Oilers Fans Wrong to Accuse McDavid of Getting Woodcroft Fired

The Oilers had a surprisingly weak start to the 2023-24 season, so this change wasn’t completely out of the blue, but it did spark arguments online about whether or not Oilers’ superstar and captain Connor McDavid had any say in the recent coaching change. Fans were quick to point out that Knoblauch was McDavid’s coach during his time in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Erie Otters and began jumping to conclusions. 

McDavid was very quick to deny any involvement in the recent coaching change and went as far as to claim Woodcroft hadn’t lost the room at any point, so that’s not why he was fired. The Oilers needed a fresh face, and Knoblauch is that guy, the only problem is when fans decide to blame the team’s leader and best player for the move. For a team that’s already been struggling internally with rough goaltending and really bad luck, it doesn’t help that the best player in the NHL has to deal with insane allegations. Ken Holland, the Oilers general manager, even stated this wasn’t a players’ decision.

Who Is New Head Coach Kris Knoblauch?

Knoblauch is a former player turned coach who is 45 years old. He is from Imperial, Saskatchewan, and while he never played at the NHL level, does have experience playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he split time with the Edmonton Ice (who became the Kootenay Ice, then eventually the Wenatchee Wild), the Red Deer Rebels and the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He started his coaching career during the 2006-07 season with the Prince Alberts Raiders in the WHL as an assistant coach and began building his impressive coaching resume from there. 

He got his first head coaching gig in the WHL in the 2010-11 season with the Kootenay Ice and remained there until he joined the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) as their head coach, where he stayed from the 2012-13 season having the opportunity to coach McDavid, Connor Brown and more players that have now made it to the NHL. In the 2017-18 season, he earned his first NHL coaching job as an assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

He stayed there until the 2019-20 season, when he began his first professional coaching job with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) and stayed until the 2023-24 season before accepting the head coaching position with the Oilers. He built a reputation as a solid head coach who brings a lot to the table and praises simple hockey and a strong defensive game, which is exactly what the Oilers needed.

Why Did Oilers Fans Draw That Conclusion?

Oilers fans were quite quick to remember that Knoblauch used to coach McDavid during his time in the OHL, and was given credit for helping McDavid become who he is as a player today. His tenure with the Otters was extremely successful as he won coach of the year in the 2015-16 season and won the OHL championship in the 2016-17 season. With this being a surprising change, fans accused McDavid of calling the shots and it not being a management decision, especially with McDavid and Knoblauch’s history.

While McDavid denies the accusations and Holland also supported the fact this wasn’t a players decision, fans went back to the signing of McDavid’s former junior teammate in Brown and the signing of his former player agent Jeff Jackson as team CEO as a way to support their idea of McDavid calling the shots in Edmonton. While it may seem like McDavid is calling the shots in Edmonton, he has made it known on multiple occasions he just wants to play hockey and win, nothing else matters to him.

What’s Next For The Oilers?

The Oilers continue to have their struggles as they sit at 5-11-1 midway through November and will need to solve their issues if they want any chance of making the playoffs. They will likely be looking to improve their goaltending via trade and hopefully make a defensive upgrade, as well. They have some serious problems they need to solve fast, or they’ll be a draft lottery team. 

The Oilers are back in action on Wednesday (Nov. 22) in a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, and they will be looking to finally find some confidence and stop their slump.