The Edmonton Oilers Had No Choice to Move on From Kris Knoblauch

The Edmonton Oilers officially relieved head coach Kris Knoblauch of his duties on Thursday morning. There are reports that the Oilers had made the decision on Wednesday but waited, given the news out of Toronto that the Maple Leafs fired Craig Berube.

The Edmonton Oilers have relived Kris Knoblauch of his coaching duties.

You knew this was coming after what got leaked you can’t bring the guy back even if you wanted to. Awkward situation for everyone.

Remember Knoblauch’s 3 year extension didn’t kick in yet #letsgooilers

— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) May 14, 2026

Changes Are Coming with the Edmonton Oilers

That’s right, Knobaluch has a three-year extension that does not kick in yet. He is still owed $.75 million over the life of the contract.

Knoblauch was entering the first year of a new three year deal that paid him just north of 7.5m total.

Be interesting to see what’s next for him. Good candidate for any vacancy out there but also has the space to take some time to recharge. https://t.co/3mBsJW90va

— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) May 14, 2026

But this is the world of sports we live in, where coaches are hired to be fired. GM Stan Bowman, who is also under evaluation, told the media at his year-end press conference that everyone was under evaluation. He wouldn’t commit to Knoblauch. Even Knoblauch knew that it was a business, but he was going about his process as if he were still the coach.

The issue was that Bowman and the Oilers didn’t want him as coach and probably should have relieved him of his duties sooner than they did. Once it got out that the Oilers sought permission to speak with head coach Bruce Cassidy, and that permission was withheld from the Vegas Golden Knights, the only route was to move on from Knoblauch. You couldn’t bring him back. That dynamic wouldn’t work.

Where Does the Bruce Cassidy Saga Stand?

As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted on his 32 Thoughts Podcast on Wednesday, now that everyone knows the Oilers were looking to make a coaching change, they have to do it.

The Oilers wanted to do this quietly, talk to Cassidy and decide based on what he had to say if they were going to make a change, I think there is a world potentially where they were thinking about, do we listen to him? But maybe not do it? I never like to say it’s over, Kyle. I just don’t know how they can go to that now, now that it’s out and everybody knows. And Kris Knoblauch knows. I don’t know how you can do that anymore, you might just have to make the change, because it’s out there and everyone’s aware of it.

I do think the Oilers wanted to get this done quietly, and they’re just not going to be able to do that anymore. And now what you’re probably going to have to do, Kyle, is you’re probably going to have to make the coaching change anyway.

Again, this is the nature of sports. We see it in college football and other sports as well. Teams are always looking to improve, but this was not handled properly. And shame on the Oilers for assuming this information about wanting to speak to Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t get out. But say things didn’t work out with Cassidy, keeping Knoblauch around is just a bad look.

After taking over early into the 2023-24 season for Jay Woodcroft, Knoblauch took the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025, losing to the Florida Panthers on both occasions. In 2024, the Oilers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game 7, but lost 2-1. Then in 2025, the Oilers were overmatched, but still made it a six-game series.

It’s an Important Offseason for the Edmonton Oilers

Over the course of his two-plus seasons in Edmonton, he has been one of the more successful coaches in franchise history. He has a record of 135-77-22 in 233 regular-season games, with a record of 31-22 in 53 playoffs

Top ten modern era coaches winning percentages.

Brind’Amour .659WOODCROFT .643Reirden .642Cooper .639Montgomery .632CASSIDY .630Filthy Bruce .626Keefe .626KNOBLAUCH .624Bednar .617

— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) May 14, 2026

It was a down year for the Edmonton Oilers, who saw massive roster changes. As Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl said, the team went backward. Both called the team average. Is that on the coach, management, upper management, or ownership? The Oilers are not as good as they were in 2024. Not even close.

Have the Edmonton Oilers Gone in the Wrong Direction?

So with Kris Knoblauch out, the Edmonton Oilers are on the clock to land Bruce Cassidy, if they get permission. That is the belief he will land on. But the clock starts on Stan Bowman and Jeff Jackson, and the expectations are to win, given McDavid’s contract situation moving forward.