'It's a gut feel': Holland cites need for change in firing Oilers head coach Tippett

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland said a “gut feel” led him to fire the team’s head coach Dave Tippett on Thursday. 

Holland told reporters he had “a tough, sleepless night” and called owner Daryl Katz following the team’s 4-1 defeat to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. 

“It's a gut feel that I needed to make a change,” Holland said. “It's been up and down like a toilet seat really, there's been stretches where we play pretty good and then we don't play good.”

Holland said he informed Tippett and associate coach Jim Playfair on Thursday morning that they were being removed from their roles. 

He said it’s the first time in his career as a National Hockey League general manager that he’s fired a coach mid-season. 

“I felt like I had to make a move because we still control our own fate but we got to get cracking here and start winning some games," he said. 

“You want to play more consistently,” he said, noting the team had lost two straight games at home following the NHL’s All-Star break. 

“We’re not winning. We’re not meeting expectations.” 

The team’s record stands at 23-18-3, fifth in the Pacific Division and five points back of the Calgary Flames for the final playoff spot in the western conference. 

Wednesday night’s loss was the club’s second straight after winning five of the previous six games.The team had endured losing streaks of six and seven games.

“It’s a tough day. It’s a disappointing day for Oilers fans,” Holland said. “When you have this press conference it means your team’s not playing good enough.” 

WOODCROFT HIRED

Tippett is being replaced by Jay Woodcroft, the head coach of the Bakersfield Condors, the Oilers’ American Hockey League farm club where he was bench boss since 2018.

He has previously worked as an assistant coach for seven seasons with the San Jose Sharks as well as three seasons with the Oilers. 

“My gut instincts are that Jay’s ready … to be behind the bench in the National Hockey League,” Holland said. 

“His teams play very detailed. He brings a lot of passion and energy to the rink.” 

Woodcroft becomes the 17th head coach in the team’s NHL history and eighth since the start of the 2010 season.

Former Oilers defenceman Dave Manson, an assistant coach in Bakersfield, will also step into a similar role in Edmonton.

Tippett was in his third season as the team’s coach. The Oilers won just one of eight playoff games under his tenure.  

Playfair, a former Oilers draft pick, had been with the team as assistant coach since June of 2019. 

The Oilers have 38 games remaining in the regular season, starting with Friday night, at home against the New York Islanders. 

“I felt that I needed to do something to see if we could get a different result and a better result,” said Holland of Thursday’s moves. 

“Now we watch.”