Oilers: Dave Tippett Out, Jay Woodcroft in as Head Coach in Edmonton
By Scott Cowan
The Dave Tippett era has officially come to an end for the Edmonton Oilers.
After a 17-year run as head coach of three different NHL teams, Tippett’s future behind the bench now comes into question as the Oilers gave him the axe on Thursday, as Edmonton hopes to rebound from what has been a tough recent stretch, and an overall disappointing start to the 2021-22 season. Replacing him as head coach is Jay Woodcroft, a former assistant coach with the Oilers who has spent the past four seasons as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Tippett’s departure marks the beginning of a needed period of change for the Oilers, whom have continued to struggle with consistency in spite of possessing two of the best players in the NHL in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. While the two have managed to make sweet, sweet music together over the past four seasons, with three 100-point seasons each under their belts, the rest of the Oilers lineup has left a lot to be desired.
Tippett, 60, has shown flashes of his abilities as a head coach, most notably for leading what many consider the last truly successful Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes teams from 2009-10 to a Conference Finals appearance in 2011-12. While he managed to lead the Oilers into the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, he relied heavily on unsustainable breakout campaigns from players that have largely missed the mark thus far this season.
Tyson Barrie and Mike Smith made up a massive part of the Oilers success last year, with Barrie leading all NHL defenseman in scoring with 8-40-48 totals over 56 games, and Smith looking like his former dominant Coyotes self in posting a 21-6-2 record with a 2.31 GAA and 3 shutouts. Well, thus far into 2021-22, things haven’t quite worked out as smoothly, with both Barrie and Smith struggling heavily at different points, resulting in some much needed changes behind the bench.
The Edmonton Oilers have officially parted ways with head coach Dave Tippett, bringing in former assistant Jay Woodcroft as his replacement.
Woodcroft, 45, is a former UHL and WCHL veteran who has spent time as an assistant coach with the Oilers, Detroit Red Wings, and San Jose Sharks. Behind Woodcroft and a consistent, reliable offense composed of the likes of Tyler Benson, Brad Malone, and Adam Cracknell, the Condors established themselves one of the AHL’s most consistent teams, a far cry from how the Oilers have fared since acquiring McDavid first overall in the 2015 NHL Draft.
With a 23-18-3 record thus far this season, the Oilers are fifth in the Pacific Division and 10th in the Western Conference, sitting five points behind the eighth place Calgary Flames, who have a game in hand. Whilst Edmonton sports an above .500 record, they’ve again been woefully inconsistent and have seen, as per usual, little offensive support from anything beyond their first and sometimes second lines.
In between heated interactions with the media and a general sense of tension in the room, Woodcroft inherits a team that is need of some tune ups to their game and a reminder that this season is far from over. Unlike other Canadian teams like the impressively dreadful Montreal Canadiens, the Oilers are far from out of the playoff picture and could look to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline.
In whatever case, Woodcroft’s hiring marks a much needed turn towards change from GM Ken Holland, and one that will hopefully benefit the Oilers as they look to rebound from a tough start, to the 2021-22 season.