Adam Oates?

The Washington Capitals, as expected after a season out of the playoffs, made major changes on Saturday by firing head coach Adam Oates, and not renewing the contract of GM George McPhee. Oates served as head coach for two years, leading the team to the 2013 playoffs, but missing this past year.

Before getting the Capitals job, Oates was one of the assistant coaches in New Jersey on the Devils staff, and was on the coaching staff that led the team to the 2012 Stanley Cup finals. Oates, of course, was a tremendous player and is now a Hall of Famer. He also spent one year in Edmonton in the early 2000’s.

Oates wasn’t the best head coach in the league, but his team’s were very, very good on the man advantage, and he is a very good assistant coach. We all know where I am going with this.

Does Adam Oates make sense to join the Oilers staff under Dallas Eakins? It seems like after every coach gets fired we talk about this, but Oates makes more sense than most other options on the market for obvious reasons.

The Resume:

Oates has coaching experience at the NHL level, both as a head coach and assistant coach. As mentioned, he spent the last two years as head coach in Washington, and nearly guided an under manned team with a number of issues to the playoffs this past season. His Caps lost in game seven of round one in 2013.

In addition to those two years as a head man, he’s served three years as an assistant in the NHL. He was an assistant for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2009-10 season, and then served as an assistant in New Jersey during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

Oates doesn’t have the experience that a candidate like Craig Ramsay has, but he certainly has spent some time in other organizations and should have a good grip of how to be a successful coach at this level. Five years of experience is a pretty good amount.

The Pros:

Oates was one of the most skilled forwards in the NHL during his playing days, and was a force on the power-play. He helped run one of the most successful power-plays in hockey in Washington the last two years, and did wonders for the special teams units in New Jersey.

That’s an area of weakness in Edmonton, as the Oilers power-play unit took a nose dive this past season. Dallas Eakins has had terrible power-play units during his entire coaching career, and adding a guy like Oates could help in a major way in this area. Teams like Edmonton, who thrive on skill, badly need their PP units to step up and fill the net. Oates run units do that.

Oates also understands how to be a successful player in the NHL at the forward position, and could be a great asset for the young guns looking to find their way in this league still.

Yes, Oates and Ovechkin butted heads to a degree from what we have heard, but Oates has worked with star players like Steven Stamkos, Marty St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier, Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise before, and they have all had success being coached by Oates.

The Cons:

The Oilers need a coach that has a lot of experience, and while five years isn’t bad, it’s not exactly a ton. Adding a more veteran guy, like Andy Murray or Craig Ramsay, might be a better fit for Edmonton. The Oilers have inexperience in the front office, on the ice, and behind the bench. Eventually people who have been there and done that need to be brought in.

While Oates is great with special teams, the Oilers badly need a coach that can come in as an assistant and help teach fundamentals and defensive play. That is not Oates’ strong suit, and it puts him behind other possible candidates. The Oilers badly need another coach like Charlie Huddy, and Adam Oates just is not that guy.

The Verdict:

The Oilers special teams units were not very good this year, while Adam Oates is a very good special teams coach, especially a power-play coach. He’s worked with star players before in his short coaching career, and knows what it takes to be a dominating skill player in this league.

Adam Oates would certainly be a good add to the Edmonton Oilers coaching staff if Dallas Eakins were to look at change in the ranks of his assistants. He wouldn’t solve everything, but he could come in and help an area that badly needs help in the form of the power-play.

I’m not sure anything will come of this, but Oates is certainly a name to keep an eye on this summer if the Oilers decide to remove Steve Smith or Kelly Buchberger from their current roles.