On Thursday (May. 14) morning, the Edmonton Oilers announced that they had relieved Kris Knoblauch of his duties as head coach and Mark Stuart of his duties as assistant coach.
The #Oilers have relieved head coach Kris Knoblauch & assistant coach Mark Stuart of their duties. https://t.co/K3GQq5GshP
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 14, 2026
The Oilers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the playoffs this season, leading to a lot of questions about the Oilers’ future.
In a statement, general manager Stan Bowman said, “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.”
Knoblauch has a three-year extension that kicks in at the beginning of the 2026-27 season, which the Oilers are still on the hook for, but they are willing to pay that to have a fresh voice behind the bench.
Knoblauch finishes his tenure with the Oilers with 233 games as their head coach, with a record of 135-77-21, and a winning percentage of .624%. He was behind the bench for the Oilers’ last two appearances in the Stanley Cup Final, where they came up short against the Florida Panthers both times.
The Oilers will now shift their focus to finding a new head coach, and while reports came out that they have asked the Vegas Golden Knights for permission to speak to Bruce Cassidy, they will likely do their due diligence on some other candidates before making their decision on a new bench boss.
As the 2025-26 postseason moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.
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