Rumor: Paul Coffey Joining Oilers

[NegativeNelly]

If McLellan gets fired, I wonder if MacT will go behind the bench for a few games to show Coffey how to coach in the NHL? That worked wonders for Todd Nelson.

 

[rboomercat90]

Didnt we just have a top to bottom audit? What a pathetic team if we need another one only 2 years later.

Maybe this time the audit could tell katz he's the biggest problem.

He’s running out of people to blame.

 

[Arpeggio]

If it's true that Coffey was brought in to do an "audit", then you might as well fire McLellan now. Someone coming in and telling him his system isn't working is not going to help at all. His system is robotic, that's why the Sharks were so good for so long. They regularly outplayed their opponents, and they dominated the puck. If the Oilers were capable of playing that way and doing in successfully, I don't think anyone would be complaining. But telling him to change it is not going to solve anything. Just bring in someone else with a different philosophy.

 

[Drivesaitl]

So as per the special tier 1 breakfast this AM Paul Coffey brought in to assist on the PP according to Chia. What a joke. A guy that has never coached at this level and hasn't had any professional involvement in hockey for decades is going to assist the blind in seeing..

Well it can't get worse, can it? As somebody else mentioned that's a rhetorical question, not a challenge..

But my lord, how funny would it be if the PP improved due to someone not even involved in hockey.


Paul Coffey;

OK, first of all we need to make the goalies worse. We need shots going in from the point and everywhere, I mean what the hell. Back when I played everything went in. Make it happen.

2nd, observe first point. I don't know what that means but it must mean something. I mean why are you losers getting owned by goalies today? Who let that happen? When I played there were 15 goals a game.

3). Lucic, do something, go beat up the goalie, maybe we'll do better with the backup, no wait...

4) Who here is Kurri? Anybody? Hands up. Hey Jesse, why is your tongue out, look at me when I'm talking boy.

5) Any ideas gang?

6) When I played passing the puck 3 times would almost guarantee an open man and a goal. Lets try that, we're not passing enough. Special style points for spinaramas, backhand passes and toedrags. Oh, ya tried that?

7) Take the # 77 off f***er, you're not near good enough.


ps note how I made #7 fit nicely like that..

 

[Aerrol]

I'm kind of here too. I think skills trainer is a lot more realistic than a full on coaching position. I think most of the greats have little tips and secrets that aren't known by almost any other NHLers, so having them as a resource can't hurt. But man, I'm still waiting for him to suddenly get a promotion for no reason cause Oilers.

Jk he's working on the power play with the coaches. I take it back, it's pretty much as stupid as it seemed at first.

 

[RebuildTheRebuild]

So Edmonton is now saying that Coffey is helping with the PP according to the STH breakfast. When Oilers announced the hiring of Coffey they said he was going to be a skills development coach. Various insiders have described Coffey's role as doing an audit on the organization and giving his opinion. So Coffey role doesn't really seem that clear as exactly what it is but it is for sure a prominent role it seems. Having Coffey around I think would make McLellan somewhat worried about the security of his job if this season hasn't already made him worry about it.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

So Edmonton is now saying that Coffey is helping with the PP according to the STH breakfast. When Oilers announced the hiring of Coffey they said he was going to be a skills development coach. Various insiders have described Coffey's role as doing an audit on the organization and giving his opinion. So Coffey role doesn't really seem that clear as exactly what it is but it is for sure a prominent role it seems. Having Coffey around I think would make McLellan somewhat worried about the security of his job if this season hasn't already made him worry about it.

They didn't say what skills development he would be working on

Maybe he will be working on Woodcrofts powerplay coaching skill.

/endsarcasm

This idea is dumb, katz is dumb, chiarelli should resign, and McLellan and his friends should be fired.

 

[KCC]

Only a team like edm with how bad they’ve been would actually hire someone rather than fire someone lol

 

[Bangers]

For some reason, this reminds me of the episode of 30 Rock where Jack takes a job in the mail room and keeps getting promoted.

 

[Laineux]

Yeah, the guy hasn't been involved in professional hockey for two decades. The game has changed a lot in that timeframe. I wonder how in touch is he with the modern game? And would've he been hired had he not played for Edmonton back in the day? Probably not. It just feels so unprofessional signing.

Sure his ability was fantastic, even compared to today's players, but that's no guarantee about anything. Otherwise McDavid would be the best skating coach of all time...

 

[Soundwave]

He's hired to be a "eyes and ears" for Katz because Katz isn't sold on Chiarelli and McLellan, he sees he has this dynamite asset in Connor McDavid and he knows he's not getting what is expected.

Chiarelli agreed to it because he knows he's on the hot seat and will do anything to placate Katz. "Sure Daryl, we can hire Paul Coffey, he'll uh run ... the powerplay or work with the kids or something".

 

[rboomercat90]

He's hired to be a "eyes and ears" for Katz because Katz isn't sold on Chiarelli and McLellan, he sees he has this dynamite asset in Connor McDavid and he knows he's not getting what is expected.

Chiarelli agreed to it because he knows he's on the hot seat and will do anything to placate Katz. "Sure Daryl, we can hire Paul Coffey, he'll uh run ... the powerplay or work with the kids or something".

You and I have spent the year arguing about how sought after the Oilers GM job will be after Chiarelli is gone. I’ve been saying it won’t be because we’ve got a meddling owner who has surrounded himself with a bunch of opinionated ex-players who are always in his ear yet operate without a shred of accountability. You’ve been saying you don’t believe that’s been happening then you come out with this as a reason for the Coffey hire.

Do you still think somebody of high quality will want this job after seeing Katz hire a guy with no experience to spy on Chiarelli? What’s going on here is now worse than I originally thought it was. If Katz isn’t happy with Chiarelli then he needs to fire him first. He took heat for hiring Chiarelli before he dealt with Mactavish. Now he may be doing something similar again. It doesn’t appear he’s learning how to operate his franchise. It’s still bush league all the way.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

what exactly is gerry flemming doing, then?

 

[Mr Positive]

what exactly is gerry flemming doing, then?

I do recall some news story a while back that the higher ups were not pleased with how Flemming was approaching his team, from a development perspective. Maybe Coffey is there to help out with that

 

[Soundwave]

You and I have spent the year arguing about how sought after the Oilers GM job will be after Chiarelli is gone. I’ve been saying it won’t be because we’ve got a meddling owner who has surrounded himself with a bunch of opinionated ex-players who are always in his ear yet operate without a shred of accountability. You’ve been saying you don’t believe that’s been happening then you come out with this as a reason for the Coffey hire.

Do you still think somebody of high quality will want this job after seeing Katz hire a guy with no experience to spy on Chiarelli? What’s going on here is now worse than I originally thought it was. If Katz isn’t happy with Chiarelli then he needs to fire him first. He took heat for hiring Chiarelli before he dealt with Mactavish. Now he may be doing something similar again. It doesn’t appear he’s learning how to operate his franchise. It’s still bush league all the way.

We don't need someone with some huge track record.

We just need someone sane who isn't the riverboat gambler Chiarelli is but isn't as passive as Tambellini is.

Someone who values asset management, but is proactive in improving the team over time.

I think for $3-$4 million a year there are more than 5-6 people at least in the hockey world who are qualified enough to be interested in that job.

 

[FunkyChicken]

Not sure if Coffee will help or not, but the optics look bad.
However, it's is also clear the Oilers don't care about public perception.
Small cog in big machine. Wait and see. Don't think it can hurt at this point.

 

[joestevens29]

Optics look bad although I did hear Struds raving about how Coffey was working with Benning at an optional practice giving him tips.

Never really heard them talk about guys getting one on one work like that. I like the whole principle, just not sure if Coffey is the right guy for the job.

Time will tell I guess.

 

[joestevens29]

I think what I don't like most is how these guys are ruining their reputations. Being an early 80's baby I was able to remember the tail end of these guys careers in Edmonton. Now these ex-Oilers continue to come back and nothing good is happening. Bad memories are starting to take over and these guys who were once gods in this city are now becoming hated.

I rather these guys not come back to Edmonton and essentially erase the good memories. Which is becoming easier to do with a younger fan base.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

So if he was indeed brought in to help the PP, it is interesting that Letestu is not on the top unit anymore. McDavid seems to have more free range to move around in the zone without the puck and Strome is already looking better than Letestu has all year on the PP. The PP as a whole seems to look less stationary. Is this a Woodcroft change or a Coffey change?

 

[walktheboulavard]

So if he was indeed brought in to help the PP, it is interesting that Letestu is not on the top unit anymore. McDavid seems to have more free range to move around in the zone without the puck and Strome is already looking better than Letestu has all year on the PP. The PP as a whole seems to look less stationary. Is this a Woodcroft change or a Coffey change?

Probably Coffey. Hard to imagine Woodcroft having a strategic powerplay epiphany for the remainder of his life.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Probably Coffey. Hard to imagine Woodcroft having a strategic powerplay epiphany for the remainder of his life.

That's my opinion as well. They had this whole time to change things up and didn't.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Are walktheboulavard and I the only two seeing changes in the PP for the better since Coffey has been hired? If the PP improves do we see Coffey on the coaching staff full time? Do we see Woodcroft punted? Do we see Todd remain but get an upgrade on assistants?

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Are walktheboulavard and I the only two seeing changes in the PP for the better since Coffey has been hired? If the PP improves do we see Coffey on the coaching staff full time? Do we see Woodcroft punted? Do we see Todd remain but get an upgrade on assistants?

I see it definitely, haven’t really been rewarded until last game, but they have been getting a lot of good chances on the powerplay.

I also don’t mind strome on that first unit, that pass he made to mcdavid for his deflection is something letestu would of just fired into the goalies logo

 

[rboomercat90]

So if he was indeed brought in to help the PP, it is interesting that Letestu is not on the top unit anymore. McDavid seems to have more free range to move around in the zone without the puck and Strome is already looking better than Letestu has all year on the PP. The PP as a whole seems to look less stationary. Is this a Woodcroft change or a Coffey change?

If it was a Woodcroft change it’s pretty coincidental that it took until after Coffey was hired for it to happen. It’s also pretty hard for me to believe the word “change” exists anywhere in Todd Mclellan’s universe.

 

[oobga]

If Coffey seriously came in and said to get Lucic/Letestu off the 1st unit, and stop being so static in the zone, then I don't see how Woodcroft should still have a job right now. Or at the least he should not be on the bench and be an assistant anymore. Maybe we can keep him on to make the custom "mistakes you made last night" videos for all the players.