Edmonton Oilers fire Kris Knoblauch after three seasons and two Stanley Cup appearances

For the sixth time in his career, Connor McDavid will be playing for a new NHL head coach. The Edmonton Oilers announced on Thursday morning that they have fired Kris Knoblauch after three seasons behind the bench.

In addition to Knoblauch, assistant coach Mark Stuart has also been let go.

"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," Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Stan Bowman said.

Knoblauch, 47, was hired in November 2023 after the team let go of Jay Woodcroft. He immediately turned the Oilers into contenders with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The team made it to the Stanley Cup Final in each of his first two seasons, losing to the Florida Panthers both times.

After making it to the Stanley Cup Final twice, the Oilers rewarded Knoblauch with a three-year contract extension. Though the new contract hadn’t begun, the Oilers will still have to pay it out alongside the salary of the next head coach.

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That next head coach, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, could be former Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy. Kaplan says Edmonton wants to interview the 2023 Stanley Cup champion, but they need permission from Vegas after the team fired Cassidy in March.

Other candidates haven’t been mentioned. However, this next hire will need to be a home run for a team that’s trying to keep its franchise player.

McDavid signed a two-year extension last summer that keeps him under contract until 2028. That wasn’t an accident. The 29-year-old star has basically given the Oilers a timeline to fix their problems or risk losing one of the league’s best players.

After the team was eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks, McDavid was blunt with his thoughts on the state of the team. 

“All year long, we were a mediocre team,” McDavid said after his team was eliminated. “When you're a mediocre team with high expectations, you're certainly going to end up disappointed.”

Days later, at locker cleanout, he doubled down.

“It's only a couple of days ago I made those comments, and I feel the same as I did a couple of days ago and agree with Leon that the organization as a whole has taken a step back," he said. "It starts with me, it starts with Leon, we all can be better, we need to be better."

Edmonton now heads into an offseason with the same questions it’s had for years now. What will the defense look like, and who will be the starting goaltender? The Oilers have a projected $16.7 million in salary cap space for next season, but potentially have to replace nine players who were under contract last season. The clock is ticking on Bowman.