It seems like a matter of when rather than if, but it doesn’t make it right that Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft is set to be fired any time now.
With the Edmonton Oilers equalling their worst start through 12 games in franchise history, this is a desperate team. As they hurtle from one disaster to another, the calls for Jay Woodcroft’s head are only growing louder and more congested.
Woodcroft’s job is seemingly safe for at least one more game. As per Ryan Rishaug of TSN, the Oilers coach is expected to be behind the bench for Saturdays game in Seattle, with everything being evaluated after the current road trip.
It really does feel like a case of when rather than if the 47-year-old is fired at this point. The only thing that can save him, is if the team can somehow rally and start playing better as a collective
Underperforming all around
No one is denying the Oilers are playing poorly. It’s tough to even attempt to argue this, when they are tied for the fewest points in the NHL entering Saturday’s slate of games.
However, there is also no denying this roster is better than what they’ve shown thus far. This is still essentially the same set of players, who led the league in scoring last season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
In this respect, it could well be more of a case of almost being forced to fire Woodcroft, to somehow light a fire under the players. There’s no indication they don’t like their coach, but at the same time everyone in the organisation is lost and scrambling for answers.
And since you can’t exactly fire a whole roster, the next best thing to do is get rid of the coach. However, this would be extremely unfair on the Toronto native, especially after everything he’s achieved in less than two years in charge in Edmonton.
The case for not firing Woodcroft
For a start, Woodcroft easily has the best winning percentage in franchise history out of all 17 coaches who’ve been behind the Oilers bench. In fact at .640 percent — which includes this season’s 2-9-1 start — he is comfortably ahead of the chasing pack, with a certain Glen Sather in second place at .616 percent.
Along these lines, the former centre didn’t suddenly become a horrific coach overnight. For this reason alone, he deserves more time to right the ship, before being walked off the plank.
What doesn’t help Woodcroft, is that the roster has been unable to have their full complement of 23 players, including twice being shorthanded. The Oilers are right up against the salary cap with just $21,308 projected cap space at the time of writing. (Courtesy of CapFriendly.)
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This is firmly on general manager Ken Holland, who is likely in his last season in the position. Regardless of his reputation and resume, the reality is he hasn’t done enough to put this team in position to finally end their Stanley Cup drought.
Additionally, while some would argue this is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, firing Woodcroft would make for bad optics for the organisation as a whole. Replacing Woodcroft would mean five coaches in Holland’s five-season tenure, which again reflects badly on him.
(In fact, a lack of stability at the head coach position has been an issue for the Oilers full stop for far too long. Dating back to 2010, they’ve had nine men in charge behind the bench.)
Not getting the luck of the puck
The final reason we’d give Woodcroft more time, is just because the team’s had an inordinate amount of bad luck so far in 2023-24. We understand this is a very tenuous argument in his defence, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
For example, the Oilers are actually leading the NHL in average shots on goal per game. During the current four-game losing streak, they had 49 against Dallas, 35 versus Nashville, 43 against Vancouver and 41 versus San Jose.
Despite this, the Oilers only scored nine combined goals, or 2.25 per contest. At some point, they have to start having more good fortune with their finishing.
The lack of luck extends to the Oilers’ issue with injuries. Losing the likes of Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm, Markus Niemeläinen, Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown at various times, has compromised the roster in different ways.
Overall, we firmly believe that Woodcroft deserves more time, to improve the Oilers and get them back to where they should be. Of course, we appreciate that if they lose on Saturday night versus the Kraken, there will be plenty of people not prepared to play the waiting game or show any (more) patience.