The Edmonton Oilers reportedly fired their head coach, Dave Tippett, after a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Their associate coach Jim Playfair has also been released. Jay Woodcroft will take on the role of their head coach. No official updates have been provided by the team yet.
#Oilers have fired coach Dave Tippett.@DarrenDreger was first to report.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 10, 2022
I’m told Woodcroft and Manson take over bench in Edmonton. Tippett and Playfair fired. https://t.co/1dONdlxckG
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 10, 2022
Edmonton Oilers Fire Head Coach Dave Tippett
The loss to the Blackhawks was the official last straw for Tippett to be released from his duties. His job with the Oilers was already on the line for a while. The Oilers started the season with an impressive 16-5-0 record, but have since lost their balance, and have stumbled to an unimpressive 23-18-3 record.
Over the course of Tippett’s 17-year head coaching career, he has a record of 648-475-162 through 1,285 games and has spent the last three years with Edmonton, garnering a record of 95-62-14. The Oilers started off the season red hot, sitting first in the West, but have now fumbled their way into tenth place. Tippett has coached for the Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Arizona Coyotes, and also had a fairly long NHL career, playing for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers notching 262 points in 721 games.
With Tippett being let go, the Oilers have named Bakersfield Condors bench boss Jay Woodcraft as interim head coach. He’ll hope to improve their record and save their chances at a deep playoff run.
What This Means For The Future
For the Oilers, this is a change that’s necessary in order to keep your two superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl happy, and instill a true winning culture in the locker room, which may bring the playoff success that Edmonton has been looking for since their Stanley Cup Finals defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. It also adds another coaching candidate for teams to consider, as the firing of Tippett may inspire some NHL teams to change who is behind the bench — whether that’s to bring on Tippett as a member of their staff or to promote some coaches within the system up to the top coaching role.
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