Paul Coffey shows off his greatness to the Edmonton Oilers players

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Ryan Hall
March 31, 2024 (1:45 PM)

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Many Oilers fans felt it was an interesting choice when general manager Ken Holland decided to make a coaching change on November 12 2023 by inserting rookie head coach Kris Knoblauch and legendary Oilers defenceman Paul Coffey as his assistant.

With no coaching experience and a team with Stanley Cup aspiration's teetering at the edge of the cliff, Coffey stated that he would fix the defensive woes of the Oilers and help turn the team around.

The turn around is impressive especially on the defensive side with the Oilers holding a + 56 goal differential. Coffey has made statements ever since taking the job that he expects nothing less than hard work from his defensemen and from the rest of the team with a greater attention to detail.

He also wears his Stanley Cup ring while on the bench to remind them what the goal is for the team and likely to keep their focus with is pretty flex.

Both coaches certainly have had an impact as well across the entire spectrum of the team as Bob Stauffer shows in his recent tweet.

The stats are pretty revealing. Under the Knoblauch - Coffey coaching duo the orders have turned the table and are all in the top five in statistics such as goal differential, power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, points percentage, and other stats. The Oilers were a team near the bottom of the standings well out of a playoff spot and are now within five points of taking the Pacific division lead.

With all, the team looks poised and is ready to take on the Stanley Cup playoffs and having Paul Coffey behind the bench who is quite familiar on what it takes to win the Cup is a great weapon to have.