On Tuesday, Frank Seravalli reported that the Edmonton Oilers wanted permission to interview Bruce Cassidy for a coaching position that technically didn’t exist yet. Strange news to see, but we all knew what was coming next.

Yesterday, the Oilers made it official by firing Kris Knoblauch as the head coach.

The Oilers don’t look great right now. News breaking that they wanted to interview Cassidy before officially moving on from Knoblauch is obviously a tough look. However, the situation feels a bit overblown and, quite frankly, a little ironic.

Could this situation have been handled differently? Of course. It’s fair to assume this stuff happens behind the scenes all the time. We just don’t hear about it. Edmonton got caught, and now they look foolish. Kris Knoblauch should’ve been fired before the team moved on to requesting permission. He deserved that respect.

The irony is that it’s the Vegas Golden Knights that Edmonton is dealing with. The Oilers are being called every name under the sun right now. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are continually applauded for their ruthless approach to trading players, firing head coaches, and whatever else you want to discuss about the organization. It’s the Vegas way, and you can guarantee that if the roles were switched, the narrative wouldn’t be the same. Instead, people would say “Classic Vegas.”

The double standard is real and, if you’ve followed this team long enough, you’ve seen it happen repeatedly.

Only a couple of weeks ago, Bowman told us that the organization was going through a full-scale evaluation. That message was reiterated at his press conference.

The two previous seasons were great for Knoblauch in Edmonton. This past one was a massive disappointment.

The elimination in six games to Anaheim is how it ended, but the previous 82 were a massive underachievement. It was mediocre hockey from opening night, and the team never got a grip on the season. The stars publicly challenged the team and its performance too many times throughout the season.

Knoblauch did a great job in Edmonton, but his time is up. The team doesn’t have time to wait and find out if last season was just a mirage. McDavid put the organization under pressure by signing a two-year deal that really feels like a one-year extension. Perhaps the pressure is too high, but it’s still there.

The Oilers do need to have a handle on things now and move forward in what is potentially their most important off-season ever. Speculation that the organization wasn’t on the same page heading into the week on Knoblauch’s future is alarming. At some point, the organization needs alignment from top to bottom instead of interference from above.

Bruce Cassidy seems like the favourite to take over this role. Edmonton should go through a full process and interview a variety of coaches. Bob Stauffer mentioned today that the Oilers may prefer a more proven, Stanley Cup-winning coach behind the bench.

The pressure has been on Edmonton for a while now. The summer has begun for Bowman to get this team back into Stanley Cup contention.

Step one is simple: hire the right coach.

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