3 Things For The Edmonton Oilers NOT To Do Now
Don’t Fire Jay Woodcroft
Of the three things on this list, I think this is the most likely to happen. Unfortunately, when a team has high expectations coming into a season and they struggle usually the coach is the first one that gets the bullet.
My concern with firing the coach is that it gives an excuse for the players that are the ones that are playing badly. Having watched almost every minute of Edmonton Oilers hockey so far this season I can honestly say that this is more of a player issue than it is a coaching issue.
I highly doubt that Woodcroft is telling Leon Draisaitl to take his time and preserve his energy in the defensive end. He isn’t telling the defenseman to pinch when there is no coverage behind them. It is the players on the ice just straight up playing badly.
That is why I don’t want to see this organization just fire the coach. I am sure that Woodcroft could manage his lines and players a bit better, but every coach makes those errors. That doesn’t mean fire him.
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I would like to see him play players who have earned their time though and vice-versa. When McLeod is playing soft, he doesn’t deserve to play with McDavid, and when Foegele is driving hard to the net and causing chaos he does.
Every player has games when they are feeling it and every player has games when they are struggling, the players themselves should know. Woodcroft needs to realize that and make an effort to switch his lines accordingly.
Same on the back end. If Bouchard makes a dumb pass or bad play, have the guy sit down for a few shifts. Or at least have him miss a powerplay opportunity once in a while. Woodcroft hasn’t rewarded good plays or punished bad plays. That is where I would like to see improvement, but aside from that firing him gains nothing.