Edmonton Oilers fire Kris Knoblauch as head coach after three seasons

Bowman said during the year-end assessment of the entire season, the discussion came around to “where are we at now and do we have the belief that maybe a different voice would be able to tap into the players who we have to a different degree and get us to a different level.

“When Kris came into the Oilers, he was the perfect coach at that time, he was exactly what that group needed to take them to almost the Stanley Cup … but as time passes things change. So what worked one year, or a couple of years, if it doesn’t continue to work and that’s where we are, in the results business.”

Knoblauch was fired before his three-year contract extension was set to kick in next season and the Oilers are obligated to pay him unless he is hired by another team. Assistant coach Mark Stuart was also fired.

Bowman wouldn’t get into a discussion about reports the team had asked for permission to speak to Bruce Cassidy, under contract to the Vegas Golden Knights, saying only that he wasn’t able to inform Knoblauch of his dismissal until Wednesday evening because he wanted to do it in person and that was the earliest the two could meet.

He said the Oilers will conduct a “wide search” for a new head coach — the seventh in the Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl era — who they believe will maximize the talents of the players.

Bowman said the team had “no foundational piece” this past year and “that’s more a coaching thing,” but said there were no difference of opinion between himself and Knoblauch that was an issue.

Knoblauch, who coached McDavid as a junior with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters, was hired in November 2023 and had a 135-77-21 regular-season record with the Oilers and a 31-22 playoff record.

Knoblauch had guided the Oilers to the Stanley Cup final the previous two seasons but this year the team was unable to reproduce a similar result. Even with the elite level performances of McDavid, Draisaitl and defenceman Evan Bouchard the Oilers struggled to gain any momentum all season, managing to win at least three consecutive games only twice.

They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks. McDavid called the Oilers “an average team” after the loss, and Draisaitl said the team is going backwards and needs to make drastic improvements around McDavid.

“In what world do you have the best player in the world on your team and you’re not looking to win?” Draisaitl said. “I know we’re looking to win, but we need to be better — we have to be better. There’s no way around it. We have to improve.

“(McDavid’s) signed for two more years, and God knows where that goes, but we have two years here right now. We have to get significantly better.”

Oilers management is feeling the pressure to produce a Stanley Cup victory before McDavid’s two-year contract extension — signed with very team-friendly terms — expires after the 2027-28 season.

Bowman himself has been criticized for several of his moves in the past year. He traded Edmonton-born goaltender Stuart Skinner and steady defenceman Brent Kulak to Pittsburgh Penguins for goalie Tristan Jarry in a deal that flopped.

Bowman signed Trent Frederic to an eight-year $30.8 million extension and the forward was another major disappointment on a team that struggled with goaltending and defensive deficiencies all season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2026.

John Korobanik, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Edmonton Oilers fire Kris Knoblauch as head coach after three seasons

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