutzan stepping in to fill the void? Heaven forbid. Currently Gulutzan's coaching responsibility is defense.
Right now, that's what I see happening. Fire Woodcroft to show the fans that they're "doing something" and make GG their interim head coach, let Holland's contract run out till the end of the year, and then hit the reset button with a new GM that names their own coach(es).
Hopefully for the Oilers, they get someone as a coach who can get the players to understand that "defense" isn't just the 2 guys on the backend at any given point in time. And a GM that stops trying to add scoring to the roster, and focuses on keeping pucks out of the net.
Yeah, the Oilers would be much further ahead than they are now if their scoring was still on track. Last year, at 12 games in, the Oilers 13th in the league standings, and had a +4, with 46 goals for and 42 goals against. This year, they're in 30th, have a -19, with 31 GF and 50 GA. Their penalty kill and power play percentages have each dropped down by 10% from last year.
I watched the game last night, and watch many of their games (as a non-Oilers fan living in Edmonton, an Oilers loss lets me go to sleep with a smile on my face). At least two of those goals were a result of people not picking up their man and coming back hard or watching a guy stand in front of the net. Like WTF? If your goaltender is struggling, why are you letting them get skunked with a guy wide open in front of the net? Sure, one of the goals was a lucky bounce to a Shark coming in on the rush, but Kane was just coasting back, 6' behind the guy. Even if there was a shot, the guy was going to be open for a rebound. The Oilers need to start playing like the EBUG is in net, and shutting down easy goals like that. Doesn't matter who the coach or GM or goalie is. As a team, they need to defend better.
Some people have suggested Sutter as a coach for them... I think that would be a mixed bag. Might get good initial results, but it might end up with star players not re-signing, just like in Calgary. I think the demands he puts on players wears thin, even if he gets results. So either he wins a cup in the next two years, or the rebuild starts in earnest.
