It was the middle of November 2023. The Edmonton Oilers , one of the preseason favourites to win the Stanley Cup, had won just three of their first 13 games. So, a new coach was hired, and it didn’t take Kris Knoblauch long to see what the first thing that needed to change in the dressing room was. The team’s confidence was shot.

The long faces were evident to the media. Players wore sweatshirts with hoods pulled far over their heads, staring down at the floor as they answered questions.

“I think the most important thing is that your players have to feel good about themselves in order to perform,” Knoblauch said the day he was hired. “Right now, I see some guys who are beaten up. They are frustrated. They put so much pressure on themselves to perform, and it hasn’t been healthy for th

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