Despite reaching the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons, the Edmonton Oilers have fired coach Kris Knoblauch, the team announced Thursday.
The move signals Edmonton's urgency to win a Stanley Cup with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl but will be costly. Knoblauch had signed a three-year extension in October that had yet to officially kick in, and the Oilers will be on the hook to pay him that money as well as a new coach's contract.
Sources told ESPN that the Oilers would like to interview Bruce Cassidy, but they still need to work on permission through the Vegas Golden Knights since Cassidy is still being paid by them after his late-season firing.
Assistant coach Mark Stuart, who had been on the Oilers' staff since 2022, was also fired.
"Following a thorough review of this past season, we believe these changes are needed. We are grateful for the contributions both Kris and Mark have made to our organization and we wish them the best moving forward," Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement.
Knoblauch, 47, was hired in November 2023 after Jay Woodcroft was fired 13 games into the season and found early success with the Oilers. Edmonton reached the Stanley Cup Final in Knoblauch's first two seasons, falling to the Florida Panthers each time.
However, Edmonton could not establish any momentum this season, despite McDavid winning another Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer.
Poor goaltending and leaky defense were among the structural issues that plagued Edmonton. McDavid had raised concerns after the Oilers were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in six games in the first round but also turned on the heat during the season with effusive admiration in March for Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper, who coached McDavid at the 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympic Games in Milan.
Draisaitl was blunt after the season, cautioning the Stanley Cup window for his team could be closing.
"I am concerned because we're not trending in the right direction," Draisaitl said. "We've taken big steps backwards and have to get a grip of this and head back in the right direction."
Draisaitl had returned for Game 1 of the playoffs after missing the last 14 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury for which he sought treatment in Germany. McDavid was playing through a fracture in the foot/ankle area. Nonetheless, the stars were bitter after falling to the upstart Ducks.
"[When you're] an average team with high expectations, you're going to be disappointed," McDavid said after the loss. "We just never found it."
The Oilers are on the clock to get their three-time league MVP the one thing he wants most, a Stanley Cup. Last summer, McDavid decided against a long-term commitment and signed a team-friendly deal that runs through 2028-29.