Speculation: Coach Killers?

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

In before the pending Dec 1 Fire Woody (or Fire Steelcroft) thread - are the Oilers coach killers?

We are seeing the same mind numbingly brain dead mistakes and lazy defensive play repeated this year as in the year Tippett was fired as in the year TMac was fired.

Team does not start on time.

Defense don’t hold the line and back in too deep.

Poor reads.

Players left unchallenged in front of our net.

Missed coverages on simple plays.

Near League worst PK and too many penalties.

Too many shots against.

Big mistakes at inopportune times.

Not executing the 2-1-2 allowing for easy breakouts and odd man rushes against.

The list goes on and on and are all too familiar for oil fans.

Wrong players? Wrong coach? Or are too many players are coach killers?

All of the above?

Click to read more...

 

[McDNicks17]

I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility.

As good as McDrai are, defense and system play is definitely optional in their minds. The next leader down the chain, Nurse, gets away with a lot of dumb shit(mainly because they have no one else to put out there) and then the next, Nuge, plays the game at about 70% effort and probably apologizes to opponents when he bumps into them.

A lot of the team's issues are present in the leadership group to a fairly high degree. I think it'd be pretty hard for the other scrubs on the team to not follow their lead.

 

[FlameChampion]

You know how the NE Patriots had the motto "Do your job". I kind of think thats the problem here.

I feel like instead of everyone doing their job, they are always overcompensating for someone else. No one trusts each other from players, coach or GM.

Easy to say. Hard to fix.

 

[Soundwave]

The D Corps is at this point an unmitigated failure, and it's kind of hard to continually go any where with a bad d corps. See also: Vancouver has the same problem.

The forward depth sucks because the drafting and pro scouting sucks.

Coach's here all fall into the trap of running soft practises because they're overplaying 4-5 guys and don't want to push too hard in practise, but it leads to a team with bad habits that is unprepared to play games. You perform like you practise. They need a Tortorella type coach who will be angry even when they win if they do so with bad systems play.

Rinse, wash, repeat.

 

[Ninety7]

Defensemen incapable of defending and that’s been the story for years.

 

[frag2]

You know how the NE Patriots had the motto "Do your job". I kind of think thats the problem here.

I feel like instead of everyone doing their job, they are always overcompensating for someone else. No one trusts each other from players, coach or GM.

Easy to say. Hard to fix.

This. McDrai take it upon themselves to be the ONLY scorers, completely ignoring other aspects of the game.
Nurse is trying to play up to his contract and would rather focus on points than defend.

Everyone just sits back and lets them carry the load in their super flawed way

 

[McDNicks17]

You know how the NE Patriots had the motto "Do your job". I kind of think thats the problem here.

I feel like instead of everyone doing their job, they are always overcompensating for someone else. No one trusts each other from players, coach or GM.

Easy to say. Hard to fix.

Yup. Feels like "do your job" has been "do nothing and pray McDrai win this game" for most of the team for way too long.

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

This is a very good question
However, I think it’s a culture problem in the organization that eventually puts coaches in an impossible spot.

 

[Oilhawks]

Answer: yes

 

[Soundwave]

This is a very good question
However, I think it’s a culture problem in the organization that eventually puts coaches in an impossible spot.

Having a bad d corps and a lot of low I.Q. hockey prospects isn't a culture.

It's just bad management. Nothing fancier or magical than that.

Vancouver is also a case study in year after year of poor D corps since they lost Tanev.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

The Oilers are a team without a real game plan, and it's been this way since McDavid was drafted. The Oilers org assumed that having McDavid on the team was an instant win button, and yes, sometimes he is just that. But when McDavid and Draisatl don't have a good game there's nothing else here.

I'm also certain if you went back to the pre-McDavid days there was likely a lot of talk about how Hall/RNH/Eberle were coach killers, and then before that Sam Gagner, (Stanley Cup champion) Andrew Cogliano, and Robert Nilsson....

Maybe the players are coach killers, I don't tend to believe so. But look at all the coaches we've hired in the cap era. Not a single one has gone on to find head coaching success elsewhere.

The problems with the Oilers run super deep. Management and scouting have been ridiculously bad for generations. The Oilers likely wouldn't be in such trouble if they could draft worth a damn, or find a good depth player capable of putting up numbers without the need to be stapled to McDavid's side.

While I can understand some have soured on Woodcroft, when's the last time the Oilers org made a hire that you thought "Damn, that was incredibly savvy!" Someone pointed out yesterday that old Oiler standby Tyler Dellow was in the Devils organization. Where's our analytics department? Are we still the only team without one? How do the Oilers continually whiff on roster acquisitions, draft picks, hires at all levels?

The Oilers brass is the problem and always has been the problem. A bunch of dinosaurs trapped in an era that doesn't exist anymore while 31 other teams move ahead. Okay, maybe not Arizona.

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

Having a bad d corps and a lot of low I.Q. hockey prospects isn't a culture.

It's just bad management. Nothing fancier or magical than that.

Vancouver is also a case study in year after year of poor D corps since they lost Tanev.

We know a thing or two about winning

 

[oobga]

Teams effort went up 100% when the coaching change happened last year. The 5 man defensive effort that suddenly appeared when Tippett went out the door has largely vanished now. Thought the improvement last year was the result of an adjustment from coaches, but the majority of the change may have just been effort level. It's disappointing.

Team will never get anywhere if they can't buy into what they know made them successful. And can't get a boost from a yearly coach firing.

 

[Soundwave]

Teams effort went up 100% when the coaching change happened last year. The 5 man defensive effort that suddenly appeared when Tippett went out the door has largely vanished now. Thought the improvement last year was the result of an adjustment from coaches, but the majority of the change may have just been effort level. It's disappointing.

Team will never get anywhere if they can't buy into what they know made them successful. And can't get a boost from a yearly coach firing.

You can't outplay a bad D corps I don't think. You can do it for stretches, but if that's the defacto standard then it will always eventually bite you in the ass.

 

[Cloned]

They need more Hyman’s. There’s a guy who’s confident in his own game, doesn’t care who he’s playing with (in a good way), and busts his ass on most shifts.

 

[frag2]

Teams effort went up 100% when the coaching change happened last year. The 5 man defensive effort that suddenly appeared when Tippett went out the door has largely vanished now. Thought the improvement last year was the result of an adjustment from coaches, but the majority of the change may have just been effort level. It's disappointing.

Team will never get anywhere if they can't buy into what they know made them successful. And can't get a boost from a yearly coach firing.

I dont think this is a Woody problem. This is a personnel problem. They just dont want to do that right now. I bet if we hit 500, they'll start playing that way.

All our D either dont know how to play defence out of sheer incompetence or they all want to play pretend Paul Coffey and leave their partner hanging. It's already bad enough our forwards are more concerned with cheating for offence than to keep puck out of zone.

 

[rboomercat90]

In before the pending Dec 1 Fire Woody (or Fire Steelcroft) thread - are the Oilers coach killers?

We are seeing the same mind numbingly brain dead mistakes and lazy defensive play repeated this year as in the year Tippett was fired as in the year TMac was fired.

Team does not start on time.

Defense don’t hold the line and back in too deep.

Poor reads.

Players left unchallenged in front of our net.

Missed coverages on simple plays.

Near League worst PK and too many penalties.

Too many shots against.

Big mistakes at inopportune times.

Not executing the 2-1-2 allowing for easy breakouts and odd man rushes against.

The list goes on and on and are all too familiar for oil fans.

Wrong players? Wrong coach? Or are too many players are coach killers?

All of the above?

If we’re going here where we’re saying it‘s the same problems with this coach going back to Maclellan then we’re only only talking about a few players and those have been the ones immune to criticism up to now.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Holland IMO is far too content to sit pat. Look at how long it took to fire Tippett last season. We have far too many passengers. Guys like Shore and Murray IMO bring nothing to the table as everyday players. We need to add a solid vet with some bite to the 4th line while Holloway goes to Bako and re-finds his game and confidence. We need a solid 2nd pairing defenseman to take on the Adam Larsson role, we have no shutdown pairing. We have 3 pairings with a rover on each pairing. Kulak is playing too high up in the lineup. As a team our PK and defensive play sucks. If guys aren't willing to pay the price then ffs waive their ass and bring in guys like Malone, Esposito, etc. that will until we can find NHL caliber players to do so. You can't just keep firing coaches every 2-3 years to try and get the team going.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

This isn't a coaching problem or a talent problem. This is an effort problem. They simply choose to not do what is required to win a hockey game.

The Kings and the Blues grinded us down into a ineffective pile of nothing. Devils out worked & out skated us into two losses.

If this was basketball, the Oilers are currently trying to win by trying to make a series of 3 pts shots from half court while our opponents are getting in the paint and grinding out 2pts layups.

 

[Soundwave]

This isn't a coaching problem or a talent problem. This is an effort problem. They simply choose to not do what is required to win a hockey game.

The Kings and the Blues grinded us down into a ineffective pile of nothing. Devils out worked & out skated us into two losses.

If this was basketball, the Oilers are currently trying to win by trying to make a series of 3 pts shots from half court while our opponents are getting in the paint and grinding out 2pts layups.

Or the D just sucks.

Vancouver has the same problem.

How many good teams do you see with a bad d-corps?

You can outplay that stuff for stretches, but it will always come back to bite you in the ass.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I dont think this is a Woody problem. This is a personnel problem. They just dont want to do that right now. I bet if we hit 500, they'll start playing that way.

All our D either dont know how to play defence out of sheer incompetence or they all want to play pretend Paul Coffey and leave their partner hanging. It's already bad enough our forwards are more concerned with cheating for offence than to keep puck out of zone.

Nurse is a MAJOR offender when it comes to this. Unless the cap skyrockets, that contract is going to really bite us in the ass.

 

[Canovin]

If you're in the NHL, you're definitely capable of scoring or contributing. But if you're too busy glossing at how good McDrai is then all you're doing is watching. How many times do we see our 4th liners contribute on another team and when they come here, they do shit and when they leave they start contributing again? That's the ugly side of having McDrai. Everyone that was once contributors becomes passengers

 

[Cloned]

Nurse is a MAJOR offender when it comes to this. Unless the cap skyrockets, that contract is going to really bite us in the ass.

There was one play last night where he got caught way up the ice (he does this often before we even have solid possession), and the Devils had a rush the other way.

Instead of busting his ass to get back, he glides back. The team does a decent job recovering, his D partner puts the puck around the boards to where he should’ve been if he had actually skated hard, but he’s still gliding by the top of the circle instead. He gets this momentary “oh shit, I should’ve been there” look. He got lucky they got it out eventually, but that whole sequence was representative of what his play has become: lazy, entitled and out of position.

 

[Cloned]

Holland IMO is far too content to sit pat. Look at how long it took to fire Tippett last season. We have far too many passengers. Guys like Shore and Murray IMO bring nothing to the table as everyday players. We need to add a solid vet with some bite to the 4th line while Holloway goes to Bako and re-finds his game and confidence. We need a solid 2nd pairing defenseman to take on the Adam Larsson role, we have no shutdown pairing. We have 3 pairings with a rover on each pairing. Kulak is playing too high up in the lineup. As a team our PK and defensive play sucks. If guys aren't willing to pay the price then ffs waive their ass and bring in guys like Malone, Esposito, etc. that will until we can find NHL caliber players to do so. You can't just keep firing coaches every 2-3 years to try and get the team going.

Holland settles way too much. It’s like he’s content with being “OK” instead of striving for every possible advantage.

Also in both the LA and the Devils game the opposition was fully selling out to block shots. When was the last time an Oiler dove to make a block? Instead they do lazy stick checks and one knee starfishes that don’t accomplish anything.

 

[frag2]

This isn't a coaching problem or a talent problem. This is an effort problem. They simply choose to not do what is required to win a hockey game.

The Kings and the Blues grinded us down into a ineffective pile of nothing. Devils out worked & out skated us into two losses.

If this was basketball, the Oilers are currently trying to win by trying to make a series of 3 pts shots from half court while our opponents are getting in the paint and grinding out 2pts layups.

I was thinking just before the game last night...all the Oilers had to do was keep firing the puck to keep the Devils on their toes and then pounce on rebounds. But nope. Back to the selective shots, McD and Drai must have touches on PP.

I lol when DeBrusk praised Vanacek for 'reading the play' on the PP where McD passes to Drai for a one-timer-FFS, thats like our only play.

Nurse is a MAJOR offender when it comes to this. Unless the cap skyrockets, that contract is going to really bite us in the ass.

Guy still has no desire to defend. And when he does, hes just sprawling on the ice or blocking the goalie most of the time. Just horrible contract. That Nurse Ceci pairing...if Ceci isn't playing 110% and defensively all game, we gonna get caved