Bruce Cassidy Is Not the Answer to the Oilers’ Head Coach Problem

After a couple weeks of internal evaluation, the Edmonton Oilers decided to part ways with now former head coach Kris Knoblauch, as well as assistant coach Mark Stuart. After a pair of trips to the Stanley Cup Final and a first-round exit in 2026, it was time to move on. Now with a couple spaces to fill, most notably the head coach role, the rumours will be flying. It’s already been reported the Oilers have requested and been denied permission to speak with former Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy.

As accomplished as he may be, and if the Oilers can still pull off the hire, I don’t believe it’s the answer for them going forward.

There will obviously be arguments both ways. Cassidy won the Stanley Cup in 2023 with the Golden Knights, while having plenty of success in his tenure before that with the Boston Bruins. He has been a coach for a long time and has been around the game his whole life. Despite all of that, I think Edmonton is better off looking in a different direction. Let’s talk about why.

More Success Hiring Under the Radar

Looking at the last handful of coaches to come through Edmonton, there’s a sort of trend that is noticeable when talking about each of their successes and where they came from. Looking at the last two bench bosses in Knoblauch and Jay Woodcroft, they were both hired from the American Hockey League (AHL) as up-and-comers who had success at other levels and potentially had fresh ideas. They were hires that were sort of outside of the scope at the time, considering there’s always veteran coaches on the market ready to go.

Both moves, outside of winning the Stanley Cup, were successes. Woodcroft took the Oilers to the conference finals and Round 2 in his two completed seasons with the team. After being fired early on in the 2023-24 campaign, Knoblauch took it from there and did what he did.

Looking at the three bench bosses to precede this pair, the same success wasn’t found. Dave Tippett coached for parts of three seasons, registering just one playoff win. Before him was Ken Hitchcock, who posted a record below .500 and missed the postseason. Finally, before that was Todd McLellan, who, despite a long tenure with some exciting moments, reached the second round just once.

These three coaches are bigger names that fans have known a long time, but they had little success with the Oilers. When the team hired from their own farm system or looked to another one for a more obscure candidate, more success seemed to find them. This is something to really think about as the pursuit for Cassidy continues. His recognizable name doesn’t guarantee success.

Cassidy Was Fired Abruptly

One obvious thing to point out is the fact that Cassidy was fired quite hastily by the Golden Knights late in the 2025-26 regular season. The team was still in third in the Pacific Division at the time and had gone on a bit of a slide. Nonetheless, management felt a change was needed at a very critical point in the season. This is somewhat of a red flag to me, especially considering Cassidy has a Cup with the team not that long ago. Trusting his coach didn’t seem to appeal to general manager Kelly McCrimmon.

On top of a recent exit from Vegas and a potential hiring in Edmonton, this would keep Cassidy in the Pacific Division. Bringing in a coach that was just fired from a division rival because he couldn’t keep up with a struggling group of teams might not be the best idea.

Lots of Options on the Market

Aside from Cassidy, there are still plenty of names on the market that Edmonton can pursue. It’s still very early in the offseason, given their early exit, so they can take a look around. Craig Berube is a name that has hit the headlines as of late, but then again, he would be a similar hire and was also just recently let go by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Stars like William Nylander and Auston Matthews regressed under Berube, and that’s not something you want to test with Connor McDavid‘s contract running out of time.

The Oilers were granted permission to speak with Berube and are expected to set up an interview sometime soon. We’ll see where that leads.

As I have said, a candidate who is maybe lesser known and has not been recycled in the market could be a better fit. We’ve seen the Oilers do it and have it work out, so why not again? A guy like Manny Malhotra should be one to watch out of the AHL. He deserves an interview with the way he has taken care of business.

We will see how Edmonton’s management approaches this very important hurdle in the coming weeks and months. It’s the next step for this team to finish the journey.