POLL: Is Dave Tippett A Good Fit For The Edmonton Oilers?

Now that the press conference is over, things can start to get back to normal around here.

For better or worse, Dave Tippett is Edmonton’s new head coach. You’ll notice that he’s got 14 years of head coaching experience (he had some real nice teams in Dallas), but he’s spent more than half his coaching career with the Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes franchise from 2009-2017. Eight years with a single club seems like an eternity in today’s NHL. It seems like even longer when you realize that the last coach in Phoenix before Tippett was Wayne Gretzky.

Prior to landing the gig in Edmonton, Tippett was an advisor for the expansion Seattle franchise. Now in Edmonton, he’s got his work cut out for him.

Tippett has a reputation for being focused defence. That’s good, because the Oilers were second last on the PK in 2018-19 at a dismal 74.8% success rate. There’s almost no way that the Oilers can be as bad on the PK next year. Come to think of it, when your top two scorers are a generational talent (115 points) and his German linemate (105 points), you ought to be a little better than 20th overall in goals per game as well. (2.79 in 2018-19). Tippet’s last Coyotes club averaged a meagre 2.33 goals per game in 2016-17. That doesn’t do a whole lot for you or me, but you’ll recall that a 35 year old Radim Vrbata was that club’s leading scorer with 55 points.

During yesterday’s press conference, Ken Holland was quoted saying that he had a list of 17 different possible head coaches on his list. While we will never see that list, can we say that Dave Tippett a good fit? Will his years of experience offer insight and experience for a club that needs consistency in nearly every statistical category? Should the Oilers have gone with a younger coach or a new face?

Let’s gauge the crowd.

Tippett’s contract is for three years, though I doubt he’ll be given that much of a leash if the club doesn’t start winning soon. Can Dave Tippett help push the Oilers back into the playoffs?