Edmonton Oilers open up on whether or not Connor McDavid hand picked new coach

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Sam Hutch
November 13, 2023 (10:37)

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Everyone knew that Jay Woodcroft's time with the Edmonton Oilers was coming to an end, but the way it happened was still puzzling. Coming off a 4-1 win. With the announcement of Kris Knoblauch as the next head coach, not only is that another AHL promotion for general manger Ken Holland, but most people pointed out that Connor McDavid must have had a say in who the next coach would be, considering Knoblauch is his former junior bench boss.

However, according to Jason Gregor of Daily Faceoff, The Nation Network and Sports 1440, McDavid was actually not consulted before bringing his old coach in; take a look.

«We didn't consult with the players on this decision. They are here to play hockey. They don't like being involved in these types of decision. Connor and the other leaders had nothing to do with this decision,» Jeff Jackson.

Holland did say he had conversations with some vets the past week.

It's very hard to believe that McDavid wasn't at least part of the decision making to bring in Knoblauch, considering that newly appointed CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson also used to be his agent.

One has to ask at this point: is Connor McDavid a coach killer? He's had 5 head coaches since he entered the league and is underperforming by his standards this season, although he has been battling injuries, it would seem that he is in fact the problem.