The Edmonton Oilers announced that Paul Coffey would return to the coaching staff and oversee the defence on Wednesday.

Coffey returns to a role he had held for the previous two seasons, just seven months after it was announced he wouldn’t return. Regardless of how you look at it, it is an odd situation.

The team announced Coffey was returning, but he won’t join the team until Friday and will be on the ice for the first time on Saturday, as Friday is a day off. Kris Knoblauch had to speak about it yesterday, and now Coffey will speak, likely on Saturday. Just seems a bit odd to announce his return before he is with the team. But this entire situation is outside the norm.

After back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025, the Oilers changed their coaching staff. Glen Gulutzan left to become head coach of the Dallas Stars, the team the Oilers had defeated in consecutive Western Conference Finals. Gulutzan was replaced by Paul McFarland and he oversees the power play. The Oilers’ powerplay remains the best in the NHL.

The Oilers opted not to re-sign goalie coach Dustin Schwartz or skating coach David Pelletier. Kris Knoblauch hired Peter Aubry as the goalie coach, and Conor Allen as the skills coach. Allen has focused on more skill enhancement with the players throughout the season.

Knoblauch was allowed to hire his staff, and he opted not to bring back Coffey. Mark Stuart, who oversaw the penalty kill the past two seasons and helped run the blueline, was promoted to running both the defensemen and the penalty kill.

The coaching staff announcements occurred on July 14th. Fast forward seven months, and Coffey is back and will be running the D corps again.

The main question is: Whose decision was this? If it wasn’t Knoblauch’s plan, then it is fair to question how the internal dynamics will work.

I do know Coffey has been around the team this year. He’s had conversations with players as well as Knoblauch. Knoblauch and Coffey have different personalities. Coffey is fiery and more outspoken, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get along. You can have different viewpoints with a co-worker, or friend, and still respect one another. Seven months ago, Knoblauch made the decision not to bring back Coffey. Maybe he changed his mind, after seeing the team struggle, or maybe owner Daryl Katz wanted Coffey back on the bench.

Clearly, they aren’t happy with how the team is playing defensively.

In the first two months (26 games) of the season the Oilers ranked 30th in GA/GP at 3.58. It was a rough start.

But then over their next 25 games, they rediscovered their defensive acumen. They had the third best GA/GP at 2.56.

The first 26 games were ugly, but the next 25 were good. They didn’t change their system, the players simply reduced their glaring giveaways, and the team was more focused. The Oilers’ offense played much better and they looked like a team that had figured out how to play consistent defensively.

But then they reverted to being leaky defensively and in their final seven games heading into the Olympic break, the Oilers allowed a league-worst 4.86 GA/GP.

The Oilers sit in second place in the Pacific Division, but Anaheim and Seattle are both one point behind them with two games in hand. The Los Angeles Kings, who sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, are four points back of the Oilers with two games in hand. Edmonton plays Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose in their first three games next week. They need wins, and they need to play better defensively.

Enter Coffey.

Maybe Coffey is the player whisperer, and his words will help Darnell Nurse and Jake Walman find consistency in their play. Evan Bouchard has played well this season. Yes, he’s had a few glaring giveaways, but he’s made infinitely more excellent plays and overall, he’s been very good. Mattias Ekholm had a slow start, likely due to his lack of training in the off-season due to rehabbing his injury, but the past few months, he’s been solid. Ty Emberson has been consistent all season in a third pair role. Maybe it is that simple, that Coffey’s words and approach will help his defenders, but clearly the organization feels Stuart isn’t the guy to run the blueline. He’s been demoted and will revert back to overseeing the penalty kill. He can’t be happy about it, and while I expect he will be a true professional and do his job to the best of his ability, it does make him look like a lame duck coach to his players, even if the organization says otherwise.

The penalty kill was actually very consistent, up until the final five games before the break.

In October and November (26 GP) it was 80.6 per cent. Then in their next 27 games they killed penalties at an 81.1 per cent clip. The PK was ranked 10th in the NHL through their first 53 games at 80.8 per cent.

But then it imploded in their last five games allowing nine goals on 14 kills. That abysmal stretch saw their PK plummet from 10th down to 27th overall.

So, what happened? A few bad clearing attempts, one five-on-three goal, a missed stick assignment from a forward on a seam pass were easily noticeable. It is strange to see a unit be very consistent through 53 games, but then self-destruct. It isn’t just on Stuart. It is on the penalty killers as well. Stuart can’t clear the zone or put his stick in the right lane. That is on the penalty killers, but now Stuart will need to get them back on track, while the players know he’s been stripped of overseeing the blueline.

The optics aren’t great, but optics mean little if the decision equals results.

I sense this move illustrates a clear frustration and unhappiness with how the season has gone thus far. The Oilers have high expectations. They expect to be competing for the division title and a deep playoff run, not just competing for a wildcard spot.

It is easy to blame Knoblauch and Stuart, and find fault in their decision-making, player deployment or their choice of systems. They aren’t immune to criticism, but the players shouldn’t be either. If the players will only play smart, committed and consistent hockey for Coffey, then the organization has bigger issues. I don’t believe the players want to fail, but it is clear they have struggled to find their game consistently.

The offence was average for the first two months, and then in December and most of January, the offence and defence improved, but then they limped into the break, losing their final three games and allowing 16 goals against. It was ugly, and with multiple weeks to stew about it, the organization decided to bring back Coffey.

His return raises questions. Did the owner make the call? Do they believe in their coaching staff? Is there internal dysfunction brewing? Do the players believe in the staff? Did Knoblauch realize they missed Coffey’s presence and viewpoints? It might be a combination of all of the above.

I have no doubt the defencemen respect Coffey. Bouchard, Ekholm, Nurse, Walman and others have spoken glowingly about how he coaches in-game. How he challenges them, but also how he builds up their confidence by reminding them of what they are good at. If they make a mistake, he tells them to forget about it and keep playing.

The organization believes his return will be positive. It very well could be, as his first two years on the bench led to them going to the Cup Final. However, if they don’t improve or reach their goal of the Stanley Cup Final, then there will be lots of noise about making more coaching changes.

I think it would be a mistake to have the sole focus be on the coaches. The defense needs to play better. The Oilers’ depth forwards need to do more, and the management needs to fix some of the player signings that haven’t worked out.

If the Oilers don’t have a long playoff run, the blame can’t fall solely on the coaching staff.

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