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It turns out the Kings may not have interviewed Cassidy yet after all
Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
By Zach Laing
May 13, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: May 13, 2026, 16:26 EDT
This story just keeps getting stranger and stranger.
And the back-and-forth, he-said, she-said, about the Vegas Golden Knights withholding permission from the Edmonton Oilers to speak with their former head coach, Bruce Cassidy, continues.
Now, as it turns out, the Los Angeles Kings may not have spoken with Cassidy yet after all.
The situation is confusing, so let’s lay out the timeline as we suspect.
After the Oilers’ season finished, there was word of an up-and-down examination of the organization. Nobody was safe, and everybody was under scrutiny after a first-round exit to the Anaheim Ducks. At some point in the last two weeks, the Oilers reached out to the Golden Knights to request permission to speak with Cassidy about the head-coaching role, which is still held by Kris Knoblauch.
The Golden Knights drag their feet, and word leaks out that the Oilers aren’t given the customary permission needed, as reported by Frank Seravalli, who noted the Kings are also interested in Cassidy for their head-coaching role. No further details are given about their involvement in this ordeal.
Tuesday afternoon, a Kings reporter states Cassidy actually interviewed with the team last Friday. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman jumps on 880 CHED with Bob Stauffer at the top of his show, Oilers Now, seemingly confirming that report, saying, “I have had someone tell me, although the team has not confirmed it, that he was given permission to talk to the Kings.”
Turns out that may not have been the case, as Friedman walked the comments back on Wednesday’s edition of 32 Thoughts in conversation with his co-host Kyle Bukauskas.
“As of late Tuesday night, when we recorded this pod, Kyle, I am under the impression that neither the Oilers, nor the Kings, have yet to be given permission to talk to Bruce Cassidy,” he said. “So, as I understand it… it wasn’t just an Edmonton thing.
“I do think there’s some semantics here. I think there’s some annoyance that it’s taken a bit longer than everyone thought. But, from what I can tell, the answer is not ‘no.’ It’s just… I don’t know, delayed, dragging their feet, whatever you want to call it.”
There’s no lack of questions in all of this that will need to be answered at some point, but Friedman doesn’t see the Oilers apologizing for what’s occurred.
“Whenever they come up for air, I don’t believe the Oilers are going to say sorry,” he said. “I think they look at it as they have to win, they have to do what it takes to win.”
Evidently, the Oilers feel as though even a conversation with Cassidy could put them on a different track. Friedman would go on to speculate that while the team initially may not have wanted to move on from Knoblauch, they’ll virtually be forced into it now with the leak of information occurring.
What could be holding up the Golden Knights in all of it, an executive theorized to Friedman, is the potential that Vegas could be waiting to find out how much of the $4.5 million they owe Cassidy would they be on the hook for. The league has offset language for situations like these, wherein Vegas would only owe the difference in salary compared to what a team hired Cassidy for.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
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Breaking News
- A timeline of recent NHL coach firings shows the Oilers’ approach is not normal
- Golden Knights have denied teams permission before: ‘There’s some precedent for this’
- Oilers expected to fire head coach Kris Knoblauch Wednesday
- The Oilers’ most important summer in years is already off to a weird start
- It turns out the Kings may not have interviewed Cassidy yet after all