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EDMONTON, AB - NOV 12, 2023: Paul Coffey addresses the media at Rogers Place. Photo Credit: Oilers TV
February 18, 2026 by Ryan Lotsberg
“The signal goes on, and he shows up. That’s the way it’s been, that’s the way it will be.”
That quote is from James Gordon, the Commissioner of Gotham City Police Department in the fictional comic book series “Batman”. The Bat-signal, a spotlight that lights up the Gotham night sky with the Batman logo, is used to summon Batman when trouble beckons. It is also used as a means to intimidate the villains of Gotham City.
Paul Coffey has the lore of a superhero as an Edmonton Oiler and an NHL legend. He retired from hockey eons ago, but he’s still acting like a superhero. I knew that he was an incredible player, but I didn’t know he’s Batman.
The instances of Coffey coming to the Oilers’ rescue have been piling up in recent years. He was hired as a “skills coach” in January 2018 after a 3-6-1 stretch during the 2017-18 season, the year after they made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The team was blowing any momentum it had created with their second round exit in 2017, and Coffey was brought into the organization to lend a helping hand. Then head coach Todd McLellan was fired early in the 2018-19 season, and then Oilers GM and President of Hockey Operations Peter Chiarelli was fired near the middle of that season.
Related: Coffey is Symbolic of Katz’s Lack of Trust: Part One
Trouble beckoned, and Coffey arrived.
While the date Coffey was hired as the Special Advisor to Oilers Daryl Katz is unknown, it’s believed to have happened either late in 2021 or early in 2022. The Oilers lost to the twelfth place Chicago Blackhawks in the play-in round of the 2020 playoffs in the COVID bubble, and then were swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. The Oilers endured a 2-11-2 stretch between December 3, 2021 and January 20, 2022. Coffey was seen travelling with the team in New York during that stretch. Then head coach Dave Tippett was fired in February 2022.
Trouble beckoned, and Coffey arrived.
The Oilers made the Western Conference Final in 2022, then took a step back by losing in the second round in 2023. They started the 2023-24 season off with a 3-9-1 record before firing Tippett’s replacement, Jay Woodcroft, and assistant coach Dave Manson. Current Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was hired to replace Woodcroft, but he didn’t arrive alone. Coffey was introduced as the replacement for Manson in the same press conference where Knoblauch was introduced as head coach.
Is the pattern becoming clear yet? The team struggles or begins to fall short of expectations, and Coffey ends up getting closer to the team.
Coffey decided to vacate his position behind the bench and return to his Special Advisor position after the team’s second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance last summer, leaving Mark Stuart to run the defence.
The Oilers currently find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division and within striking distance of the division lead at the Olympic break, but they’re also in the muddy middle of the league standings. The team has clearly taken a step back this season, which I’m sure isn’t acceptable to ownership.
Once again, it’s Coffey to the rescue. The Bat-signal gets lit, and Batman appears. That’s the way it’s been, that’s the way it will be.
The Oilers lit the Bat-signal on Wednesday. They announced that Coffey will be rejoining the Oilers coaching staff after the Olympic break. The press release from the Oilers didn’t specify what Coffey’s role will be, but logic would dictate that he will work with the defence in some capacity.
What I’m about to say won’t be popular. The Oilers had a great record while Coffey was running the defence, and they obviously went to two Stanley Cup Finals while Coffey was on the bench. Coffey was praised for the results of the defence group because he preached about making plays and empowered his players to do so.
Having said that, this is a disappointing move. Hear me out.
This pattern of the owner’s good friend and special advisor coming to the rescue at the first sign of trouble like Batman is incredibly toxic, but the situation just keeps getting more and more toxic over time.
Coffey left the bench this past summer, and Knoblauch was entrusted to hire his own staff. The team isn’t on top of the standings 58 games into the season, and suddenly the owner’s good friend and special advisor is back on the bench. If the suggestions of off-ice turmoil between Knoblauch and Coffey last season are at all true, then this move is even more toxic. The press release from the Oilers featured predictable statements from both men, but nothing about those statements felt authentic.
Stuart got promoted to running the defence alongside his usual penalty kill responsibilities, and now the man that ran the defence above him and before him is back on the bench alongside him. I don’t know what the order of superiority is there, but I’d have a hard time believing that the owner’s good friend and special advisor would rank below Stuart.
The organization entrusted Knoblauch and Stuart with more responsibility this summer, and just 58 games in, the Bat-signal got lit as a warning sign to the coaching staff. They weren’t ready to get rid of Knoblauch or Stuart right now, but bringing Coffey back onto the bench is surely a warning that the ice beneath their feet is getting thinner.
All of this SCREAMS organizational dysfunction to me.
Related: Coffey’s “special advisor” role doesn’t pass the smell test
I understand the logic that people are excited about Coffey coming back because the team made two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with him, but there’s no evidence to suggest that Coffey was the driving force behind those Stanley Cup Finals appearances. If the defence group flips a switch and starts dominating after this move, then I’ll be more inclined to believe that Coffey is the solution. As of now though, he’s one of the men that happened to be behind the bench when two strong rosters made Stanley Cup Finals runs.
The 2025-26 Oilers are not as strong of a team as the previous two iterations were. They added $12.4 million in cap spending with raises to Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard this season, and the league’s salary cap only jumped by $7.5 million. That math means that the Oilers had to cut spending and field a weaker roster this season. It’s not rocket science. The roster is weaker this season, and the results are showing.
I believe THAT is the reason for the Oilers’ struggles this season. I don’t agree with every move that Knoblauch has made, but I don’t think any combination of players in the Oilers organization being deployed differently would have the Oilers in a better spot than they’re in right now.
The GM can’t use that as an excuse though, and he hasn’t. Bowman has changed both goaltenders and added a quality middle six winger since the season started, and there’s likely more in store at the trade deadline. He and the organization both know that there isn’t much cap space to work with, but they needed to find some sort of change to make to get things moving in the right direction without rocking the boat too much.
So, the Bat-signal went up, and Batman is back behind the bench.
We’ll find out whether the team is just worse this year or if Coffey is the man they needed to save the day like Batman soon enough. Regardless, this situation with Coffey is getting comical and ridiculous. People don’t succeed without trust, and nobody in the Oilers organization has trust except Coffey. No successful organization is run like this.
Related: Coffey is Symbolic of Katz’s Lack of Trust: Part Two
There’s another pattern related to Coffey’s arrivals. Coffey’s arrival coincided with an organizational change in 2023-24, but that change has come within a calendar year every other time Coffey has come to the rescue. That tells me that Knoblauch won’t make it through the full length of his three-year extension. The pattern says that he won’t even make it through the first year of that extension. Stuart won’t be far behind Knoblauch whenever a change is made.
Batman once said “I chose this life. I use the night, I became the night, sooner or later I’ll go down.”
I don’t know how long Coffey will stay on the bench this time around, but I know he’ll be around the organization even after leaving the bench again, like Batman in the night. There will eventually come a time when Coffey will retire from the Oilers organization, but I’m certain that his presence in the organization will outlast that of every current member of the organization.
