Edmonton Oilers Fire Coach Jay Woodcroft, Bring In Kris Knoblauch

The Edmonton Oilers have relieved Jay Woodcroft of his duties as coach after parts of three seasons. Kris Knoblauch is the new coach.

A rocky start to the season in Edmonton just got rockier. 

The Edmonton Oilers made a massive swing behind the bench on Sunday, relieving head coach Jay Woodcroft of his duties after parts of three seasons with the club. 

In a corresponding move, the Oilers announced that Kris Knoblauch will take over as the new coach, elevating him from his prior role as coach of the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford.

Assistant coach Dave Manson is also out, with Hockey Hall of Famer Paul Coffey taking his place.

The news comes somewhat surprisingly after the Oilers' 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night, a victory which seemed to present a positive path forward for the club following their truly disastrous early-season performance. 

After 13 games, the Oilers currently sit with a 3-9-1 record that has them second-last in the Pacific Division, ahead of only the league-worst San Jose Sharks, who actually beat the Oilers by a score of 3-2 on Thursday.

While the Oilers are indeed struggling, it's fair to wonder if Woodcroft was the problem. With a team save percentage of .864, the worst metric in the NHL and 10 points lower than the next closest team, the Oilers' problems seemed to be very squarely focused in net, with the coach only capable of doing so much to help a struggling goaltender. And yet, Woodcroft has now paid the price for the chaos that has clouded the club's Stanley Cup aspirations. 

In 133 regular season games behind the Oilers' bench, Woodroft leaves town with a 79-36-10 record, along with two post-season appearances and one trip to the Western Conference final.  

If the Oilers don't right the ship in the coming days, Woodcroft and Manson might not be the only figures headed out the door as a result. 

The Oilers chose Knoblauch as the coach to salvage their season, and it's his first time coaching an NHL squad. But he's connected to their captain and some of his teammates.

Knoblauch, 45, coached the Erie Otters from the 2012-13 season to 2016-17, winning OHL coach of the year in 2015-16 and an OHL championship in 2016-17. Among the Otters he coached were current Oilers players Warren Foegele, Connor Brown and No. 97, Connor McDavid.

Knoblauch also coached the former WHL Kootenay Ice, winning a league championship in 2010-11, and got his first AHL coaching gig with the Hartford Wolf Pack. In the past five seasons, he's amassed 119 wins, 90 regulation losses, 18 overtime losses and 14 shootout losses. The Wolf Pack made the playoffs last season and beat the Springfield Thunderbirds and Providence Bruins. So far in 2023-24, they're 7-3-1-0 under Knoblauch.

Regarding NHL coaching experience, Knoblauch spent two seasons as an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Imperial, Sask., native played for the WHL Edmonton-Kootenay franchise as well before spending five seasons playing for the University of Alberta.

Bringing in Coffey is also a big addition to the club, as he spent his first six seasons of a Hall of Fame NHL career with the Oilers. The 62-year-old became a special advisor to the owner and chairman last season and was also a skills coach for the team between 2017-18 and 2018-19.

As the Oilers have scheduled a press conference for 4 p.m. ET/2 p.m. MT, stay tuned to THN's Edmonton site for more.

Jonathan Tovell also contributed to this report.