Oilers play under Kris Knoblauch

[MessierII]

IMHO, after last year's playoff loss, Woodcroft tried to change things to create a better team for the playoffs, including trying to go to the Boston/Vegas zone defense, as the Oilers' man defense had been rather easily exploited. This required that everybody play tough defense and not cheat for the break as they could often do playing a man defense. Woodcroft's problem was (1) he really didn't have the quality of defensive personnel to run this zone defense properly, and (2) there didn't seem to be much team buy-in. So, Woodcroft's attempted changes were a disaster all around, compounded by the McDavid injury.

Knoblauch then comes in, McDavid gets healthy, and the Oilers go back to their familiar and comfortable formula for last season and take off again in a way that will probably get them into the playoffs. The thing is that style of play works great in the regular season, and of course the Oilers have to make the playoffs or nothing they do really matters, but whether it will bring them deep success in the playoffs is another question since so far that system has come up short for them. If it doesn't work for the Oilers again this playoffs, it will be interesting to see next season if Knoblauch then tries to make basically the same changes that Woodcroft thought needed to be made.

Except knobloch plays a zone defense. Him and Coffey succesfully implemented it in a couple of games. Woodcroft for whatever reason couldn’t.

First non-Oiler fan I've seen get exactly what happened.

He’s wrong we didn’t go back to man to man.

 

[McVespa99]

Best move by GM McDavid.

Maybe you could ask him to work as a consultant to try to help the Flames...

Mmmmm. Coffee.
Is there anything that coffee can’t fix?

Insomnia

 

[Draino]

4+ players having career years, results of big planning and strategy, zero slot machining. Reminds of the year Calgary popped off and was nearly unanimously chosen to come out of the west. Then the wheels came off in 4-1 series loss and their core blew up.

lol cope harder. its like EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller havent done this before. The difference this year is coaching, adding 4 actual NHL d-men and a third line thats one of the best in the league. All those components involved team management and pro scouting. Comparing this core to Calgary's core a couple years ago is a joke - do you even watch hockey outside of your team.

Nah it ain’t salt on my end.

Salt is complaining about a lottery draft that occurred 8 years ago that resulted in the Oilers getting a player that is better than any player to ever put on a Canucks jersey. That’s salt.

Its not complaining. Just pointing out that if the oil did not win that 2015 draw they would likely be another Buffalo at best if we consider the type of moves we have seen from Oiler management groups since 2015. For almost decade they have completely failed even with the biggest of all aces handed to them.

Trying to minimize the impact of that 2015 lotto draft win because it was 8 years ago is dishonest. It changed every dynamic of the franchise- the ability to a attract UFAs, the ability to turn 30 year old 20 goal scorers into guys putting up a 50 goal pace...making above average d men with a good point shot into supposed norris candidate....he was playing injured earlier this year and Edmonton looked worse than Ottawa. They looked dreadful. Lololol

 

[ImJustJokinen]

lol cope harder. its like EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller havent done this before. The difference this year is coaching, adding 4 actual NHL d-men and a third line thats one of the best in the league. All those components involved team management and pro scouting. Comparing this core to Calgary's core a couple years ago is a joke - do you even watch hockey outside of your team.



Its not complaining. Just pointing out that if the oil did not win that 2015 draw they would likely be another Buffalo at best if we consider the type of moves we have seen from Oiler management groups since 2015. For almost decade they have completely failed even with the biggest of all aces handed to them.

Trying to minimize the impact of that 2015 lotto draft win because it was 8 years ago is dishonest. It changed every dynamic of the franchise- the ability to a attract UFAs, the ability to turn 30 year old 20 goal scorers into guys putting up a 50 goal pace...making above average d men with a good point shot into supposed norris candidate....he was playing injured earlier this year and Edmonton looked worse than Ottawa. They looked dreadful. Lololol

Ah, so a 105% + PDO is sustainable then... EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller are all surpassing their career highs, don't act like this is the norm. Boeser is not going to channel prime Ovi forever either. We have seen this play out with Leafs and Oilers teams of the past, they're a high flying team for now and that's great. Nucks haven't even put themselves in a position to do anything in the past half decade apart from one flukey run.

Not really sure what your point is in the other paragraphs. Some cities have weather, some have players to balance out FA attractiveness etc. Luck goes both ways. If Vancouver had stayed 2nd overall and taken Patrick instead of Pettersson in 2017, they would continue to be bottom feeders.

 

[mkatcherin00]

Ah, so a 105% + PDO is sustainable then... EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller are all surpassing their career highs, don't act like this is the norm. Boeser is not going to channel prime Ovi forever either. We have seen this play out with Leafs and Oilers teams of the past, they're a high flying team for now and that's great. Nucks haven't even put themselves in a position to do anything in the past half decade apart from one flukey run.

Not really sure what your point is in the other paragraphs. Some cities have weather, some have players to balance out FA attractiveness etc. Luck goes both ways. If Vancouver had stayed 2nd overall and taken Patrick instead of Pettersson in 2017, they would continue to be bottom feeders.

Careful about that PDO talk. I got a 2 week vacation for it lol. All is good. PDo will sustain and almost seven 20% shooters will sustain. 7 shooters with a higher % than anybody on Edmonton. The real key is seeing how the react to adversity. Haven't gotten any of it yet. Lady luck has a strangle hold on em and she aint lettin go!

 

[North Cole]

lol cope harder. its like EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller havent done this before. The difference this year is coaching, adding 4 actual NHL d-men and a third line thats one of the best in the league. All those components involved team management and pro scouting. Comparing this core to Calgary's core a couple years ago is a joke - do you even watch hockey outside of your team.



Its not complaining. Just pointing out that if the oil did not win that 2015 draw they would likely be another Buffalo at best if we consider the type of moves we have seen from Oiler management groups since 2015. For almost decade they have completely failed even with the biggest of all aces handed to them.

Trying to minimize the impact of that 2015 lotto draft win because it was 8 years ago is dishonest. It changed every dynamic of the franchise- the ability to a attract UFAs, the ability to turn 30 year old 20 goal scorers into guys putting up a 50 goal pace...making above average d men with a good point shot into supposed norris candidate....he was playing injured earlier this year and Edmonton looked worse than Ottawa. They looked dreadful. Lololol

The only person coping is you. Hilarious amount of angst and emotion in this post. Yeah all those components involved management and pro scouting. Allstar Pettersson, Demko, Hughes, Boeser, and Miller. All done by management prodigy Jim Benning lmfao.

It's only a joke to compare them because it gets in your feels. CGY and VAN were both mediocre bubble teams, coaching change and new depth personnel, suddenly theyre running at breakneck toward the top of the standings. Maybe they end up more like Tampa and less like Calgary, only time will tell. Alvin might well be the next Briesbois.

I remember a couple years ago Millrr had them trending closer to the demon core than otherwise. The only cope here is whining about the 2015 draft, not the Oilers fault the league kept tinkering the draft rules.

 

[mkatcherin00]

The only person coping is you. Hilarious amount of angst and emotion in this post. Yeah all those components involved management and pro scouting. Allstar Pettersson, Demko, Hughes, Boeser, and Miller. All done by management prodigy Jim Benning lmfao.

It's only a joke to compare them because it gets in your feels. CGY and VAN were both mediocre bubble teams, coaching change and new depth personnel, suddenly theyre running at breakneck toward the top of the standings. Maybe they end up more like Tampa and less like Calgary, only time will tell. Alvin might well be the next Briesbois.

I remember a couple years ago Millrr had them trending closer to the demon core than otherwise. The only cope here is whining about the 2015 draft, not the Oilers fault the league kept tinkering the draft rules.

We need to enjoy everything them this year and put some respect on them. One of the best offensive teams in 40 years. Live in the moment.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

lol cope harder. its like EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller havent done this before. The difference this year is coaching, adding 4 actual NHL d-men and a third line thats one of the best in the league. All those components involved team management and pro scouting. Comparing this core to Calgary's core a couple years ago is a joke - do you even watch hockey outside of your team.



Its not complaining. Just pointing out that if the oil did not win that 2015 draw they would likely be another Buffalo at best if we consider the type of moves we have seen from Oiler management groups since 2015. For almost decade they have completely failed even with the biggest of all aces handed to them.

Trying to minimize the impact of that 2015 lotto draft win because it was 8 years ago is dishonest. It changed every dynamic of the franchise- the ability to a attract UFAs, the ability to turn 30 year old 20 goal scorers into guys putting up a 50 goal pace...making above average d men with a good point shot into supposed norris candidate....he was playing injured earlier this year and Edmonton looked worse than Ottawa. They looked dreadful. Lololol

A Canucks fan tried to assure me that Canucks fans didn’t steamroll into Oilers threads to make it all about them. Alas, that guy was an idiot.

 

[Coffey]

A Canucks fan tried to assure me that Canucks fans didn’t steamroll into Oilers threads to make it all about them. Alas, that guy was an idiot

I wish I could tag him so he could check this out. But that’s considered trolling for some reason. Oh well that’s the way she goes.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Woodcroft was severely underperforming, and Knoblauch is slightly overperforming. It's quite the contrast, but it speaks more to Woodcroft having lost the room, more than it does Knoblauch deserving the Jack Adams IMO.

BOS, VAN, WPG coahes would be the threeon my shortlist ATM.

 

[snag]

A Canucks fan tried to assure me that Canucks fans didn’t steamroll into Oilers threads to make it all about them. Alas, that guy was an idiot.

In other news.....IT IS f***ING COLD!!!!

 

[2for1PizzaPastuh]

lol cope harder. its like EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller havent done this before. The difference this year is coaching, adding 4 actual NHL d-men and a third line thats one of the best in the league. All those components involved team management and pro scouting. Comparing this core to Calgary's core a couple years ago is a joke - do you even watch hockey outside of your team.



Its not complaining. Just pointing out that if the oil did not win that 2015 draw they would likely be another Buffalo at best if we consider the type of moves we have seen from Oiler management groups since 2015. For almost decade they have completely failed even with the biggest of all aces handed to them.

Trying to minimize the impact of that 2015 lotto draft win because it was 8 years ago is dishonest. It changed every dynamic of the franchise- the ability to a attract UFAs, the ability to turn 30 year old 20 goal scorers into guys putting up a 50 goal pace...making above average d men with a good point shot into supposed norris candidate....he was playing injured earlier this year and Edmonton looked worse than Ottawa. They looked dreadful. Lololol

butter soft regular season PDO wizards Canucks will be out in 5 against any other contender in the Pacific lol

 

[Nemesis Prime]

The effects of the Knob are being felt.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Ah, so a 105% + PDO is sustainable then... EP, Hughes, Demko and Miller are all surpassing their career highs, don't act like this is the norm. Boeser is not going to channel prime Ovi forever either. We have seen this play out with Leafs and Oilers teams of the past, they're a high flying team for now and that's great. Nucks haven't even put themselves in a position to do anything in the past half decade apart from one flukey run.

Not really sure what your point is in the other paragraphs. Some cities have weather, some have players to balance out FA attractiveness etc. Luck goes both ways. If Vancouver had stayed 2nd overall and taken Patrick instead of Pettersson in 2017, they would continue to be bottom feeders.

The Oilers of the 80's had one year where they had a 1.05 PDO.

They also only had 2 players who played more than 2 games shoot at 20% or higher that year.

Canucks are at 6.

Seems like this is the next dynasty.

 

[WTG]

Wasn't the reason why they struggled because Woodcroft implemented a new defensive system because they determined in the off-season that to win in the playoffs, you need some more structure?

 

[VanCity88]

I still think Woodcroft was a good coach. I'm not sure what happened behind the scenes, but it almost felt like the leadership group quit on him in Edmonton. Maybe the message got stale or w.e., who knows.

 

[klefbombs shoulder]

Gonna give this thread an update.

Category	Woodcroft	Knoblauch
Record	3-9-1	26-6-0
Points	7 (31st)	52 (1st)
Points %	0.269 (31st)	0.813 (1st)
Goals for	35 (28th)	123 (5th)
Goals for per game	2.69 (26th)	3.84 (3rd)
Goals against	51 (T-25th)	73 (2nd)
Goals against per game	3.92 (30th)	2.28 (2nd)
PP%	23.9 (9th)	28.4 (4th)
PK%	70.0 (30th)	89.3 (1st)
Shots for per game	34.2 (2nd)	33.6 (4th)
Shots against per game	28.8 (7th)	27.7 (3rd)

Incredible stats for the Oilers in all categories. Whats especially impressive is that they are leading the league in points since November 12 while also having played the fewest games.

Kris Knoblauch has to be a a Jack Adams favourite at this point.

 

[TheNumber4]

They've been great, but not hugely different than what was expected of them.

For that reason, I don't have him in the Adams picture at all.

It’s how they are winning that needs to be looked at.

The roster was always going to win, but not like this, not 16 in a row either.

 

[LTIR]

Woodcroft was severely underperforming, and Knoblauch is slightly overperforming. It's quite the contrast, but it speaks more to Woodcroft having lost the room, more than it does Knoblauch deserving the Jack Adams IMO.

BOS, VAN, WPG coahes would be the threeon my shortlist ATM.

26-6-0 is slightly overperforming? You must have had Oilers going 55-20-5

 

[TheNumber4]

Woodcroft was severely underperforming, and Knoblauch is slightly overperforming. It's quite the contrast, but it speaks more to Woodcroft having lost the room, more than it does Knoblauch deserving the Jack Adams IMO.

BOS, VAN, WPG coahes would be the threeon my shortlist ATM.

Woodcroft never lost the room. The boys played for him as hard as they could. Unfortunately, he was not able to adjust to a system of defence first hockey that was required to take the Oilers to the next level.

 

[KevinRedkey]

26-6-0 is slightly overperforming? You must have had Oilers going 55-20-5

1. I posted that way before they went 26-6-0

2. 55-20-5 is 2 games shy of a full season.

Do better. Lol

 

[Rafafouille]

26-6-0 is slightly overperforming? You must have had Oilers going 55-20-5

I mean poor math aside, let's add 2 more losses to make it 82 games. That'd be 115 points, just 6 more points than their 109 of last year. Yeah, that'd be what one would call "slightly over performing".

 

[geebster]

It’s how they are winning that needs to be looked at.

The roster was always going to win, but not like this, not 16 in a row either.

26-6-0 is a crazy good record but its only 1 point better than the Avs, 2 points better than the Nucks and 3 better than the Jets since November 12th. Its hard to give it to Knoblauch for being slightly better than the other guys in contention when hes coached for a shorter span of time this year. But if the Nucks or Jets get the Presidents trophy then its hard to not give it to their coaches since the expectations vs outcomes would be insane and it would be over an 82 game season and not a 69 game season. If they maintain the insane winning % (which is really hard to imagine) then hes in the conversation.

 

[TheNumber4]

26-6-0 is a crazy good record but its only 1 point better than the Avs, 2 points better than the Nucks and 3 better than the Jets since November 12th. Its hard to give it to Knoblauch for being slightly better than the other guys in contention when hes coached for a shorter span of time this year. But if the Nucks or Jets get the Presidents trophy then its hard to not give it to their coaches since the expectations vs outcomes would be insane and it would be over an 82 game season and not a 69 game season. If they maintain the insane winning % (which is really hard to imagine) then hes in the conversation.

Maybe the streak is only the beginning…

 

[Mr Positive]

Woodcroft never lost the room. The boys played for him as hard as they could. Unfortunately, he was not able to adjust to a system of defence first hockey that was required to take the Oilers to the next level.

That's basically it. Woody and Manson tried and failed to implement the zone defense that we needed. Vegas picked apart our man to man D in the playoffs. Woody went back to man to man D. The team looked better but he was fired soon after. Knoblauch came in, did a zone D again, but did it beautifully.