Edmonton Oilers Fire Coach Jay Woodcroft, Stanley Cup Odds
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Edgar Chaput
In a situation deemed unthinkable weeks ago, on Sunday the Edmonton Oilers gave head coach Jay Woodcroft his marching orders. He’s replaced by AHL coach Kris Knoblauch.
The club is languishing near the bottom of the Pacific Division with a record of 3-9-1, besting only the lowly San Jose Sharks. This is as far removed from what the franchise and its fanbase were expecting when the puck dropped barely a month ago.
Where do the Oilers go from here and what are their Stanley Cup odds?
Don’t forget our NHL odds for plenty of hockey action.
Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Odds
Let’s set the table, if only a little. As the regular season loomed and expectations around the Albertan metropolis entailed a possible new Stanley Cup banner by the season’s end, their championship odds stood at +1000. Only the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes had slightly superior price tags at +900.
The NHL oddsmakers evidently have a ton of faith in Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the gang because although the odds have been altered it’s not a tectonic shift. As of Monday, November 13, they sit at +1400. It’s worse than before, but there are several teams with superior records yet inferior odds.
Edmonton Oilers’ Slippery Slope
Where has it all gone wrong? Well, consider that only last week goaltender Jack Campbell was placed on waivers. He’s now netminding for the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL.
As such, Stuart Skinner, who had a nice rookie season last year, is the undisputed main man in net for the Oilers. That said, he’s been no hero either, sporting a 2-5-1 record, 3.53 GAA and a .861 save percentage.
The club isn’t scoring nearly as much as last year, netting only 2.69 goals a night, good for 26th in the NHL. Coughing up 3.92 goals per match puts them in the 30th spot league-wide. If the shots against look great (374, best overall), the quality chances the Oilers award the opposition are plentiful. They’re not a very good team at regrouping on defence when they miss a scoring chance and several times this year have been the victim of excellent forechecking in their zone.
None of the big guns have positive +/- figures, unlike last season. McDavid, Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman, everyone’s numbers are subpar.
Is McDavid playing hurt since returning from injury in time for the Heritage Classic? Possibly, as discussed on a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast. But this is a problem that concerns the group as a whole, not one player, whoever great they are.
Edmonton Oilers Pacific Division Odds
One final note. Not that winning a division counts for as much as claiming the Stanley Cup, but Edmonton’s price tag to win the Pacific Division has taken a hit too. At the start of the season, they sat comfortably at +200, but are now +1400, behind the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings, and Vancouver Canucks.