The Edmonton Oilers have gotten out to a slow start yet again this season, as it seems to be a copy of their 2023-24 campaign which saw them start at the bottom and have to work their way back to the top of the standings. While they ended up making it to the Stanley Cup Final, they weren’t able to win it all and bring home their sixth championship in franchise history. However, they were able to turn a tough start around into a strong campaign, going from last place to earning home-ice advantage in the postseason, which is what fans are hoping for this season.
Related: 3 Goaltenders Oilers Could Acquire After Sluggish Start by Current Tandem
The key to their success was not panicking and making a decision that could affect them long-term, and instead waiting out a tough stint and hoping they bounced back, which is what happened. They did make a coaching change early on though, firing Jay Woodcroft and replacing him with Kris Knoblauch.
While the Oilers are only three games into their season, having a record of 0-3-0 to open their new campaign is worrisome. Most fans are pointing the finger at the goaltending duo of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard who haven’t played well at all, but there have been some interesting rumours circulating about a potential change as the season moves along. In a recent article, Allan Mitchell of The Athletic alluded to the possibility of the Oilers firing Knoblauch and bringing in Joel Quenneville, considering Quenneville’s connection to new GM Stan Bowman.
Some Oilers fans are convinced the first big move by Bowman will be the announcement of Joel Quenneville as the team’s new head coach. That would be a shocking development this early.
source – ‘Is there a significant trade in the Edmonton Oilers’ near future?’ – Allan Mitchell – The Athletic – 10/14/2024
While there doesn’t seem to be much smoke connecting Quenneville to the Oilers, it’s interesting that Mitchell, who is a trusted source for Oilers news, even mentioned it. With Bowman and Quenneville having been together for several seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, it’s no surprise the connection has been made by fans. While hiring Bowman was frowned upon by many fans around the league, bringing in Quenneville, who was only recently permitted to seek an NHL coaching job after being suspended indefinitely, could make the Oilers public enemy number one. However, as Mitchell mentioned, it would be shocking to see a coaching change this early.
Knoblauch Deserves More Leeway After Postseason Success
While considering a coaching change isn’t out of the realm of possibility for a team with high expectations that isn’t performing well, it’s unlikely anything will happen with the Oilers unless the losses continue into November. Even if there are some growing pains with new players, Knoblauch deserves more leeway after the success he had in the playoffs last season. As a rookie coach, Knoblauch was able to bring the Oilers one goal away from winning a Stanley Cup, so replacing him after a slow start would be disrespectful. It also seems unlikely the Oilers would consider firing their second head coach in as many seasons.
If for some reason, the Oilers’ slow start extends into November, or even December, there are better options available to replace Knoblauch than Quenneville, who would only bring more controversy to a team that is currently viewed poorly by other fanbases. Aside from what would be a controversial hire, panicking and hiring Quenneville is not the right choice and would turn out to be a mistake.
The Oilers have already gone through enough change in the offseason losing Warren Foegele, Vincent Desharnais, Dylan Holloway, and Philip Broberg, who were all valuable assets to their playoff run, so swapping out for a new coach, again, isn’t the right move.
Realistically, the Oilers’ goaltending is their only issue. Once that stabilizes and the confidence begins to grow, the team will find success. While they could benefit from acquiring another goaltender to improve their depth between the pipes, it’s a small issue that should fix itself. While Quenneville has a winning resume and will likely still find success if he is given another coaching job in the NHL, the Oilers need to try and avoid hiring him just to make a change and hope it works. Hopefully, they can turn their season around and snap out of the opening slump without having to make any drastic decisions.
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