Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch divorces his wife because he saw his

witnessed something like the 2023–24 season, which has lifted Oil fans from the lowest points around US Thanksgiving to the highest points in the league and franchise records while rapidly overtaking other teams in the standings. This was all done before the approaching mid-season All-Star break.

From here, it should be clear that the pivotal event occurred on November 12, when head coach Jay Woodcroft and defensive coordinator Dave Manson were fired and replaced with a new team consisting of two very different people. The franchise legend Paul Coffey was named the defensive coach, while Kris Knoblauch, who had previously been the coach of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, was appointed as the new head coach. The two, as far as I can tell, had not even laid eyes on each other prior to the press conference revealing their hiring. It was a vast cry from the previous administration, in which Woodcroft and Manson had collaborated for years with the Oilers’ Bakersfield AHL affiliate and had even flown north with two young rearguards.

The Oilers’ disastrous start, which put them tied for last place in the NHL following a Game 12 loss at San Jose that effectively ended Woody’s career, made the coaching change appear desperate. The team was unable to make a save or a shot. Even their strongest asset, the special teams, was struggling for them.

A penalty kill squad that gave up an astonishing 15 goals in the final 13 games for the leaving staff was especially concerning. I have no doubt that I wasn’t the only spectator thinking, “Paul Coffey is going to fix the PK? Okay, then.

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Kris Knoblauch thought differently. Mark Stuart, a longtime NHL player whose job had previously been a little unclear, was one of the surviving coaching staff members he inherited. He was given command of the penalty kill by Knoblauch.

It is reasonable to argue that the unit’s turnaround reflects the team’s overall performance; in fact, it might have been a leader in the process. The bleeding was quickly stopped, and the Oilers’ PK quickly transformed from a significant problem to a significant asset.

Let’s examine the statistics across 45 games. I have divided the games into 13/16/16 instead of three equal groups of 15. Woodcroft oversaw the first set, while Knoblauch oversaw the final two. The latter two matches perfectly matched Edmonton’s incredible 16-game winning streak, during which almost everything has gone right—PK most definitely included.