Stan Bowman Evaluating All Coaching Positions
During the Edmonton Oilers’ Saturday media availability, GM Stan Bowman declined to comment on the status of head coach Kris Knoblauch, saying only that all positions are under evaluation.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Reporter: “We’ll just kind of dive right in.”
Stan Bowman: “Sure”
Reporter: “Are you in a position right now to confirm that Kris will be back next season as head coach? And what did you make of his performance this year?
Bowman: “When you don’t have success, I think you have to kind of evaluate everything. So that goes for my staff, coaching staff, and players. That’s what we’re going to do over the next little bit. Like it’s only been 36 hours since we finished. And I think it’s my job to, and I’m sure people will evaluate me as well. And that’s the way it goes in this business. It’s a results business, and you have to see if there are things you can improve on, and you have impressions when the team doesn’t succeed. Sometimes those are right, sometimes they’re not right.
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Second Round Schedule and Results
So, what you don’t want to do is make quick decisions without really being part of it. We want to talk to the players, talk to the coaches, get their views, talk to my staff and then kind of look at what actually happened. And like I said, we have impressions of why we didn’t succeed, but you want to make sure that they line up with what actually happened. So, today’s not a day for making announcements like anything, whether about players or anything like that. That’s going to come.”
Kris Knobaluch Preparing to Remain as Head Coach
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch was asked about his job status with the Edmonton Oilers and acknowledged that it is a business, but he prepares each day to improve the hockey team as if he were still the main bench boss.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Reporter: “Are you worried about your job when you go out in the first round of the playoffs? Bruce Cassidy got fired in Vegas, and they won a Stanley Cup. As a coach, is that always the concern that you got to the Cup Final twice, but you went out in the first round of the playoffs?”
Kris Knoblauch: “As a coach, I’m always preparing for the next day of coaching. I’m always getting prepared to make the team better, whether it’s next week, next month, or next year. I know the business this is and how times can change. But, that’s just the factor of being a head coach in the NHL is it is what it is.”
Have the Edmonton Oilers Gone in the Wrong Direction?
Oilers Media Believe Knoblauch Will Remain As Head Coach
Derek Van Diest on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, When Asked if Knoblauch should be fired:
“No, I think that’s a lot of outside noise. I think inside the organization, they’re happy with what he’s done. He’s going into the first year of a three-year contract. So he hasn’t even started this contract extension yet. So to fire a coach before he begins his new contract would be something else. I don’t think Knoblauch is the issue.
And this is an organization that’s gone through a lot of coaches, a lot of good coaches, and I know that’s that’s always kind of a scapegoat. It’s kind of like when you have bad defense, you blame your goalie. I think when you have an organization that wants to win, like literally, they have, fortunately, an owner that wants to win. He wants to do whatever it takes to win, but they’ve gone through so many coaches here, and it’s all kind of been the same result.
And I think Kris Knoblauch has gotten the most out of this team, and I think he and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will get along well, even though sometimes, Knoblauch admitted that his relationship with Draisaitl can be tenuous at times, but this is a team that they can’t keep recycling coaches. That’s not the fix.
I know that they want to do that easy fix there, but I think it’s a situation where they’re confident in the job Chris Knoblauch does, and until he loses the trust of that team in the room, which he hasn’t yet, he will still be the coach of the Edmonton Oilers.”
Is the Window Closing to Keep Connor McDavid in Edmonton?
Jason Gregor on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, When Asked if Knoblauch should be fired:
“Well, his contract extension hasn’t begun, so I would think he’s safe. I know that in sports now, it’s easy to want to blame the coach. Like I said, I think the coaching staff, I don’t know if Knoblauch took a step this year, kind of like the team. He was average.”
We had to restart our X account. Please follow @MyNHLRumorsX
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.
If you love our reporting, choose NHLrumors.com as a preferred source on Google.
