POWER PLAY
Can new Oilers coaches fix special teams?
Will Glen Gulutzan and Manny Viveiros be able to fix the power play? Will Trent Yawney be able to fix the penalty kill?
I mean, why dance around it? Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said there will not be individual coaching ownership of those areas. But let’s be honest.
The reason these three individuals were finally, officially, named to the staff via conference call Friday was the extent to which the Edmonton special teams absolutely reeked last season.
Yawney has extensive experience producing penalty-kill units and Gulutzan and Viveiros bring considerable credits coaching potent power plays.
Despite ranking fifth in the NHL the year before at 22.9 per cent, Edmonton had the worst power play in the league last year at 14.8 per cent with Connor McDavid on the ice for two thirds of the time with the man advantage.
The penalty kill, for the longest time there, had the distinction of being at the top of the league on the road and the bottom of the league at home. It ended up 25th at 76.7 per cent.
The bottom line is, if the Oilers new staff is able to get both back on track, all should be well with the team that dropped from 103 points and a playoff position to 78 points and well out of contention by Grey Cup weekend.
If not, well, they might all be out of work together next year. And that, considering the McDavid window, would likely include the general manager as well.
Clearly GM Peter Chiarelli not only insisted upon a totally new assistant coaching staff for McLellan, he obviously had his hand in the process.
“We targeted these three individuals for their specific talents,” said Chiarelli of the moves that had been public knowledge for some time but were mostly waiting for Viveiros to be finished coaching the Swift Current Broncos in the Memorial Cup.
“This was an area where we thought we could improve,” he said of the assistant coaching staff.
“That’s one of the reasons we started with this,” added the general manager of his decision suggesting more changes would follow but not likely anything major. McLellan didn’t dodge it. “The special teams were a disappointment this year. I’m stating a simple fact. In years prior we had a fair level of success with basically the same roster,” he said.
“We’re taking care of the coaching part by making some changes and bringing some new and fresh ideas in from experienced coaches.
“The players themselves are going to have to examine themselves as well to get back to the level that they are capable of. The players will have to develop some confidence and step forward and be productive.”
McLellan now has two former NHL head coaches in Yawney (Chicago Blackhawks) and Gulutzan (Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars).
“Each of these individuals brings an unique skill-set and unique personality to the group,” said McLellan.
“You look at Trent Yawney, and he’s a coach I worked with for three years in San Jose, so I understand him well and he understands my personality.
“He did a tremendous job with the penalty-kill unit in San Jose and Anaheim and anywhere else he’s coached. And perhaps most important, is his ability to develop young defencemen. His track record speaks for itself.
“Gulutzan has a variety of experiences. He understands what it’s like to be a head coach, especially in Canada and Western Canada and Alberta. He brings an upbeat personality and hockey mind and I’m going to use him in all situations.
“Viveiros is an up-and-coming coach. He’s a mature individual in his 50s. And he has a talent level that hasn’t been tapped yet,” he said of the St. Albert native who played junior in Moose Jaw and Prince Albert and pro overseas.
“He has a strong European background with very strong power-play results with his European teams he coached.”
It’s interesting that McLellan’s previous staff was made up mostly of career assistant coaches while this one is composed of mostly career head coaches.
It’s also interesting that the four are all of the same age group.
Yawney and Viveiros are both 52, McLellan 50 and Gulutzan 46.
They also have one other thing in common.
At the end of the conference call, your correspondent jokingly asked McLellan, a native of Melville, a former Saskatoon Blade and former Swift Current Broncos head coach if it was a requirement to have a Saskatchewan connection to be on his new staff. “No,” he said, laughing.
“It just happened to work out that way.
“Ironically both Yawney and Gulutzan are both from Hudson Bay, Sask. They have to have the market cornered on that.”
We’re taking care of the coaching part by making some changes and bringing some new and fresh ideas in from experienced coaches.