Oilers Insider Gives Blunt Response to Potential Craig Berube Hiring

The Edmonton Oilers decided to relieve both Kris Knoblauch and Mark Stuart of their duties as head coach and assistant coach, and while many fans believe Bruce Cassidy is their primary target to become their new bench boss, another name recently came out as someone they are interested in.

On top of this, there is some speculation that the Vegas Golden Knights haven’t granted anyone permission to speak with Cassidy yet, so teams are being forced to pivot.

Ryan Rishaug reported that a formal interview is expected with Berube, and mentioned that permission to speak with Cassidy still hadn’t been granted.

Hearing a formal interview with Berube is expected after some initial conversation between he and Bowman. Permission to speak with Bruce Cassidy had still not been granted as of Sunday night.

— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) May 18, 2026

Allan Mitchell, known as Lowetide, had a blunt response to the idea of the Oilers hiring Berube, as someone hinted at the idea of the Oilers and Maple Leafs doing a coach swap.

If that happens, the Oilers will have the McDavid-era bookend move to Reinhart for picks.

— Lowetide (@Lowetide) May 18, 2026

Fans immediately pushed back against the idea of Berube even being an option for the Oilers, considering his lack of success during his previous stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs, while some fans understood that the team is simply doing a thorough search before they make one of the biggest decisions in their franchise’s history.

Berube’s Results Weren’t Impressive

There was some serious pushback from pundits and fans across social media when Berube was mentioned as a potential candidate for the Oilers, with some pointing out how bad things were with the Maple Leafs under his leadership.

Toronto's power play implodes, its 5v5 goal share and expected goal share collapse, it allows more shots than anyone else in the league, it can't defend a lead, and of its two stars one guy is gone and the other guy looks like a shadow of himself.

Let's talk to that coach! https://t.co/qehYHSiPQR

— Jonathan Willis (@JonathanWillis) May 18, 2026

Fans began spreading information about the team’s results under Berube with the Maple Leafs, which quickly gained attention and made its rounds on social media as well.

When you have the opportunity to get the coach who provided these results, you absolutely have to do it. pic.twitter.com/i8dbAvUW2G

— Scroggy (@bluesky_better) May 18, 2026

The pushback hasn’t stopped, and it seems as though the fanbase would rather anyone other than Berube be hired by the Oilers, and hope the Golden Knights will, eventually, let Cassidy speak to other teams in hopes of landing a new job.

Oilers Have Better Options if Cassidy Isn’t an Option

There are plenty of free agent coaches on the market, aside from Berube.

Peter Laviolette has been out of work since being fired by the New York Rangers in April of 2025, and his offensive systems and high-paced style of coaching could be a good fit for the Oilers.

Misha Donksov and David Carle are two names that every team could be interested in, but it seems unlikely that either one would want to leave their current positions. Carle is the current head coach of the University of Denver, while Donskov is the vice president of hockey operations and men’s national team head coach for Hockey Canada.

Todd Nelson, Jeff Halpern, Steve Ott, Claude Julien, and Manny Malhotra are all also names that could be better options than Berube, and could be looking to earn a new job.

At the end of the day, it seems as though the Oilers are simply doing their due diligence and interviewing everyone they possibly can before they hire a new head coach. They don’t want to rush into this decision, as they only have a two-year window before Connor McDavid’s contract runs out, and they want to try and win a Stanley Cup before he has the opportunity to walk into free agency.

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