There have been many many times throughout this season where Ken Holland should have fired Dave Tippett. Too often has this team lacked identity, not come out ready to play games, and simply looked flat out bad too often. Tippett refused to line match, would simply throw out McDavid and Draisaitl whenever he was down a goal and pray. While the powerplay and penalty killed stagnated, Tippett made zero adjustments.
Make no mistake there are more issues on this roster than simply just Dave Tippett and his coaching staff (Jim Playfair also looks to be on the outs). That being said this is at least something that Ken Holland can do to try and spur the team on to more wins and try and save his own skin.
The Oilers on the ice have been a wreck and much of that blame falls on Tippett. The goaltending issue falls 100% on Holland. It was obvious to even the dumbest people that going back to Koskinen and Smith in net wasn't going to end well (I even realized that), but he did and here we are. Smith has had exactly one good season in the past four years and Holland chose to go all in because of a good season in a lockdown year where the goalie only played against six other teams.
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In the place of Tippett and Playfair we will have Woodcroft and Manson and I am pretty ecstatic to see those two behind the bench. Under Woodcroft the Condors have had great success, including going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. The team plays a structured game and he isn't afraid to make adjustments on the fly. The Oilers should be a far superior team in their own end under these new coaches.
I look forward to seeing on Friday who is in and out of the lineup. Will Shore, Kassian, Barrie and others get the same leash under Woodcroft? I doubt it.
This is exciting news because at the very least it represents some form of change. Time will tell if this will translate to actual wins or a playoff chance.