New York Islanders

NHL Today: Oilers Make Coaching Change; Islanders Need To Listen Up

Published

6 months ago

November 13, 2023

Andrew Fantucchio

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Good morning, my name is Andrew Fantucchio. It’s Monday, November 13. Here’s what’s happening around the NHL today.

Oilers Fire Woodcroft; Hire Rangers AHL Coach As Replacement:

At 3-9-1, the Edmonton Oilers are off to a horrendous start that nobody saw coming.

In hopes of saving their season, the Oilers announced yesterday they had relieved head coach Jay Woodcroft and the rest of his staff of their duties and, in a subsequent move, hired a new regime led by Kris Knoblauch, which includes hockey Hall of Famer Paul Coffey.

The #Oilers announced today that head coach Jay Woodcroft & assistant coach Dave Manson have been relieved of their coaching duties.⁰

Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch will assume head coaching duties with the Oilers & will be joined by assistant coach Paul Coffey.

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 12, 2023

Knoblauch was most recently the head coach of the Hartford Wolfpack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. From 2012-2017, Knoblauch was the head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters, where he coached current Oilers captain Conor McDavid.

The Oilers will play their first game under Knoblauch and Co. tonight against the New York Islanders.

Islanders Need To Listen Up:

There’s not a ton going right for the New York Islanders at the moment. They’ve lost five of their last six games, including their last four straight. Fans are getting restless and are starting to make noise. It’s time the Islanders face it.

Mutual Interest Between Zadorov and Devils:

Last week, defenseman Nikita Zadorov officially requested the Calgary Flames to trade him. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the New Jersey Devils are one of the teams Zadorov is interested in going to, and that interest appears to be mutual.