I was a big fan of Jay Woodcroft, it might sound crazy but I do believe he was our best coach since Glen Sather. I think our current record is a reflection of a very unlucky month more-so than his abilities as a coach. Holland himself mentioned he didn't feel that Jay had lost the room, and considering the way the players played for him in the game against Seattle I don't think he had lost it either. He was a very good coach for us and I know he will be for the next team that snags him up as well, wish him the best.
I've seen a lot of people saying how dumb the organization is for firing him, to me it's the simple business of hockey. We have a team that is supposed to be a cup contender and found themselves tied last in the standings, the coach being fired was inevitable.
I also do like the new hire, while I agree there isn't a ton of sense in firing our young homegrown coach and then hiring another young coach in Chris Knoblauch, I'm glad they did it. I wouldn't have been opposed to 1 year of a highly experienced NHL coach to ride the ship and get the team back on track, but I wouldn't want anyone available at the moment for more than this season. Chris Knoblauch was 2nd on my list of coaches I wanted behind Jay Woodcroft after the Dave Tippett firing, this isn't just a hiring of McDavids junior coach to appease to him as some have suggested, I believe he will be good for us. I also don't hate hiring Paul Coffey as the assistant, it's no secret he's been looking to get into the coaching game, he was going to get this position with another team if one didn't suddenly become available with us. I can't help but get the feeling of that "old boys club" hearing his name though.