The Kris Knoblauch era has officially come to a close. Knoblauch and Assistant Coach Mark Stuart were “relieved of their duties,” the Edmonton Oilers announced yesterday.
Knoblauch coached just 233 games, but had a record of 135–77–21. He was also behind the bench for both of Edmonton’s trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023–24, and 2024–25.
The search is no doubt on for who will be the 24th head coach in franchise history. Let’s explore some options of who could be at the helm as soon as the next couple of weeks.
Bruce Cassidy
All signs seem to point to Bruce Cassidy becoming the next head coach of the Oilers. The reports last week say that Edmonton attempted to speak with Cassidy, despite not having fired Knoblauch yet. This only poured more fuel on the fire. Regardless of the media saga, it makes sense why the Oilers would be so interested in bringing him aboard.
The former Golden Knights head coach was fired by Vegas on March 29, 2026 with just eight games remaining in the regular season. Cassidy had enjoyed success with Vegas, leading them past the Oilers in 2023 en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
Cassidy’s time as head coach of the Boston Bruins was also largely successful. He led Boston to the 2019 Cup Final, although the Bruins lost to St. Louis in seven games. In 2019–20, the Bruins won the President’s Trophy, and Cassidy took home the Jack Adams as the NHL’s best coach.
In terms of coaching style, Cassidy is a departure from Knoblauch and even Jay Woodcroft before him. He is known for a much more disciplinarian demeanour as head coach, leading some to state he is a “shelf-life” coach. He is someone who can get the most out of his players for a short time, but will eventually wear out his welcome. Neither Knoblauch nor Woodcroft seemed to be the kind of coach to do that.
In terms of systems, Cassidy’s best teams in Boston and Vegas relied on lineup depth, defensive responsibility, and puck possession. The 2023 Knights that won the Stanley Cup were a prime example of this. They controlled play, had a deep lineup where anyone could produce, and very rarely made defensive mistakes.
On paper, Cassidy seems to be a fit for Edmonton. The Oilers also work best when they play with puck possession in mind, and their best teams have been deep. The defensive commitment they attempted to bring with Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy would certainly continue under his watch. Despite the “shelf-life” concerns, the Oilers are on the clock. With two years left of McDavid for sure, if Cassidy can get Edmonton to finally lift the Stanley Cup, no one will care about what Year five of his tenure looks like.
Peter Laviolette
A coach who’s named has recently returned to the speculations circles is Peter Laviolette. Seventh all time in coaching wins with 846, Laviolette is an experienced coach. He has coaching stops in Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville, Washington, as well as both New York teams and New Jersey. He coached the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup win in 2006 over Edmonton, and led the Philadelphia Flyers to the Final in 2010. He took the Nashville Predators to the Final in 2017, and most recently took the New York Rangers to the 2024 Eastern Conference Final. He is one of only four coaches in history to lead three different teams to a Stanley Cup Final.
Laviolette’s coaching style is also more intense than the Oilers’ previous hires. Offensively minded, Laviolette coached teams are known for an up-tempo system based on team speed. Defensively, he also keeps things quick, focusing on tight gaps in the D-zone, a strong net-front presence, and quick movement of the puck. Laviolette is a coach that can get the most out of a competitive roster. However, he is known for having a blind spot for some veterans, often prioritizing them over playing younger players in the lineup.
Laviolette would be an interesting coach in Edmonton. His offensive style would mesh well with the kind of roster and style of hockey that the Oilers play well. It’s no doubt he could get Edmonton’s scoring levels up again.
However, his team’s defensive games did usually leave something to be desired. His penchant for playing veterans over young players may not succeed with Edmonton having younger players like Ike Howard and Josh Samanski looking to make their marks throughout the lineup. He would probably get the Oilers back to some level of playoff success, but it’s possible he might hit the wall like he did with the 2024 Rangers.
David Carle
David Carle has established himself as perhaps the hottest NHL coaching prospect in recent memory. Since becoming the head coach at the University of Denver in 2018–29, Carle has led the program to an unparalleled level of success. Three NCAA National Championships in 2021–22, 2023–24, and 2025–26, as well as an NCAA Regional Semifinal in 2022–23.
He was also the head coach for the United States at the 2024 and 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning back-to-back Gold Medals. Carle’s winning percentage at the University of Denver is a staggering .694, highest in program history ahead of second place, current St. Louis Blues head coach Jim Montgomery.
Carle’s coaching style is very team first. He believes that players work best as a unit and no one is bigger than the team. He’s offensively minded, and believes in putting young players in positions to succeed and builds them up, rather than holding mistakes over their heads.
However, he’s never coached professionally, and in recent years has withdrawn his name from consideration for some NHL jobs. It’s believed a team would really need to sell him on the idea for coaching for them for him to leave Denver.
There isn’t a better sales pitch in the NHL than being able to coach Connor McDavid. In that way, the Oilers could be the ones to finally pull Carle to the NHL. However, Edmonton has just had two previous head coaches who had little professional experience, and neither one worked in the long run. It’s believed the Oilers will seek out a more veteran presence behind the bench, and Carle would certainly not be that. Still, it would be an interesting approach for Edmonton to take.
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