Oilers set to officially make Dave Tippett head coach
Rumors had lingered in recent weeks, and now the Edmonton Oilers will officially name Dave Tippett head coach.
According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, Dave Tippett will be named the next Oilers’ coach at a press conference on Tuesday.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet added Tippett will get a three-year deal.
Tippett has most recently worked as a senior advisor for the Seattle expansion franchise, but he has plenty of head coaching experience.
Over 14 seasons as head coach of the Dallas Stars (2002-2009) and Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (2010-2017), Tippett has a 553-413-28-120 regular season record and .446 playoff winning percentage (33-41). That includes two conference finals berths, one with Dallas (2008) and one in Arizona (2012), but the Coyotes missed the playoffs in each of his last five seasons there as the franchise’s ownership situation experienced turmoil.
Tippett’s calling card has been the defensive zone, and the Oilers could use a lot of help there. They were tied for sixth-worst in goals against last season (3.30 per game). That included the second-most power play goals allowed (62), with the expected second-worst penalty kill rate.
With veteran general manager Ken Holland coming in to try to fix the Oilers once and for all, hiring a veteran head coach makes sense. Connor McDavid is still only 22 and under contract for seven more years, but he has made the playoffs just once in his career and what’s left of his prime years can’t be squandered anymore.
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Holland has to add depth across the board, and a goaltender to go with Mikko Koskinen is also an order this offseason. Tippett is not the most buzz-worthy hire, but his contract length and expectations from owner Daryl Katz reflects a sense of urgency for next season rather than embracing anything close to a full-on rebuild for Edmonton.