logo
OilersNation has no direct affiliation to the Edmonton Oilers, Oilers Entertainment Group, NHL, or NHLPA
Bowman: Knoblauch ‘earned’ his three-year extension, but now Oilers need a new voice
Edmonton Oilers Kris Knoblauch
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Michael Menzies
May 14, 2026, 18:00 EDTUpdated: May 14, 2026, 17:32 EDT
Comments
General manager Stan Bowman said that the Edmonton Oilers needed a new voice behind the bench, despite Kris Knoblauch earning his contract extension when they agreed to terms back in October. 
After all, Knoblauch had been the head coach for two straight visits to the Stanley Cup Final, so a three-year extension reportedly worth roughly $7.5 million was no surprise at the time.
But after an Oilers season with more downs and ups, and internal evaluations over the past week and a half, Bowman believes there were concerns. Knoblauch’s time ends before that extension would begin. 
“We felt that he had earned that contract extension,” said Bowman about the organization’s thoughts before the season started. 
“When you take the season as a whole, it was a year we never were able to get going. A slow start or maybe a tough stretch in the middle of the year, like those things happen to all teams. You have some ups and downs, but we didn’t have a lot of ups this year. We were kind of right around the middle all year long.
“When we performed our analysis and our review about where we headed as a team, we just felt that we needed a different voice to lead us to where we want to get to. A difficult decision without a doubt, but it was based upon the way this entire year played out, not just small sections or just the playoffs. It was really the total year.” 
Stan Bowman didn’t hire Knoblauch, but he was part of the management team that extended him.
Bowman was asked if there was a lack of cohesion between management’s free agent signings like Trent Frederic or Andrew Mangiapane, and their inability to find a role on the team. He said there was a different opinion on certain players’ roles, but that it wasn’t the be-all, end-all in making this decision.
“I don’t know if that was a big issue,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the coach has to coach the way he believes is like they’ve got to win the game that night. And it gets difficult when you start mandating coaches they have to play certain players in certain roles or certain minutes, because then if things don’t go well, you can’t hold them accountable. We didn’t do that. It was not always totally in sync, but I don’t know that. I’ve never I don’t think any team around the league is exactly in sync. I don’t know if that was a big issue. 
“There’s certainly some players that I think their roles maybe weren’t what they should have been, but I don’t think that that wasn’t like an overriding issue. I think that there’s that balance between collaboration, which I think we did have. But at the end of the day, the coach has to do what he believes is best.”

Knoblauch’s staff

With Glen Gulutzan hired in Dallas and Paul Coffey stepping away at the end of 2024-25, Knoblauch had a chance to hire his own coaching staff in the aftermath of losing in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. 
He added Paul McFarland, who’d been an assistant on three different NHL benches, and was most recently the Calgary Hitmen head coach. Knoblauch also kept Mark Stuart, who’d been brought aboard in 2022-23, and he ran the blue line and penalty kill. 
The bench went from three assistants to two. 
As pressure grew with poor defensive performances in January, Coffey returned as a defensive coach during the Olympic break, although reports from Dave Pagnotta say he wasn’t thrilled to do it. While Knoblauch said he was part of that decision, many have suggested that it was an order from above. 
Bowman did take some of the blame for how the season went. Two reports, one from Frank Seravalli, the other from David Pagnotta, said front office changes were coming in the off-season as well. 
There were no questions directed towards what the Oilers’ evaluations were of Bowman and management during the season, or what those reported changes would be.  
Knoblauch’s departure comes alongside Stuart’s, while Paul McFarland will remain for now. They’ll be evaluated by whoever is hired as the new head coach. 

‘Holding them accountable’

Whether that’s Bruce Cassidy, whom they allegedly sought permission to speak to, but haven’t received it yet, or someone else, Bowman wouldn’t say. He didn’t address the report that linked them to Cassidy while Knoblauch was still coach, which went public on Tuesday. 
Cassidy, for example, is known for instilling structure and ensuring a team’s top players are involved and held accountable for playing that way. 
But he’s also had a shorter shelf life, as a rift seemed to grow between him and Golden Knights players that led to his unexpected firing just a couple of weeks before this year’s playoffs began.  
With the Oilers’ overall inconsistent defensive play, how does a new coach change that if the players aren’t committed? 
“Whether it’s holding them accountable, or how can you enforce that to a greater degree,” said Bowman. “So you get more…whether that word is compliance, or you get more consistent performance.
“Because, at the end of the day, it is players who are jumping over the boards and making things happen or not. When they’ve shown they can do it, but they don’t always do it, then the question is, well, how can we get there? 
“You just change out the players. I guess that could be one approach. But the other approach is, can you find a coach that can get the most out of those guys, and I think that’s what we’re looking for.” 
Bowman said the Oilers will cast a wide net to look for the right coach. 
It’ll be the organization’s first public head coach search since 2019, when Ken Holland was hired as GM and hired Dave Tippett. 
Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4. 

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365

Oilers Talk
MORE NEWS. IN YOUR INBOX.
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Breaking News