Dave Tippett’s met the end of the line in Edmonton.

As first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Edmonton Oilers have fired Tippett after two-plus seasons as head coach. The decision comes on the heels of a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton’s third in its last four outings.

Jay Woodcroft has been named head coach on an interim basis.

It’s not necessarily a surprise, given the Oilers’ failure to meet expectations and the diminishing returns from last season. The Oilers have plummeted out of postseason position with just seven wins in 23 games since Dec. 2 after starting the season with 16 wins in 21 contests.

What may have caught some by surprise is general manager Ken Holland’s previous stance and assertion that coaching wasn’t the issue.

Holland stated a month ago that he “didn’t believe” in firing coaches in-season, though acknowledged that there are times when it’s necessary. With five wins in 10 game since Holland’s state of the union, he’s apparently decided that this is one of those cases.

Incredibly, Connor McDavid will now have a fourth coach in six seasons with Woodcroft looking to stop the bleeding. As one of Todd McLellan’s assistants prior to Tippett’s arrival, Woodcroft has experience with McDavid and Draisaitl, among others, on the roster. Retained and re-assigned by the organization when McLellan was let go, Woodcroft has built a strong reputation in league circles with Edmonton’s American Hockey League in Bakersfield in the time since.

While this move feels necessary, coaching is far from the only issue in Edmonton. Major concerns persist in goal while help is also required on defence. Holland has been inexplicably resistant to addressing the goaltending problem, in particular, prioritizing other controversial changes such as the Tippett decision and bringing in free-agent forward Evander Kane.

Despite registering only seven wins since their incredibly impressive start, the Oilers are just five points out of the playoffs and still very much in the mix in the Western Conference. Woodcroft won’t have to orchestrate a miracle to rescue the season, but it seems likely that many of the things that have plagued the Oilers aren’t coaching-related, and will therefore take something special to overcome.

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