Oilers fire head coach Dave Tippett, replace him with Jay Woodcroft

The Dave Tippett era in Edmonton is over.

The floundering Oilers fired the head coach Thursday. Jay Woodcroft, the bench boss for the AHL's Bakersfield Condors, will serve as his replacement for the remainder of the season.

Edmonton is also moving on from associate coach Jim Playfair. Dave Manson has subsequently been named an assistant coach.

Tippett was in the middle of his third season as the Oilers' bench boss. Despite a hot start to the campaign, Edmonton sits five points behind the Calgary Flames for the last Western Conference wild-card spot with a 23-18-3 record after losing 16 of its last 23 games.

The Oilers also lost their first two contests after the All-Star break while being outscored 8-1.

Overall, Tippett held a 95-62-14 mark with Edmonton. The Oilers made the postseason twice under his tenure, but they never advanced past the first round.

A coaching veteran of 1,285 games, Tippett captured the Jack Adams Award while with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010.

Though the team boasts two of the NHL's top point-getters in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton has had difficulties achieving consistent success. McDavid is now set to play for his fourth coach during his first seven NHL seasons.

Woodcroft has been the head coach of the Condors since 2018. He piloted the team to a 105-71-21 record and won the Pacific Division playoff championship in 2020-21.

The 45-year-old has 10 seasons of experience as an NHL assistant coach. He spent seven campaigns with the San Jose Sharks and three with the Oilers prior to his move to the AHL.

Manson, a former player who suited up for 1,103 NHL games, rode the bench with Woodcroft as his assistant in Bakersfield.

Under Woodcroft and Manson's watch, 13 Condors players have graduated to the NHL over the past three seasons, including goaltender Stuart Skinner and defenseman Evan Bouchard.