Oilers coach addresses coming changes after Connor McDavid's angry comments from Cup Final
Photo credit: Edmonton Oilers Raw
The Edmonton Oilers have made some major changes to their coaching staff, but they won't be making many adjustments to their actual style of play.
This may raise some eyebrows, especially looking back to Connor McDavid's frustrated comments after losing in the Cup Final - lamenting his team's tactics under pressure.
We were never really able to generate any momentum up the ice. We kept f****** trying the same thing, over and over again, banging our heads against the wall.
- Connor McDavid
- Connor McDavid
Oilers coach reveals no changes will be made to coaching systems for next year
In a new interview with Oilers analyst Jason Gregor, Coach Knoblauch actually admitted that there won't be any chances coming to the team's 5v5 tactics. There will be tweaks to special teams, but not to the majority of their play.
The penalty kill is where we will have the biggest adjustments. As for a five-on-five play, we're always looking at how we can get better, but overall, I think we're going to have pretty much the same systems. It's taken us to the Stanley Cup final twice, but there will be a little more emphasis on skill development to execute plays.
- Coach Knobaluch
- Coach Knobaluch
Knobaluch makes a good point that this system has got them to the Cup Final two years in a row, and the powerplay and penalty kill getting adjustments is reassuring. However, McDavid's comments still ring out.
Maybe the Oilers will need to develop an alternate strategy just in case they face the Panthers again.
Coach Knoblauch has earned the benefit of the doubt with any coaching decision after two seasons of masterfully guiding the team to two Cup Finals. Oilers fans should trust his process, but the coach also needs McDavid on board.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 23 | 356 ANSWERS Oilers coach addresses coming changes after Connor McDavid's angry comments from Cup Final Do you think the Oilers needed a coaching systems adjustment? | ||
| Yes | 274 | 77 % |
| No | 82 | 23 % |
| List of polls | ||
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