'Never lost the room': McDavid reacts to Edmonton Oilers coach ouster

A day after the Edmonton Oilers made a coaching change, the players are still trying to process the shock.

"I didn't see it coming," team captain Connor McDavid said Monday.

The reigning Hart Trophy winner told reporters he received the news via text message that head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant coach Dave Manson had been fired Sunday morning, a scheduled off day for the players.

"I loved playing for Woody, I loved playing for Mans — two guys I think are unbelievable coaches," McDavid said. "I really think they'll be back in the league very, very soon."

Monday morning's skate at Rogers Place was the team's first full workout under new coach Kris Knoblauch. The Oilers (3-9-1) host the slumping New York Islanders (5-5-3) on Monday night. The Isles have piled up three regulation losses in a row.

Knoblauch had been coaching the Hartford Wolf Pack, the New York Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate, before coming to Edmonton, a city where he spent time as a Western Hockey League player and a member of the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

The 45-year-old from Imperial, Sask., was an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers for two seasons and coached the Rangers for eight games on an interim basis when staff couldn't be behind the bench due to COVID-19 protocols.

"It is quite different," said Knoblauch. "When I was there as an interim head coach, in New York, it was fun. There was no pressure on me, I was there behind the bench. Being in the NHL was exciting.

"Now, it's a little bit different. When you're a head coach here, and it's your position, and your decisions that are being questioned and evaluated, obviously there's a lot more pressure."

Knoblauch coached McDavid for three seasons with the OHL's Erie Otters.