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Why the Oilers must fire Kris Knoblauch after the Bruce Cassidy coaching report
Edmonton Oilers Kris Knoblauch
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Michael Menzies
May 12, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: May 12, 2026, 15:40 EDT
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The Edmonton Oilers got caught, and now, they have to fall on the sword.
They’re hitched to head coach Kris Knoblauch with his three-year extension set to kick in next season, but speculation has grown over the last few days that his job is not safe. 
Turns out they’ve had a wandering eye, and now the whole world knows about it. It’s like your wife catches you DMing another woman, but you’ve also been left on read. 
Frank Seravalli’s report on Tuesday morning says the Vegas Golden Knights are dragging their feet on permitting the Oilers to speak to their ex-coach, Bruce Cassidy. 
With Cassidy still under contract for one more year at $4.5 million, the Oilers have to ask, and the Golden Knights will eventually give permission, or get fury from Gary Bettman and the Coaches Association. 
Yikes. Major yikes. 

An awkward position

This puts the Oilers in an ugly position.
Since the exit interviews 10 days ago, general manager Stan Bowman said the organization would evaluate everything. It’s been quiet ever since, presumably planning a line of attack.
The brass has had days to determine what they were doing with Knoblauch and the staff. The writing is on the wall now. 
But the tone of those press conferences left the coaching question hanging in the air. For example, if they agreed to keep Knoblauch in the last few days, the situation may have required the dreaded “vote of confidence,” talking about the “full belief” the Oilers had in him. 
So either the Oilers have determined Knoblauch isn’t coming back in general, or that the Oilers were only going to make a change for Cassidy, or a “select few,” and wanted to keep Knoblauch as a backup plan. 
Edmonton hasn’t conducted a public head coach search since 2019. Ken Holland was hired as GM and president of hockey operations, told Ken Hitchcock he wasn’t coming back, and three weeks later, they hired Dave Tippett. 
Woodcroft was hired mid-season. Knoblauch was hired mid-season.
So was this getting ahead of the search? Or was this a secretive ask in case Cassidy didn’t work out? 
Also, who leaked the information? 
Were the Oilers getting pissed off that the Golden Knights were dragging their feet? Did the Golden Knights try to sow more discontent with their division rival? Did Cassidy or his agent catch wind that teams were trying to talk to him? 
David Pagnotta agrees with Seravalli’s reporting that the Los Angeles Kings want to talk to Cassidy as well, as he said on Oilersnation Everyday on Tuesday. 
Many Oilers fans have been clamouring for Cassidy, bringing his brand of structured defensive play to the group in a must-win season. 

Was it just Cassidy or bust?

Here’s my uninformed guess. 
The Oilers were trying to do this coaching request on the sly. They didn’t want to just go out and fire Kris Knoblauch without having Cassidy committed already. 
They were trying to avoid a firing, a cycle of coaching interviews, the whole deal. A coaching change would come all in one piece. He’s out, and this guy is in, all in one press conference. 
Just like Knoblauch and Woodcroft. The goal seemed to have the replacement in hand. 
It also gave them an out. If, for whatever reason, Cassidy wasn’t a fit, wasn’t interested, they didn’t mesh together – they already had a head coach. 
Sneaky. Shrewd. Golden Knights-esque. 
But now the whole world knows, and they’ve publicly embarrassed their current coach. They were caught. 
Now, I don’t see any way they could keep Knoblauch. A press release must be coming anytime. 
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. 

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