Oilers turn to veteran Tippett as new head coach

Dave Tippett was hired as the 16th Edmonton Oilers' head coach and third in the five-year career of superstar Connor McDavid.

Tippett, 57, has previously coached with the Dallas Stars from 2002 to 2008 and the 2005-17 Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes, with a career record of 553-413-28-102.

His teams played in the playoffs of eight of nine seasons from 2002 to 2011, before his teams in Arizona struggled to compete due to financial constraints. Most recently, he was a senior advisor to the NHL's expansion franchise in Seattle, where he helped design the renovated arena and develop his hockey operations department.

He did not go to Seattle to become the general manager or coach of the team, although this latter job began to intrigue him when his competitive fires started to burn again. . But with the Seattle entry into the league in 2021, this wait would have been too long for him to resume his coaching duties.

The Oilers, however, had a more immediate opportunity, the newly hired GM, Ken Holland, looking for a replacement for his coach, Ken Hitchcock, who took over the mid-season team and participated in the recruiting process after the season.

Both returned to Tippett as the best candidate and signed him for a three-year contract. They liked the structure with which his teams played. They liked the results he had achieved in the previous stages of the NHL. But most of all, they liked his experience.

"I have a lot of experience," Holland said. "When you're in the NHL, there's always rough water, you have to stay steady on the rudder."

The waters are not just hectic in Edmonton. Using this analogy, the Oilers are the worst hockey hot tub. They have participated in the playoffs once since 2006 – the second season of McDavid – but until now they have missed their chance to argue with the best player in the world.

Tippett considers the Oilers as more than a team of two with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, aged 22. He said he sees a team that should follow the pattern of the current Stanley Cup finalist, the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues.

"Strong defensive teams," said Tippett, "but teams that allow their players to flourish with the puck."

However, regarding the two biggest players, Tippett said he liked seeing McDavid, who signed a contract that will last until 2025-2016 with a cap of $ 12.5 million and Draisaitl playing together.

Tippett said the two players gathered on the ice reminded him that he had been McDavid's coach as assistant to the North American Hockey World Cup in 2016, when Auston Matthews had been added to McDavid's line as a winger.

"I like seeing them together." It looks like they're feeding each other, "Tippett said. "That being said, I'm not stuck on it, I want to see what the rest of the composition looks like."

Many are curious to know what the Oilers under Tippett will look like. His Arizona teams were known for their stifling defense. After Hitchcock, did the Oilers leave for a second veteran defensive coach in a row?

Tippett pushes against this label.

"I laugh all the time, my first [head coaching] position in the NHL I had because I was an offensive coach, "Tippett said, referring to being hired in Dallas after serving on the The staff of the Los Angeles Kings. "Then I went to Arizona and I have to find a way to win without these high-end scorers."