It cannot be ignored that the Edmonton Oilers have been having a rough go early on in the 2025-26 National Hockey League season. We are at the quarter season mark and although there are some positives, there have been many more negatives to the season up to this point.
There are many reasons that have caused this; Injuries, poor goaltending, depth scoring, mental weakness, and some defensive lapses.
Recently on an episode of Frankly Hockey, NHL insider Frank Seravalli hinted at there having been some issues behind the bench for the Oilers last year. Stating that it may be the reason that former assistant, notably the man behind the bench responsible for their defence, Paul Coffey to be kicked upstairs.
Oilers made big changes behind the bench
Over the summer, general manager Stan Bowman made numerous changes behind the bench, allowing much-maligned and longtime goalie coach Dustin Schwartz walk. The team also lost Glen Gulutzan, leaving to become the Dallas Stars head coach. Then the aforementioned Coffey who moved to an advisory role.
The club replaced Schwartz with Peter Aubry, Gulutzan with Paul McFarland, and Coffey with Mark Stuart. Although there have been solid performances by the special teams units run by McFarland and Stuart, there have been greater struggles up and down the lineup.
Although as another NHL insider, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported in his recent 32 Thoughts column, there were rumours that the Oilers were considering bringing back Coffey.
Reported rifts behind the Oilers bench
Answering a listener question that asked "How much was Paul Coffey holding the Oilers together?"
Seravalli says it "hasn't been talked about enough." adding on "I think he had butted heads at various points in time with some other members of the coaching staff because of the hard edge that he has but it's also a part of what made this Oilers defence much more formidable."
Was Paul Coffey the key to the Oilers' defense?@frank_seravalli says we're not talking enough about the impact of Coffey's absence behind the bench pic.twitter.com/nfQ5VNrs8d
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 18, 2025
Seravalli did not state that these rifts are specifically what caused the club to make a change but the implication is there. It is likely that the team opted to make more widespread changes by replacing both assistants. This is quite common as teams shuffle around, usually as the first big change to try and get a different perspective and different voices in their room.
It is also unclear exactly how much of an impact, positive or negative that these changes behind the Oilers bench have made. It is just as easy to blame the Oilers defence as it is the goaltending for their struggles this year as both have had stretches of poor play. Although the goalies are the ones forcing plenty of trade rumours.
These are also the two positions that seem to generate the most vitriol with both goalies Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard being on the hot seat. As well, despite large financial commitments, Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard tend to draw the most ire from fans and media alike.
Either way, GM Bowman and the Oilers might be forced to make moves ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline in March if the Oilers hope to get back into the Stanley Cup contention conversation.