Lord Byron once said, “The best prophet of the future is the past.” Byron was an English poet in the early 1800s, and his quote connects to many aspects of life, including sports. This quote should be front and centre in the Edmonton Oilers management office as they decide what direction to head this off-season.

The main question being asked is, “Will they fire Kris Knoblauch?” Two things have been a staple in Edmonton the past decade: blame the goalie and blame the head coach. It happens constantly. Are they really going to go down that path again? Here’s a look at the five head coaches Connor McDavid has had in his career.

Head Coach

GC

Record

GFA-GAA

PK%

Playoff Record

Todd McLellan

266

123-119-24

2.74-2.92

79.10%

7-6

Ken Hitchcock

62

26-28-8

2.77-3.31

75%

NA

Dave Tippett

171

95-62-14

3.19-3.01

81.70%

1-7

Jay Woodcroft

133

79-41-13

3.80-3.10

77.60%

14-14

Kris Knoblauch

233

135-77-21

3.42-2.94

79.20%

31-22

Knoblauch has had the most success, but a few things haven’t changed regardless of the coach. The Oilers give up too many goals. Since 2015-16, the Oilers have ranked 20th in goals against/game at 3.00. Their penalty kill is below average, sitting 19th, with only one season above 80 per cent. Granted, in Knoblauch’s first season (69 games), the PK was 82 per cent under him. But like his predecessors, the Oilers were unable to maintain a competent penalty kill.

Inconsistent defensive commitment has been the calling card of this organization for the past decade. They give up too many goals and can’t kill penalties consistently. Rinse, wash, repeat.

But once again the off-season talk, in some circles, is about firing the coach and what they will do in goal.

The four most used goalies, Cam Talbot, Stuart Skinner, Mikko Koskinen, and Mike Smith, all had a .904 SV% or higher, and Smith had a 2.70 GAA, while Talbot and Skinner had 2.74 and Koskinen had 2.98. Not great, but often they were the “reason” the Oilers lost. And once again that is the conversation.

How about trying a different approach, like asking your skaters to actually commit to play........

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