Dave Tippett Reportedly Fired as Oilers HC After 2-Plus Seasons with Team

The Edmonton Oilers reportedly fired head coach Dave Tippett on Thursday following back-to-back lopsided losses to the Vegas Golden Knights and Chicago Blackhawks.

TSN's Darren Dreger reported Tippett, who compiled a 95-62-14 record across two-plus seasons, and assistant Jim Playfair were both dismissed.

Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson, who were part of the coaching staff of the team's AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, will take over on an interim basis, per Dreger.

The Oilers came out firing on all cylinders to open the 2021-22 season. They started 9-1-0 and stood at 16-5-0 following a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 1.

They've gone just 7-13-3 since that point, however, and it appears the losses to the Golden Knights and Hawks by a combined score of 8-1 were the final straw. They now sit five points behind the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

While Tippett's regular-season record with the Oilers was well over .500, the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs each of the past two years. Their odds to reach the 2022 postseason had dipped 61 percent amid the recent cold spell, per Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic.

So Edmonton is betting on a coaching change will provide a spark to get the club trending back in the right direction before those playoff chances fade any more.

Woodcroft and Manson inherit a roster led by two of the NHL's best players, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but also a group that features limited depth. McDavid and Draisaitl are both over 60 points (125 combined), but only one other player (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) has over 30.

Trying to generate more production outside that dynamic duo will be crucial if the Oilers are going to turn things around and make a serious push toward the Stanley Cup.

The front office will likely be active leading up to the March 21 trade deadline in pursuit of a couple top-six forwards to bolster the scoring depth.

Edmonton can't wait another six weeks for its play to improve, though. So a coaching change was the short-term solution, and JFresh of EP Rinkside noted the team is due for some positive regression following some miserable puck luck:

Some fresh ideas from the coaching staff, a few more lucky bounces, modestly improved goaltending and a key acquisition could put the Oilers back on the path toward contention.