“Seat’s getting warmer” under Kris Knoblauch claims NHL insider

The season clearly isn’t going the way the Edmonton Oilers hoped. Even on Wednesday night they gave up too many goals, the defense looked shaky as ever and the bottom-six barely contributed. 

Even with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice, the team is struggling to control games. At just four regulation wins so far, the Oilers are already tied with Calgary for last place in the West in that category. The warning signs are piling up and the team can’t rely on luck or late rallies to cover for weak play anymore.

Kris Knoblauch’s job security no longer assured

This week, Frank Seravalli pushed that conversation into uncomfortable territory suggesting that Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch’s position is no longer insulated by last year’s playoff run.

While Seravalli acknowledged the two consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final, he stressed that the NHL is an unforgiving league with a short memory.

“Keep an eye on what Edmonton does next, because I think the seat has got a little warmer under Kris Knoblauch as this road trip has gone on,” he said.

Comparing Knoblauch to Jay Woodcroft who was fired under similar circumstances, Seravalli suggested that if the Oilers don’t start showing consistent performance, management may be forced to make a change. Right now, the team isn’t getting the returns they need and missing the playoffs is starting to feel like a real possibility.

“The seat's getting warmer, but beyond that, at some point they're going to have to do something because missing the playoffs this year - they're kind of teetering close to that edge,” he added.

In his view, the Oilers “aren’t seeing the returns,” and the longer this trend continues, the warmer Knoblauch’s seat becomes. By linking the current trajectory to the circumstances that preceded Jay Woodcroft’s firing, Seravalli made it clear that pedigree or past postseason success does not override the present.

Depth problems are hurting the team

One of the biggest issues, as Seravalli noted, is the lack of contribution from the bottom half of the roster. The Oilers are getting fewer points from their lower lines than in any season since McDavid joined the team.

When the top two stars are off the ice, Edmonton has been outscored 30-9. Players like David Tomasik haven’t made the expected impact, Isaac Howard was sent back to the minors and only Matt Savoy is starting to show that he can help. Without support from these lines, the team struggles to keep up when the stars sit and every mistake gets magnified.

“Believe it or not, if you look back over the last 10 years, the Oilers have gotten fewer points in production out of the bottom half of their lineup this year than any other year in the McDavid and Draisaitl experience, which is kind of hard to believe,” he said.

The team’s defense has also been as inconsistent as ever. Players are leaving too many openings and turnovers are happening in dangerous areas. Goaltending has also been unreliable, making bad plays even more costly.

Combined, these issues make it hard for the Oilers to compete in five-on-five play, which is exactly what Seravalli highlighted. The team’s structure isn’t holding and even the top forwards can’t carry the load alone anymore.

Frank Seravalli gives the Oilers a “D”

Seravalli’s evaluation of the Oilers’ first quarter was harsher than anything coming out of Edmonton internally. He graded the team a “D” pointing out that their place in the standings has been artificially inflated by stolen points.

“If you're looking at the quarter mark and handing out some report cards, I'm giving the Edmonton Oilers a D and the only thing that's saving them from a failing grade is the fact that they've somehow been able to milk out points in games that they don't have any business winning.”

According to Seravalli, Edmonton needs more skill across the roster and a fix to their defensive and goaltending problems.

They can’t rely on McDavid and Draisaitl to carry them through every shift. Bowman has tried to find solutions but so far they haven’t worked. If the team doesn’t improve quickly, tough decisions will need to be made.

The seat under Knoblauch is definitely warming and the longer the team struggles, the closer the organization gets to a choice no one wants to make midseason.