Elliotte Friedman Reveals Exactly Why Jay Woodcroft Was Fired
On his most recent 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman revealed the exact reason why Jay Woodcroft was fired in Edmonton.
Woodcroft Fired in Order to Try And Save The Oilers Season
The Edmonton Oilers have dug themselves into a deep hole that they need to get themselves out of now if they want any shot at making the playoffs this year. Their slow start to the season clearly required executives to make a change to shuffle things up, and that is exactly what they did in firing Head Coach Jay Woodcroft.
When it was announced that Woodcroft was fired, many speculated that Connor McDavid and they players wanted him out, and that is why he was let go. Recently, Elliotte Friedman took to his podcast to clear the air on exactly why Woodcroft was fired.
"I will say this until I am blue in the face, this coaching change was not about Jay Woodcroft, it was not," said Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "This coaching change was about Edmonton cannot afford a disastrous season, so what are we going to do to try to change things."
Since the Head Coach is the easiest to replace at a moment's notice, they are often first to go when a message needs to be sent. Friedman believes that no matter how Woodcroft was doing or if the slow start was his fault or not, he would have been fired either way.
Friedman Reveals Some Tension in Oilers Executive
The other troubling thing that Friedman hints at in his podcast is the tension that is arising in the Oilers executive. He strongly believes that the decision to fire Woodcroft came from Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson, not Ken Holland.
"I think at the end of the day Jeff Jackson made this call," said Friedman. "The fact that it was Kris Knoblauch that says to me it was Jackson's call. I don't think the players overthrew Jay Woodcroft, I don't buy that.
Holland was the guy who brought in Woodcroft and there's a new sheriff in town," said Friedman.
Holland was the guy who brought in Woodcroft and there's a new sheriff in town," said Friedman.
This is troubling for Oilers fans, as the team desperately needs to get on the same page to salvage the season. This comes right after Holland and Jackson contradicted each other during their press conference announcing Woodcroft's firing.
Are they not saying the exact opposite of each other?
The Oilers need to get on the same page, quickly, in order to fight their way back into a playoff spot and save the season.
As seen on Hockey Feed - "NHL insider reveals the real reason Jay Woodcroft was fired."
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