Oilers Fire 2 Coaches After 1st-Round Exit, Eye Bruce Cassidy
Updated
Updated · ESPN · May 14
Oilers Fire 2 Coaches After 1st-Round Exit, Eye Bruce Cassidy
18 articles · Updated · ESPN · May 14
Edmonton dismissed head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant Mark Stuart after a season review, extending a shake-up that followed a six-game first-round loss to Anaheim.
Poor goaltending, leaky defense and a team that "never found it" drove the move, despite Connor McDavid winning another Art Ross Trophy and Edmonton reaching the past two Stanley Cup Finals.
Knoblauch, 47, had been hired in November 2023 and signed a three-year extension in October that had not yet begun, leaving the Oilers to pay that deal while hiring a replacement.
Bruce Cassidy has emerged as a target, though Edmonton still needs permission from Vegas because the former Golden Knights coach remains under contract after his late-season firing.
The change underscores pressure to win with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who warned the club was "not trending in the right direction" as its Stanley Cup window could be narrowing.
After firing another coach, is Edmonton's front office the real obstacle to winning a Stanley Cup?
Was firing the coach who reached two Stanley Finals a panic move or a necessary step for a title?